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Should you open a business with a friend?

You’re getting ready to open a business. You and your friend have a great concept in mind, and you’ve started working on a business plan to help bring your ideas to life.

You want to be in a partnership, but you’ve had people tell you that it’s a bad idea to go into business as friends. You think that you both can do it, but is that really a good idea?

If you want to work with someone else in a partnership, it’s important that you establish your roles early on. If you both have complementary skills, that’s fantastic, because it means it’s less likely that you will step on each other’s toes. For example, if your friend is excellent at marketing but you’re good with innovation and creating a web presence, you can combine your interests to create a strong startup team.

Before you choose to work with a friend, make sure you know that you can work together. You should have a history of getting through challenges together. You should have common goals and be able to handle conflicts when they arise.

On top of this, you will need to set up the right kind of business structure. A limited liability partnership, general partnership or limited partnership are all options. S or C corporations could also work for you.

If you’re ready to set up your business, consider speaking with your attorney about the different business structures. You may also want to discuss creating a contract for your partnership, so you can have a firm understanding of what each person is expected to do while running the company.

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