Having friends is one of the things to be grateful for in life. Moreover, if you and a friend have the same interests, for example in business. If you imagine, building a business with friends will be easy and fun. In fact, it doesn't always live up to expectations.
Not infrequently friendship relations that have been well established and harmonious for many years can be destroyed because of conflicts that occur because of cooperation or business that was built together. These conflicts are generally caused by various problems, such as unclear ownership and profit sharing systems, poor financial management, unprofessional attitudes, and others.
If you are planning to start a business with a friend, there are several things that must be considered to avoid conflict. Check out the following 5 tips, come on!
Make a Business Agreement
Before building a business together with friends, the most important thing to do to avoid conflict is to make a business agreement that is black and white. Because when you build a business, even with people you already know like friends, you can't just have knowledge and a sense of trust about one party.
Yup, it would be nice if the agreement made had legal value to prevent the possibility of bad things happening at any time. By making an agreement, this is also the beginning of determining clarity and achieving business goals. This generally includes important things, such as capital and business ownership systems, work systems, goals to be achieved, profit sharing, and others.
Determine the division of labor
Determining the division of labor in building a business with friends is also another important thing. Even if you and your friend have the same status as pioneers or business owners, determining the division of labor will provide clarity about the position and role of each in the business.
As with the company's structure, there are those who act as leadership, finance, marketing, production, customer service, and so on. That way you and your friends have their respective roles and responsibilities in achieving the business goals that have been built. This determination can be measured, for example, from the background and abilities possessed, such as work experience, education or knowledge, and networking.
Healthy Communication System
Often conflicts or disputes occur because of poor communication or miscommunication, especially if the business being built also involves many parties. To avoid such things, creating a healthy business communication system is important.
You and your friends can create a communication system, such as what communication platform is used, the time and duration of communication, and others. Communication can also be a tool and moment to improve business performance and evaluation.
Professional Attitude
Even if you build a business with a best friend who you think already knows everything, there's nothing wrong with having a professional attitude. Be aware of the time and limits of the scope of friendship and which are the scope of business. This is also a form of anticipatory steps to avoid conflicts.
Conflict Management Ability
It is undeniable that conflicts in business even with friends can occur, for example because there are times when there are differences of opinion. For that you or a friend who is a business partner, it would be better if you also learn how to manage conflict well so that the problem does not get bigger and get a solution that will not harm each other.