A few months ago saw the official end of a business I started with a friend. It wasn’t easy, and it still stings on some level. We lasted from 30-21 months depending on how you look at it.
It was my first attempt at starting and being part of the administration of a business. I’m not sure I’ll ever do so again, but it was certainly a learning experience on many levels.
I’m just writing here to kind of get a few things off my chest about the whole thing.
What did I learn?
- Don’t count on economic conditions to be right for your business
- Banks are not to be trusted – even smaller community banks
- Watch the items on your lawyer bill, and don’t be afraid to contest items
- Sales are essential, and should be in place before the doors open
- Just because you offer a good product/service at a good price, it doesn’t ensure solid sales / revenue
- If you identify a market in need, don’t go blindly towards it – ask yourself if there’s a reason this market hasn’t been tapped
- Do not count on friends and contacts – some may come through, others not so much so
- If you want to go after the bigger clients or RFP type business, you better have some contact or “in” if you want a prayer – it’s more about who you know than what you can offer
Some say that you shouldn’t go into business with friends. I don’t feel that’s necessarily true. Without a friend, I don’t think we would have tried as hard as we did. Because we were friends and had a mutual respect for our skills and family, we knew each others limits and what we were working towards.
I loved learning about writing a business plan, setting up an office, and all the other little things here and there that you don’t realize are part of the process.
I’m pretty sure I could easily write thousands and thousands of words about the experience, and I just may. Not here though. It’s not the right forum. I learned so much from the experience despite it not being a success. I have a different respect for business owners than before – mostly positive but also a little bit of skepticism. I think it makes me a much more valuable in that I now know what it takes in great detail to run a business.