Should Friends Do Business Together?; Tyler & Oprah Set Ground Rules Ms. Bels Thursday, May 2, 2013 Power Moves, The Receipt, The Script, Tune In Photo courtesy of OWN The best ideas often are derived when you and some friends are sitting around thinking of ways to make money. Every now and then, one of those ideas strike a cord and end up becoming a full-fledge business. So, as friends, you know become business partners. The journey of making the business successful are sometimes filled with a lot of disagreements and lack of better judgment. When this happens, the friends are now at a crossroad which oftentimes cause the demise of the business. So the question is…Do partnerships between friends really work? We hear of stories where two friends start a business, but not being able to put differences aside end up hurting the business. Whether it is disagreements on how the company should operate, who should handle the finances, or isn’t doing their fair share of the work, these are the type of issues that can arise. So, what should friends do in this case? Well, as you know, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry have joined together to bring several new shows to the OWN network. The two besties have established a pretty tight bond over the years. With Oprah’s television cable channel need to add more diverse programming, Tyler Perry’s expertise seemed like a great fit for OWN. This month marks the start of their joint venture. Tyler will be producing several new shows for OWN. But, many wonders if his addition will spark a new and profitable beginning at OWN. If it doesn’t, how will Oprah react? In case you’re wondering what ground rules the two established prior to going into this venture, Tyler expressed his thoughts in the recent issue of Essence Magazine. “The most important thing about coming together was making sure we would not lose our friendship because of the business. We had to establish ground rules,” Perry, 43, says. He continues, “The main one: Both of us have to continue to live in our truth. If she doesn’t like something, say it. If I don’t like something, I’ll say it. And we’ll figure it out and keep moving on…” Sounds simple enough, huh? Both parties should set some ground rules so that there would be no hard feelings if the business partnership didn’t work out. Secondly, put it in writing. Partnerships should be spelled out in a contract agreement. This way, if millions of dollars are involved, friends can just take it to court and let the judge decide. At the end of the day, you have to decide what is more important…the friendship or the business.
