I think we can all admit, as entrepreneurs we’ve thought about starting a successful business with one of our friends. We must also admit, maybe we didn’t actually think this all the way through. Those who have already tried, may agree with the Antony’s opinion. Friends and business partnerships are not only about the dream of two friends making money together, there are many other factors to consider. You both really need to have the same vision and drive, and Anthony Agyeman learned this at a cost.
Anthony and his ex-business partner first established their clothing brand, “Murderous clothing” (@murderousclothing on IG) on January 1st, 2016.
How it all started:
When Anthony first got the idea for this clothing brand, he immediately started to organize his thoughts together to create a game plan. Along the way, he told his friend about the idea and he got excited and ultimately agreed to split the startup costs so they can launch Murderous Clothing in the new year.
Him and his partner didn’t know exactly how to run a successful business, but Anthony decided to just start off by reaching out to influencers. He was already good at networking and decided to just give it a try. So, he went ahead and started sending out emails to set up agreements for influencer marketing. They also decided to buy all the tools necessary to start making these shirts in house instead of outsourcing.
How did you first notice things weren’t going to last?
Fortunately, this game plan turned out to be a home run. In week one they already had a great amount of sales coming in. But as the people were purchasing, the teamwork was slowly fading away. Anthony had to do most of the workload, he noticed his partner got comfortable and would rather be making money with his side hustles instead of working on their clothing brand and bringing this vision to life. He even reminded his friend that he needed help with their business, but it was as if nothing was said. Bombarded with emails, the making of the shirts and sending them out… by the end of the first month he knew he had to do something, this business couldn’t run like this. Since Anthony was already able to bring in some of the most popular influencers in the game to wear his brand and knew it was only going to increase the sales and skyrocket.
The outcome of their partnership:
It was clear the person he chose to do business with should’ve just stayed as a friend. Anthony noticed the partner was only helpful for the hype and momentum of starting the business, but not actually operating to scale and make this business last. He finally told his partner that he’d be willing to buy his share of the company so he can run it on his own. They came to an agreement, and by month 2 Anthony was all on his own. He currently still operates as a solopreneur and decided to hire a team to delegate as much work as possible.
What would have Anthony done differently when choosing a future partner?
- Get to know them and how they perform: Whether it’s a friend or business partner the beauty behind both roles, is that we get to pick and choose so why not choose the best person for you? Now I understand how crucial it is to know who you are dealing with and how they operate first, to even think about establishing a partnership. Like they say, the way you do one thing, is the way you do everything. When you start to analyze, consider looking into little things like: What time do they wake up? What is their daily routine? Do they share the same long-term vision? How about their level of dedication? Observe and analyze absolutely everything and be honest, you don’t want to waste time trying to build something with someone if you saw a red flag but decided to overlook it.
- Choose Roles: With my first experience with a business partner, we didn’t really establish who was going to do what. For example, maybe one person handles all of the marketing and the other person handles the day to day operations. Not only does this help with accountability but helps each individual create expertise around a certain subject or area. Both individuals being everywhere, all the time, will only ensure each person to having a scattered brain that won’t perform to its fullest potential.
- Tai Lopez quiz: I wish I would’ve known about this test a long time ago. Not only do I suggest you compare your results with potential partners, but friends as well! It is a personality test that can be used to really understand each other and how they think, what they are best at and what do they lack. It’s quite interesting just to get to know yourself more and can be essential when trying to determine if two individuals are a good fit for each other.
If you are interested in reaching Anthony you can contact him at: [email protected] or @onlinemoney on Instagram.