Partnerships - Is Going Into Business With A Mate A Good Idea?

·31 min·3 clips

John Argyle's partnership ended with a debt collector and no contact for 20 years.

The episode opens with Clive Holland introducing the topic of business partnerships among tradespeople, noting a low statistic from the Federation of Small Businesses. He then hosts the daily Pub Lunch quiz before diving into the main discussion. Electrician Danny Webb is interviewed first, explaining how his partnership with a mate works well due to similar drives and goals, sharing the burden of business management, and maintaining trust. He offers tips like ensuring financial stability alignment and treating the partnership like a marriage. Danny also mentions a past failed partnership due to financial mismatches. Listener messages and voice notes are read, with varied experiences: some warn against partnerships with friends or family due to trust issues and ruined relationships, while others report successful collaborations. Carpenter John Argyle is then interviewed, detailing a partnership that began well but collapsed acrimoniously. He describes how his best friend of 30 years withheld £14,500 in owed money, bought a new Jaguar, had an affair, and lied repeatedly. The situation required a debt collector's intervention, and the friendship ended permanently, with John never recovering the full amount. The episode concludes with the quiz answers and a reminder to tune into Fix Radio.

As heard by us

A grounded trade-radio look at how trust can support a partnership, while also putting a friendship under pressure.

Partnerships get a practical airing in an episode that sets one stark figure - only 6% of small businesses across all industries were partnerships, according to the Federation of Small Businesses - against the messier business of working with someone close.

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Why you'd press play

You are weighing a partnership with your mate and want the awkward bits before anyone shakes on it.

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