Hello, hello, what's up? This is Chris Gillipopo. In today's episode, this question comes up a lot.

Should I start a hustle with my best friend? It's like, you know, we get along great. Should we go into business together?

As I said, it's a common question from listeners, but there is a clear way to answer it.

The answer is not always yes or no. I would say it's more often no than yes.

But there is a two-part test you can take to know whether partnership or going solo is your best option.

When I say test, it's actually a very simple test. It's just something you can ask yourself and potentially your best friend or somebody else who's interested in having a partnership.

Then you'll be able to see what's best for you. So should I start a hustle with my best friend?

Hey, Chris. This is Tracy from Tucson, and I've been listening since the beginning. Thanks for all the inspiration and puns. Here's my question for you.

Should I start a hustle with my best friend? I've heard some of the stories you've shared where people end up having big falling out with their business partners.

And I don't think that would happen to us, but are there specific ways that we can help to prevent that?

Keep up the great work, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this.

Thank you so much, Tracy. So great to know you're out there. From the beginning, I always respect listeners who've been along for 1200 episodes in counting.

But of course, if you have just recently discovered the podcast, that is cool too. It's a community. We've got people all over the world interested in creating extra income, building something for their future, pursuing a creative project, all kinds of good reasons.

So let's talk about this question. Should I start a hustle with my best friend or should Tracy?

So here's the thing. When she says, I don't think anything bad will happen. I don't think we'll have a falling out, et cetera.

Let's assume that's true in her case. But more generally speaking, it's like no one thinks it will happen to them.

It's like divorce or any breakup or anything that goes really wrong. If you expect it, then maybe you could prevent it.

Often, these are unexpected things that happen. What does tend to occur is that over time, here's the negative, and I'll talk about the positive as well.

But the negative is that often the partners in a partnership end up with different levels of motivation and interest or different levels of commitment.

So one person ends up carrying the flag, which of course can then lead to resentment or at least misalignment. And it can become a strain on the relationship.

So my first question is always like, you know, why are you doing this? If the point is to do something fun with your friend, maybe do something else.

It's not like that person is disconnected from the rest of your life. Like you can always ask your friend for help and advice, just like you would always help them.

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