Traditional wisdom claims that friendships and business matters don’t mix. There are plenty of horror stories of people who entered into business partnerships of one form or another with a friend with only the best intentions. Then, whether due to unrealistic expectations, poor boundaries, or outside influences, they lose both the business and the friendship. If you look beyond the horror stories, you’ll find several stories where working together worked out for the best. As Ben & Jerry’s, Yumi, and Harley-Davidson can tell you, partnering up with friends can also lead to outstanding successes.
Make new friends and be wildly productive at the same time! Book a tour of Cohere Coworking today!
The idea of coworking has long challenged the notion that friendship and business don’t mix, particularly friendship-based coworking spaces like Cohere Coworking. In fact, we’d like to argue that friendship has an integral role in business. Like friendships, a good business partnership requires integrity, dedication, and shared ideas. Not only can mixing business and friendship help to create stronger and more enduring businesses, but it can also help to improve the mental health of those involved. Here’s how:
Improved Motivation
Working remotely has its challenges. According to Buffer’s 2023 State of Remote Work Report, staying motivated is one of the top five struggles reported by remote workers today. Working in conjunction with another person, whether on the same project or separate projects, encourages us to work more effectively. It’s the concept that coworking is based on.
Working side by side isn’t the only way that a friendship-based coworking community improves motivation, however. Being able to go for a cup of coffee, a walk, or a meal after finishing a project or task can be even more motivating when shared with a friend and friends who understand aspects of your business are better able to relate and help you realistically reflect on challenging situations. Even small wins feel more exciting when shared with the friends and collaborators that helped make them happen.
Enhanced Collaboration
One of the biggest benefits of a coworking community, especially a friendship-based coworking community like Cohere, is its collaborative nature. While the motivational boost from sharing our work wins and worries with business friends is a fantastic benefit, the opportunity to collaborate with one another can help move business and career goals forward, and help you clear up those important worldly issues that get in the way of doing business.
Friendships help enhance collaboration by encouraging open and honest communication. Gathering a group of productivity-minded friends together for a brainstorming session can yield many more creative and effective solutions than trying to work out each problem on their own. Beneficial business communication also frequently springs naturally from the long-ranging conversations we have with friends. You might learn about your new favorite Fort Collins swimming hole while shooting the breeze at a potluck or happy hour, or you might just find that brilliant graphic artist or accountant you were looking for.
Reduced Loneliness
The Cigna Group has been reporting on levels of loneliness here in the United States for several years, and the most recent data shows that 58% of people report struggles with loneliness. Loneliness is also listed as the second largest challenge for remote workers in Buffer’s report. Loneliness leads to lower productivity levels and a lower quality of work. Not only does it affect your company’s bottom line, but loneliness can also be detrimental to your physical health. Chronic loneliness has been linked to many of the same health conditions that obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking are—diseases like heart disease, stroke, and dementia.
Entrepreneurship and remote working situations can easily lead to isolation, with over a fifth of respondents on Buffer’s report stating that they felt they stayed home too often because they simply have no reason to leave the house. Friendships, both personal and professional, can help inspire remote workers to get out of the house and interact with the tangible world. A coworking membership can also help address this concern somewhat by providing a productive place to get things done in, and may even lead to new lifelong friends.
Interested in learning more about how coworking can benefit your business? Book a tour of Cohere Coworking today!
While it is true that not every friend is positioned to be a good business partner, that doesn’t mean that you must exclude an individual from your business dealings just because they happen to be a friend. Nor does it mean that a business partnership can’t develop into a friendship as well. The values that help maintain a good friendship over the years are very similar in nature to those that help ensure a strong and mutually beneficial business relationship.
Penny Leigh Sebring is a Cohere member, experienced freelance writer, neophyte speculative fiction author, and gatherer of information and imaginary friends.