Duff Goldman, star of one of my favorite shows, Ace of Cakes, goes against all of the advice I’ve ever read and given about not hiring friends. After he graduated from pastry school, he started Charm City Cakes and then hired the most talented people he knew: his friends. In Goldman’s case, his hiring strategy has paid off. The base price for one of his bakery’s cakes is $1,000 (they’re works of art!), they have a long list of high-profile clients and best of all, they enjoy working together.
Like Goldman, other folks have been successful when they add friends to their business team. If you’re still not sure whether or not you should hire friends, consider these reasons business owners look no further than a friend to launch or run their business.
- Six years ago I hired one of my closest friends as my virtual assistant. While we were both concerned that our working relationship could ultimately hurt our personal relationship, we decided to give it a try. Because she is self-motivated, professional and a complete perfectionist, our relationship couldn’t be better. I’ve even found that she has strengths in business where I don’t and I’ve come to depend on her more and more over the years.
—Debra M. Cohen, Home Remedies of NY®, Inc.
Friends can make good employees because they know how you operate. My advice that I would give to those thinking about hiring friends would be:
1) to treat them as you would any other employee
2) make sure it is clear what you would like them to do and when
3) make sure they understand this is business and not an extension of having coffee together
4) understand that you are hiring an employee and not just “trying to help a friend out” or to have a friend “help them out.”
—Lisa Gehrke, With You in Mind
- You already know whether their core values match yours and the company’s. A good friend is comfortable telling you when you’re being an idiot, which leads to better decision-making. Make sure you know their behavior in a work context and make sure you enjoy an open/honest relationship.
—Bill Dwight, FamZoo
- I’ve had a wonderful experience hiring friends–though of course you have to pick the right friends! After being told three times in a row while I was pitching a book, “this is a good idea but you need a doctor to cowrite it,” I asked my friend, Rallie McAllister, MD, MPH, if she’d like to join forces with me. I think more than ever, it’s critical not only to choose to work with people who do a great job–but who you also enjoy working with. I’m inviting these people into my home!
—Jennifer Bright Reich, Momosa Publishing LLC
