Starting a business is often described as a rollercoaster—but starting one with a friend is more like building the track as you ride it. It’s challenging, deeply rewarding, and full of lessons you never expected to learn.
When we first launched Beeji, we were focused on creating quality products and making the hat we couldn't find in the market. Now, having navigated 2 of years together, our focus has expanded. We’ve learned as much about running inventory as we have about preserving a friendship.
Here are the ten most valuable insights we’ve gathered since turning our shared passion into a thriving business, while keeping our friendship (and sanity) intact.
1. Friendship Requires a "Business Hat" Protocol
The Lesson: Create a signal to shift from friends to colleagues. When a difficult conversation about the business is necessary (like budgeting or strategy), it’s easy for it to bleed into personal feelings. We've learnt to signal when a discussion is objective, not personal. This protects the friendship from corporate stress.
2. Community is the Strongest Safety Net
The Lesson: Invest in people, not just marketing. We quickly learnt our local stockists, neighbours, and early customers were our greatest cheerleaders and most honest feedback loop. They've became a vital emotional support system and our most effective form of word-of-mouth marketing.
3. You Must Schedule the "Vision Sessions"
The Lesson: Strategy can’t be relegated to a casual chat. In the day-to-day grind, it’s easy to focus only on shipping orders and answering emails. Setting aside time, specifically for high-level vision work is a must have. If you don't schedule the time to look forward, you'll inevitably look backward and wonder why you aren't growing.
4. Learning to Disagree is More Important than Agreeing
The Lesson: Healthy conflict yields better ideas. It can feel easier to just go along with a friend’s idea to avoid tension. But we learned that our best decisions came after rigorous debate where both sides felt safe to challenge the premise. A disagreement in the office doesn’t mean a fight; it just means we care about the outcome.
5. The "Burnout Check" Must Be Mutual
The Lesson: In business with a friend, the responsibility to check in on well-being is doubled. When you work alone, you might miss the signs of burnout. When you work with a friend, you are perfectly positioned to spot it in them—and vice-versa. We know it's important to check in regularly, although there is always room for improvement.
6. Patience is the Only 'True Shortcut'
The Lesson: Growth, trust, and quality take time; rushing only leads to costly mistakes. When we started, we expected things to move at the speed of our passion—which is to say, immediately. We quickly learned that great ideas don't go viral overnight, and true brand loyalty isn't built in a single month. The commitment to slow, intentional growth—taking the time to vet suppliers, build authentic relationships with stockists, and let our community organically discover us—has proven to be the only true path to success.
7. Perfection is the Enemy of Progress (Especially for a Small Team)
The Lesson: Launch quickly, iterate constantly. The desire to present a flawless product or website is strong, but it costs invaluable time. We learned to embrace "imperfect action"—getting the product out there, gathering real feedback, and refining it based on actual customer needs, not hypothetical anxieties.
8. Transparency Builds Trust (Internally and Externally)
The Lesson: Be honest about challenges, especially financial ones. In business, it’s crucial to share numbers and struggles completely. In friendship, it’s essential to share fears and worries. Keeping both open and honest, even when the news is difficult, built a bedrock of trust that has carried us through hurdles.
9. Celebrate Every Win, No Matter How Small
The Lesson: The little celebrations fuel the journey. Launching the business felt huge, but the daily wins—a kind email from a customer, hitting a new sale goal, or simply surviving a hectic week—are what keep morale high. We make sure to acknowledge and celebrate these moments, reminding ourselves why we started in the first place.
10. The Business Serves the Life, Not the Other Way Around
The Lesson: Define success by the quality of your life, not just the revenue. Our partnership was founded on shared values and a desired lifestyle. We constantly remind ourselves that the business is a vehicle to support our lives, families, and passions—not a master to be served 24/7. This mindset keeps our priorities in check and ensures the business remains a source of joy.