In this episode we discuss how starting a business together changed our friendship. We share the story about how our podcast came to life, the starting process, the f*ckups in the beginning, how we divide tasks and more. We talk about the similarities and the differences in our workflow, communication style and how we approach business. Also we discuss what has been going smoothly with us collaborating together and where’s still room for improvement. Last but not least we have some advice for anyone who’s thinking to start a business with a friend.
Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate the podcast and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, like Spotify – it will help more hearts find our little corner of the world.
With love, April Betts & Anna Jirina.
About From Lisbon With Love
Welcome to From Lisbon With Love! A podcast about real stories of love, laughter, and life in Lisbon — from women who have left it all behind. We share real stories about moving to Lisbon, starting over and figuring life out along the way. We talk love, dating, friendships, breakups, healing, growing, all of it. Basically, the stuff we usually talk about over coffee ☕️ or vinho 🍷. If you’re thinking about moving to Lisbon, already here or just love honest conversations with heart: you’re in the right place! Learn more about our story here.
How our podcast came to life
Actually, the idea for our podcast started kind of as a joke – something we dive deeper into in the episode. Also we take you through the process of starting the podcast, getting to know each other’s work style, communication style and the mistakes we made in the beginning. We also give you a little glimpse of how we divide the tasks that come with running a podcast together – not gonna lie, it’s a lot! We couldn’t imagine doing all this on our own and it feels good to have someone to fall back on – something we’re not used to at all, since we’ve always worked alone.
Although we weren’t friends for a really long time before starting this business together, everything worked out for us. But that doesn’t mean everything is going smooth all the time. In the episode we share where we argue about the most and what we can improve when it comes to our collaboration.
Starting a business with a friend
Although it seems fun, starting a business with a friend is not for everybody. It can change or even damage your friendship and it can cause communication troubles due to blurred personal/professional boundaries. It’s very important to have the same vision and put the same amount of work in the project as your business partner. The real challenge will come after the starting part, when it’s time to grow the business. That’s when you know if you can really count on your friend (and businesspartner), or not. To grow a business you have to be very patient and although you might not get an immediate reward – you still have to put the hours in.
If you’re thinking of starting a business with a friend, you’re more likely to succeed with someone with the same work ethics as you. Also, open communication (from the start) is really important, just as being reliable, responsible and equally loyal. Since you’re already friends, it’s likely that you have the same values – this is a great base for starting a business together!
How our friendship started
If you’re curious to the whole story about when and where we met: we made an episode about it! In this episode we also talk about our struggles with making friends in a new country, cultural differences in our friendship and how to overcome loneliness when moving abroad.
