Opening a business can be a struggle, but many people have wanted to open one at some point in their lives. Whether it be a lemonade stand or some other creative idea, wanting to open a business comes with many challenges. This includes financial troubles, conflict with having a business partner, and many more.

Starting a business can be a struggle, but a key benefit of owning a business is being independent and in charge. Additionally, self-employed people , can set their schedule, decide which tasks they would like to do, and have a large say in the making of major company choices. 

There are also benefits to having a business partner, especially if they are reliable, helpful, and hardworking. Anthony Milano, a business teacher at Arvada West who has his own company called Hops and Friends, shares about how his partner was beneficial to him, stating, “My business partner helped to mostly fund the business.”

Michel Cena, a counselor here at A-West, shares thoughts about having a business partner, explaining, “The benefit is that it allows me to grow my business since I do not have to be present at every job. If you have a partner that you can trust and there is a clear understanding of roles, it makes the business much better.”

It is clear that when starting a business, it’s beneficial to have the right business partner that both parties can benefit from it. Clearly when they can split up the problems that one person would have, it can improve larger businesses that need the extra help. It also can help keep the business up and running.

Even with a successful business partnership, other problems can arise. Cena adds, “I owned a commercial cleaning company and had a partner. There were many struggles and the business eventually fell apart. The struggles came about because we did not have a plan of who was responsible for what, and a clear definition of what each of us did for the company.”

If business partners don’t have good communication, this can also lead to issues like the business falling apart in the end. This is crucial in business, especially when trying to keep afloat.

However, if the person starting the business doesn’t have the right connections, or have enough money saved up, funds may be a challenge, especially if they are trying to start a business as a young person who doesn’t have support for the business since they may not have a lot saved.  

Milano expands about the hidden expenses that can arise:  “We had to obtain a lawyer, and the lawyer was about a thousand dollars. Start up costs, we had to get it to the right people that was about a hundred hours of work. Then we had to come up with a prototype. And that costs about a thousand dollars.”

But all is not lost, as financial troubles can be solved before starting a business by saving up enough and planning accordingly. Even with financial problems, there are also more struggles of becoming successful. 

Cena explains, “I only operate off word of mouth. I do not have a website, advertise or have a business card. So business started very slowly, but over the years it has snowballed, and I consider my business very successful as I stay busy year-round with work.”

 It goes without saying that running a business takes many skills, but it doesn’t have to be discouraging; after all, every great business has started with a metaphorical lemonade stand.