Friends vs Business Friends
Friends vs Business Friends
Today I am going to tackle a subject that may be a little tender for some of you.
For some of you it may be hard to swallow because it really does mean a shift in the way you think, and ultimately the people you associate with.
None of us want to leave our friends behind, but as we grow in our business, there will be a shift in the people you associate with. It’s not that they’re left behind, but that you made choices that they didn’t.
In my life I have battled over and over again trying to turn my friends and family for that matter into entrepreneurs, to change the way they think and to get them to think like I do, like an entrepreneur. The daunting task to take my friends and make them into business friends.
The harsh reality, unfortunately, is that for most of you, just like me, some, if not most of your friends will not become entrepreneurs.
This is a slap in the face to the MLM mentality of making a list of friends and family (not a bad idea, just understand that just because you think they would be great at it, doesn’t mean they will think they would be great at it).
Most of your friends and family simply do not have what it takes to create nor run a business. Some of them will, but most will not. I know, after years of trying, most of my mine do not want to be an entrepreneur like me.
Your Friends may not be this crazy, but they may be this destructive to your success!
If you disagree, think of it like this:
If $100,000 to $1 Million was on the line, do or die, succeed or fail, right here right now….would you bet on any of your friends and/or family to work with you to get there?
I cannot answer that for you, but I am guessing if you truly put it into perspective, you may not like the answer to that question, especially if you are new and expect the people you know to “join” you in your business. Now I am not saying there is anything wrong with your friends or family, nor my friends and family, but you have to realize that your success cannot hinge on them from a business perspective, you have to be able to separate them from business friends.
So what constitutes a business friend then?
1. Long Term Vision – Someone, who like you, has a business or is building a business and has the kind of mindset you do. They are willing to do whatever it takes, sacrifice what must be sacrificed, and can subdue the need for instant gratification and instead stay the course for the gold at the end of the rainbow.
2. Decisiveness - They are decisive; they make decisions not on emotion, but rather on what is best for their business, what is best for their team, and what will create the most productive outcome from their efforts. If they are someone you work with in your business, they pull their weight and manage their time effectively as to get the most business progression possible out of each hour, day, month, and year.
3. Laser Focus - They deal with distractions accordingly and do not let them slow them or their business down (everyone has distractions, it is inevitable that something will attempt to slow you down at some point, the important thing is to not let it last).
Now that being said, does that mean you should treat your friends differently than your business friends?
In my opinion…Yes!
Harsh? Perhaps, but necessary.
Business Friends Think Like You Do and Have the Will To Succeed, Like You Do!
Business Friends Will: Support you, challenge you, expect more out of you the same they do of themselves, and work with you to accomplish your goals and you will work to help them accomplish their goals. Spend more time with and around them and working with them.
Personal Friends Will: Tell you about their new grill, camping trip, their spouse, their kids, their job, their car, and everything in-between.
Spend less time with them. (Not any time at all, I’m not telling you to abandoned your friends, just spend a little less time with them)
Business Friends Will: Discuss ideas, joint ventures, personal development, business growth, wealth and making progress and changes.
Personal Friends Will: Talk gossip, complain about their job, resist change and growth, and just want things to remain the same no matter how much they say “I need a vacation.”
Business Friends Will: Encourage you to challenge yourself, finish what you start, don’t be a quitter, commit yourself, do what say you are going to do, and never ever give up.
Personal Friends Will: Tell you to take more breaks, give it up because it won’t work, just get a job like a normal person and be thankful for an average life, quit dreaming, be realistic, get your head out of the clouds, you don’t know what you’re doing, those things don’t work, skip your meeting and let’s go drink beer.
It’s beginning to sound like your personal friends aren’t really friends at all are they?
They don’t even know that they are sabotaging your success. But subconsciously they don’t want you to change. Because if you change and grow and become successful it makes them feel like a failure. People fear failure. If you change then that puts pressure on them to change, because if you become successful and they don’t they will feel like a failure. But if they attempt change and don’t succeed then they would also feel like a failure. So it’s just easier for them if you stay the way you are.
Your time must be managed between your business friends and your personal friends wisely. Because when you finally build your business to the point where you can quit your job and work it full time, because you have the money coming in to allow it, your personal friends will still be working and living the same life. With all your free time, you will have plenty of time to spend with them, cause you can easily work around their schedule…seeing as you don’t have a schedule anymore. Monday thru Sunday will no longer have names, they will just be days.
As your success grows you’re going to find more of your close friends are your business friends. You will naturally gravitate towards those that are most like you. And it’s not a bad thing when you are growing a business and spending time growing as a person. Because you are the average of your 5 closest friends.
Give me your feedback. Have you run into the dilemma of having friends and trying to help them become an entrepreneur? Has it been a frustration?
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I LOVE this post Blaine! Joel and I are going to be doing a video TODAY about this exact subject and I am so glad I read this. I am glad I wasn’t the only Network Marketer feeling like this. Thanks for sharing I am posting in on wall and in my groups!
I believe your blog is of aid for all visitors in building numerous sources of income. Your post on what your leaders aren’t teaching you or don’t want you to know is so full of great ideas and plans that I bookmarked the post for reading and using and again and again! Thanks for creating such a site for both MLM people and those with and investment mind as well!
Your blog and the post are actually very fascinating. I wasn’t sure at first whether your post would be able to catch my interest, there so many who blog like shit and seem to know nothing about marketing, but you weave the content and the marketing in seamlessly…without distracting from the message you are giving. That is skill Blaine…I am happy to say I am a little bit of a Fan now…
I’ll be waiting for your more posts like this! I was blown away but what you had to say and how it fit so perfectly with what I had been thinking about lately!
I have been checking continuously this blog for more great content and I must say…I am satisfied! Extremely helpful content delivered in a very distinct way. I hope I can be one of your “business Friends” because there is so much I can learn from you and the people you learn from!
Thank you Blaine I love this post!
Cheers, this is so beneficial. I do think I’m ultimately obtaining my own mindset about everything and I can only hope my friends will understand what I am doing and not judge me for it!
Hello again Blaine, another fascinating post on your web site! I never thought about how other business people differ from their friends and how it could be troublesome for both sides. When you are the one stepping out of the normal job world and taking your life into your own hands it is not easy to share such things with friends who have not made the same decision.
Numerous thanks for all your hard work on this site Blaine. I’ll be looking towards reading a lot more of your posts in the future. Being an MLM’er myself I found numerous posts that I learned something from and have forwarded a few to people I know.
This dude Blaine really knows what is he has talking about. I think he should be writing books…I know I would buy them!
Excellent report! You have to experience the showdown with your friends when they want to BBQ and you are out doing your business or at an Event or meeting with your team. I takes a lot to tell your friends that your life is changing for the better and that not every weekend can be a kegger anymore…LOL
I’ll point out, it was spot on about my mind and those of my friends (not the business kind). We are miles apart on priorities, what drives us, and who will like to associate with. Thanks for allowing me to see that I am not alone in the battle against the mediocre life that my friends cling to like it is all they have. My partner and i enjoyed reading all your postings.
I will not delay reading considerably more from you. This is really a great blog and the posts are written so well and so easy to read and understand. I have spent a lot of time reading blogs trying to get better at them and most are so poorly written or seem to be written just for ranking, but yours are well thought out and make so much more sense. It is incredible how much you can break things down so simply!
Thanks Blaine…I am your newest and most excited subscriber I am sure
Blaine, So wonderful to encounter somebody with many original tips on this kind of subject.