Friend or Foe?

As those of you who have read our books know, we always weave a few serious subjects into whatever story we’re telling. We usually include health (mental, physical, emotional) issues, family dynamics or dysfunction and a wide range of topics about the elastic boundaries of friendship. Today we’re starting a series of blogs where we’ll ask you to weigh in—give us your take on some of the situations we have posed.

One of the most frequent questions we get asked (almost every interview including the one on YouTube http://youtube.com/watch?v=W7zB01MdqEE ) is how does working together affect your friendship? We established Pat and Gayle’s very different personalities in Tryin’ to Sleep in the Bed You Made and in Gotta Keep on Tryin’ —using Gayle’s ideas and creativity and Pat’s business savvy (and initially her money), they have formed the Ell and Me Company. But their different outlooks lead to a serious rift when they have opposing ideas about how to grow the business.

So today’s question is:
Would you go into business with your best friend? And if you did, do you think both your friendship and business would thrive—or even survive? Please feel free to post your comments here or send us an email if you're looking for a more "private" expression!