Mafioso: Money And Friends Don't Mix
Why Money & Friends Don't Mix
- Make sure any amount you "lend" is an amount you are willing to write off as a loss. Call it your personal stupidity tax. Never lend over that comfort level (assuming you are not man enough to say "no" in the first place).
- Get collateral. He'll say "Come on." You'll say: "Fine, I won't give you anything then. Why should you get something that is mine and I don't get anything of value that's yours?" Get something of greater value than what you are lending him. You gave him five grand? Get his Rolex worth eight grand. Otherwise, he might just write off the money he owes you because you get to keep something of lesser value.
- Set a repayment plan from day one. Get it on paper, get a witness and make the guy pay every month on the same date. This is when holding collateral worth more than the amount you lend becomes valuable leverage to blackmail him with.
- Until you get all your money back, never lend out any more. Don't be shy to ask for a vig. That money is not being put to use by you, so there's opportunity cost, capisce?
scenario no. 2
You go into business with your friend
Another classic scenario: You go into business with your best buddy and everything is fine and dandy in the beginning when you're setting up shop. Then you achieve either success or failure. In either case, you are going to be backing into each other's corners, protecting your territory, each blowing up your contribution to the business' success or your lack of responsibility for its failure.
In either case, money is going in or out of your pockets and you care more about your bank accounts than the unforgettable weekend in Mexico that solidified your friendship when you banged a dozen locals together.
Someone always gets bloodied. If you both strike it rich and you have enough cash to buy yourself a private island, the problems only escalate because with more money, there's more at stake. You'd think a guy who was rich enough to clean his arse with Benjamins wouldn't waste his time hassling his partner on a successful racket, but it's the opposite.
Every little point could mean thousands of dollars, so when the pot is big, everyone is going to go to war to protect it.
If the business fails, you'll have fingers pointing in every direction, your friend will be asking why his children can't eat anymore and why the repo man took his '57 Mustang. And if he loves that Mustang, he will look for every scapegoat under the sun because he needs to blame someone — and he'll start with his "best bud."
So, my advice is to avoid going into business with friends. That can't always be avoided, so I'm gonna give you a few pieces of advice that will save you future migraines...