Is it a good idea to set up a business with your boyfriend? | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Friday 23 December 2011

Is it a good idea to set up a business with your boyfriend?

I can set up a business with my husband, the father of my children, if anything goes wrong between us, the business still belongs to the the children. But a boyfriend? A boyfriend? No sir, not going to happen!

In March 2009, Bunmi Olaye set up a luxury fashion and art label with the love of her life, Francis Udom. They called it Bunmi Koko. For two and a half years the label won several awards, featured in several fashion shows around the world, had their clothes worn by important dignitaries, including Michelle Obama. They seemed unstoppable.

But on December 6th 2011, the Bunmi Koko label announced that co-founder, Bunmi Olaye was stepping down from the label, which already has operational business subsidiaries in the UK, SA and South America.

I hear the hardworking fashionista is planning to start her own independent label...thing is, after all the work she put in for almost three years to make Bunmi Koko a household name, she now has to start all over again.

So I ask; is it a good idea, as a woman, to set up a business with a boyfriend?

51 comments:

Unknown said...

It is not. That is DOOM.

Anonymous said...

Linda, you just answered the question, and the answer remains NO. Why are you asking us again?

Latest School news said...

Too bad,it's not acceptable,i don't like it.

Anonymous said...

Linda, whose money was used to set up that business? If its the guys money, then he has every right to be part of the business.

kcee said...

linda u have already said it all. As long as he is not your husband yet, it is very risky. The best thing is to sign an agreement with a lawyer in case if anything goes wrong, the person stepping out will have to be compensated whether you people are married or just in a relationship.

www.wivesroundtable.net said...

When love turns sour, nothing amiable or productive comes out of it. They should have thought of this scenario before they veered down this road. Except they actually thought they would get married which they would have done b4 entering this kind of huge patnership 2geda.

Its actually sad (for her) and i hope she makes it on her own.

Anonymous said...

well if he's funding it, why not???lol business is business...as long as you agree before hand how the finances would be split and who owns what. but whe going into business with someone there is always a risk...e.g. friend, acquaintance, etc. usually people go into partnerships because 1)u can't know it all, two heads are better than one 2)u may not have the funding to carry it on your own...
at the end of the day, business is business and it involves taking risks!

Anonymous said...

Its not good to set up a business with your GIRLFRIEND!!!

Anonymous said...

Am sure the guy funded the business and she used her skills...

Na Capitalist world so who get money na im get business!!!!

Anonymous said...

Coz something went wrong with Bunmi and her man doesn't mean it will happen to everyone... YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Anonymous said...

Thus the cliche "business before pleasure" becomes needful... It is certain u jux cant ve both. no u cant!!!!

Anonymous said...

Husband maybe,boyfriend hell to the no

Anonymous said...

There's nothing wrong with it as long as the couple are professional and set up things such that no one can get cheated out of anything even if the relationship does not work out.

Chances are, you won't start a business with any random person anyway.

Anonymous said...

u go do business with igbo man u no get long spoon and u wan chop. na fuck up be that. na she no sharp.business and pleasure do not mix well without set boundaries

Galore said...

NO........Nooooo

sleekreek said...

Noooooo.....there are no two ways about it......

Anonymous said...

I thought she had already established a new label... Eagle & Thistle.

Anonymous said...

Stay tuned, another Naija designer is going down in the same way very soon!

Anonymous said...

what happened to my previous post? hope you are not in the habit of deleting posts that you don not find favourable to ur blog o. sha as i said before, this story is incomplete and i dont know where you came up with the assumption that she was the person who set up the business and what makes you so sure that she stepped down because of her break up with him. this article is based on rumour, try getting ur facts first before u start typing.

Anonymous said...

Business and pleasure does not mix. I won't even set up a business with a husband much less a boyfriend. This is because "familiarity breeds contempt." You just never know what the future may bring. People change while others become greedy. So, if I am entering a business, I will do it alone. That way, I have complete say over the daily running of affairs of the company.

Anonymous said...

Of course I can, but the agreement will be listed, signed and dated. I will involve a lawyer and then the deal is done... Never base business deals on anything be it love, husband (important cuz the way in-laws act when one partner passes away. God forbid sha) friendship etc....

maduakola said...

Foolsih woman. They did not teach her well. You set up business with igbo man? Just count ur loss 4rm day 1. Those people will choose money over breathing air! Its their driving force, its wot gives them orgasms. Its the air they breathe! Igbo men's liVves revolves around building wealth and having money. Lots of it! Do business with omo yibo? God 4bid bad tin. Do busimees with money hungry nna man? Na stock market crash type effect I will feel o

Anonymous said...

neither is it a good idea to have a joint BANK ACCOUNT with your boyfriend be it a holiday fund or whatever

Anonymous said...

I will say this once, the answer is no way. Don't even try it. Because comes a time when you will regret it. I will take my own example, 5 or 6 years ago, I had this boyfriend who was so sweet to me, wanted to take care of me financially( He was well off) and gave me lots of love. He wanted to marry me so he said. He seemed sincere and showed me countless time that I could count on him. Everyone told me how lucky I was and the end I started to trust a man and said maybe I should just be trusting and not be too difficult. Well One day he travelled to spain cuz he wanted to buy a house by sea side. He was involved in an small car crash. when the police came to record the accident, they saw a black guy, searched the car and found a lot of money. They arrested him because they wanted to find out if the money was not stolen and it was a sunday. There was an element of racism in there. To cut a long story short, as he did not speak spanish they told the judge that they wanted to keep him in custody as it was too much money and the bail was set at 20 000 euro. As for me he was a good hearted man cuz he used to help even strangers who seeked his help. I made sure I bailed him out, emptied my own account, even borrowed money so I soon as he came out he will give back to the lender. No body except me helped him. As soon as he came out of prison, He disapeared, never paid back me or the people and obviously I was the one on the receiving hand on the lender. I was deppressed for a long time. I lost my house in the process as I had no money to keep on paying that. He disregaded all I did for him. I wonder why he acted Up to today, this has scarred me. They asked the at one point No matter how good it sound at the time. Unfortunately it happen to so many women out there who do not have a voice and no body can help them whem dooms come calling. He has chanched my view my view on human nature. I used to believe that everyone had a bit of good in them. So just don't go there if he truly loves you. He will not mind. Me I have forgiven and left my case to God. Better be safe then sorry

Anonymous said...

It is risky. Very risky. If he is the main financial investor, i would rather borrow the money from him and pay the investment plus interest within a set time.

Unless he is the one with skills and technical know-how(like some facebook ish)

MmaY said...

How stupid fucks her 4free den takes her company den she has 2stat frm scratch ODE MUMUNCHI NOS1,

Anonymous said...

Lover Girl said.....

it is very wrong to setup a business with a your "boyfriend" because problems may arise at any time, and if he is the bad type, he might tell you to go way, then you have nothing to gain after all your suffering to make sure the business grow very well.

So my advice to us is that until we are taken to the alter, then u can do that..............

original mgbekele said...

sorry but if thats her husband in the pics, then he looks as gay as 2naira.


poor Bunmi....next time she go open eye well well....

Anonymous said...

One word never!!!

Anonymous said...

bad idea...aint that the things our mothers warned us not to do? human beings (men and women) are more likely to take advantage of each other...trust me, they dont set out to do that, but they end up doing that anyways for whatever reasons. that said, protect and look out for yourself.

methinks said...

lailai!!! dis absolutely has nothing to do with setting boundaries and who gets what. if the whole thing scatter finish especially on a very sour note, he will be last person u will want to hang around; all that emotional jangbajantis... olohunmaje, even husband gan sef, na wahala, beef in d house gets to the office and vice versa (can be a hellish experience). no think am.

devour said...

@anno 12.44,no mata how u tie up all d knots n dot d iz,since it startd as a love story is a diff game!it will surely end in a bitter n dirty way,watch dis space n come to think of it,i doubt if d partnership would have bin done professionally cos both party at d beginin wont want to seem like dey dontg trust each other and by the time things go awry,all claws comes out,am writin from exprnc

whistle blower said...

Udom used the gratuity he got from years of work to set up a partnership business with his then girl friend. He also used his contacts to fund and network the business. Being an ex colleague of his in a previous life we felt it wasn't right for him to start up and completely fund a business with his girl friend with his life savings. But now it seems he protected his investment with proper legal documentation. Its a shame that the business wouldn't have been a success without her input, however at this stage, it seems everybody has to just count their losses and move forward.
On a more cynical note, I don't believe Udom can run the business him self now she is gone, but being a good investor/manager, I reckon he wouldn't be short of potential qualified talents in UK. Hopefully, they would be wise enough to ask for proper partnership status before delving in. What happened to the KOKO lady is quite unfortunate, however she wouldn't have gotten the recognition and contacts without Udom.
In summary,
1. Never mix business with pleasure: it could cloud your judgement when making decisions.
2. She should have waited till they got married before involving him in the business or she should have simply gone to the bank for help.
3. In the end she has the recognition and status, so she can use it to start-up again. She only had 3 years to rise to stardom, some people wait their whole life to get an opportunity like that. It was the guys investment and money, and although it may sound unfair, their is little she can do about it because of what ever agreement they had. But being a talented lady, who
has been fortunate to achieve this within a short while, I believe she will do fine.
We can't blame any one since they were not married, and a higher proportion of the finance and contact was from him.

Anonymous said...

I don't see anything wrong with setting up a business or a partnership with my boyfriend so long as the two of us know that the business is for making a living and not to keep us together as boyfriend and boyfriend. To do that we must have another level of understanding different from the kind of understanding to get ourselves laid.

femillionaire said...

Not as bad as you think... In the final analysis, she's made a name for herself and she can leverage on that to start something new... She may never have made that name if not for the synergy between her and her boyfriend...

Anonymous said...

Am so not doing business with husband or boyfriend

Black Dating Experiment said...

They set up business together pretty much at the very start of the reltationship. I assume they had some sort of agreement what should happen if they part ways.

Kbouy said...

It does not Matter a business should be properly structured with MOU/Agreement anything less than this is just an activity

Anonymous said...

linda it is a shame that they broke up and broke the brand. This brand was so visible at fashion weeks and as love went sour the man who provided the money ran with the brand.
However, i can tell you that we will so fail cos bunmi is the creative person for the brand and creativity equals money.
Me set up business with a boyfirend hell no

UgoBabeeee said...

Linda, from what you wrote- it says that the co- founder stepped down. It doesnt say why she stepped down. Is there more to the story that you inadvertently left out? Did she step out because she is no longer with the boyfriend? Her stepping down and starting another business on its own doesnt mean anything to me.

Anonymous said...

Next Stop Stephanie Okereke's Del York International...

Anonymous said...

@Annon 12:44......dat guy aint igbo!!!

Anonymous said...

@anon 12.44 he's not igbo, he's either from akwa ibom or cross river

Anonymous said...

Aren't you jumping to conclusions? No where in this little article of yours does it say they parted ways. Why assume that? (Unless it's common knowledge and I am late to the party).

TheRustGeek said...

Only if a clear corporate/ ownership structure is defined and enshrined in the relevant legal documents..... And I would apply the same reasoning to a business venture between people who are married too....

Anonymous said...

boyfriend for all these years?? why didnt they get married??

ibo boy said...

If the business is properly structured, why not? You can always sell your stake in the company back to your partner or somebody else.

Anonymous said...

Without any attempt to argue blindly.
I don't know the babe in Question, but who says she's the brain behind the business?!!! or to put it the other way round, who says it's the guy either... the same way people thought the whole brain behind Apple was Steve Jobs! There's more to what we see than meets the eyes.

That she stepped down doesn't necessarily mean she parted ways, If i owned a company and my wife happened to be the manager, if the business is failing or she found someone that would better our lot, it's wisdom for the affected spouse to put the good piece back in the jigsaw.. no bad belle!

Just like I stated earlier, I don't know either of the parties, but this is just logical reasoning

Anonymous said...

people take this love thing too serious. no matter how much they,re forewarned. u can set up a business of 10,000 naira with ur boyfriend but anything substantial, u are on your own. common sense calls for caution whenever money is involved. who hasn,t argued with their siblings, or bestfriends over money.

grace said...

anon 12:44pm & 3:47pm r high on cheap coke, like when did udom become an igbo name? Both of you should go back to nursery school,a normal nigerian would know that udom is a cross river or akwaibom name. mtcheww

Anonymous said...

erm no it isn't! :|

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