Work Friends Important Network for Future Business Opportunities

Work Colleagues Can Become Close Personal Friends

This week, Start Up with Feras is publishing a video on 6 tips for working with family and friends.

One of the most important dynamics to consider in the workplace are work colleagues who start as strangers but grow to become friends. The relationship can grow to supporting each other through different challenges over time, earning each other’s respect, and becoming friends who want to work together again and maybe explore new entrepreneurial opportunities.

This was certainly the case for me. Someone I worked with many years ago at the Home Shopping Network (way back before I got into startups and when I was a hardware engineer) became a valued colleague and friend.

He left to work at a multinational tech company and he later approached me regarding an opportunity to start a consulting business in Dubai!

Long story short, I accepted his offer to start the consulting business, we built it up and later sold it.

Takeaway

The takeaway of my story is quite simple and quite universal: in any role that you may have, try earnestly to do a good job and to help your colleagues do the same. This is the only real basis of friendship and trust in a job setting.

Do this because 1) it’s the right thing to do, and 2) you’ll be on top of the list when openings and business opportunities appear on your former colleagues’ radars.

The hard work, professionalism, and support of colleagues that you demonstrate day to day can lead to opportunities that you could have never imagined on your own.