THE LAW COLUMN

deaths.

These numbers hide the human stories.

So many business deaths are also human tragediesshattered dreams, broken relationships and personal savings lost.

Sadly, some of these tragedies are predictable. For years someone’s nurtured an ambition to own a coffee shop or be self-employed.

When the opportunity presents itself, they jump in, often without taking much advice or learning from the mistakes of others. Too often, failure is built in from the start.

If you’re considering starting a business, please take care.

To help you, here are some of the most common reasons why businesses fail.

Unbalanced partnerships

A friend set up a website company in partnership with a graphic designer. They’d never discussed their ambitions - one was