Hey there fellow Apprentices,
This week’s co-authored piece is written with Niall Ratcliffe, the co-founder of Ratcliffe Brothers, who’s built a six-figure agency working alongside his brother Morgan.
Established on the foundations of his 108 week newsletter streak, Growing Viral, Niall knew there was an opportunity to help others write engaging long-form content and looked no further than his family for a business partner.Â
In this piece we wanted to explore how Niall and his brother Morgan make it work and how you too can avoid the family feuds when entering into business bonded by blood.Â
Is Family the First Choice?
Niall and Morgan are two pretty ordinary brothers.
They fall out. They argue. They get under each other’s skin.
And like most, they’d never even remotely considered working together, let alone starting a business from scratch with one another in their twenties.Â
So, it was quite a shock to Morgan when Niall excitedly dropped him a call in April 2022 with someone proposing to pay him more than his full-time salary to write a newsletter.Â
Niall knew it was an opportunity he couldn’t say no to. So, he called up the one person who’s advice he valued the most, his brother’s, and the two of them hammered out a plan.
They built a website. Drafted a few LinkedIn posts. And then hit launch.
2 weeks later... they had 8 clients. Then 10. Then 12. It’s safe to say that Niall’s first client wasn’t the only one who wanted help writing a newsletter.Â
To the outside world it looked like an overnight success story.
To Niall and Morgan they knew it wasn’t. They’d been grafting for years, writing consistently on LinkedIn, honing their skills and establishing a credibility ripe to become a client base.Â
But, what they hadn’t realised was that they’d also been subconsciously forming a bond that would turn the two of them into successful business partners from the start…
A Working Relationship
Back in January 2023 the Ratcliffe Brothers needed a change.Â
They’d hung their hats on writing the best newsletters in the game. And in the process had pigeonholed their services into a corner when they knew they could offer more.
As with any great partnership, heated debates followed.
The two quipped back and forth, challenging one another on their different perspectives. The line between personal and professional blurred. And they each joked that the stress was consuming their entire lives.
But, beneath it all they never lost sight of what was most important… working together to solve the problem ahead of them.
While others think on their own, the two of them think together. They use one another as a sounding board to shape their ideas.Â
And it seems to be working.
Their brainstorming led them to broaden their services, increase their prices and refocus their efforts on the foundations before scaling again.
Which has not only been great for business…
It’s also brought the two of them closer together as brothers.
While they used to run out of conversation with their two common interests (girls and UFC), being co-founders means rarely an hour goes by without them exchanging a message or call.
Family Vs. Friends
Co-founding with family isn’t for everyone.
Niall recognises that. He knows it’s not their blood that binds him and Morgan together. But, their honest, well intentioned working relationship that does.
From their first day in the business until their last, both are willing to play the violins onboard the Titanic of the Ratcliffe Brothers if that’s what it comes to.Â
This undying belief in one another is possible as friends.
It’s just a hell of a lot easier when the two of you share the same parents and have ample time to hash out problems together over the Christmas turkey or the Easter weekend.Â
Summary
Which means that the takeaway from today’s piece is this:
It doesn’t matter if you go into business with your brother or your friend. What matters is whether the two of you will be honest enough to work together through the difficult times.Â
That’s what will create a lasting partnership.
When brothers come together it makes for a dynamic duo. The Collision brothers of Stripe, Facebook's Winklevoss twins, The Cohen brothers, Safdie's , The Hardie's...thank you for sharing Niall ✨