Do twins make better business partners than non-twins? After all, twin business partners have likely had more years of collaboration than their non-twin business competitors. In looking at some successful twin-led businesses, what is clear is that their success is in part due to a few key ingredients related to their twinship:

Trust

Randy Dupler, who runs Dupler Office, with his twin brother Brandon,  says, “Being twins, the trust we have in each other is much deeper than what normal business partners might have.” And it’s not just believing in the honesty and integrity of your twin. It’s also trusting that your twin is motivated by the same long-term goal of success. Twin sisters Tida and Lisa Finch, who run the jewelry label Finchittida, note that they “can trust each other implicitly to make decisions, and meet each other’s high standards.”

Open and Honest Communication

Most business management programs will tell you to treat your employees gently. You should start your constructive criticism with a compliment. You should highlight the positive aspects and then present the negative; don’t just jump right in to all the things the employee is doing incorrectly. But imagine how much time you could save by just being brutally honest at the outset! That’s how it is for many twin-led businesses; and the businesses run much more efficiently without all the sugar-coating. Twins Lisette and Victoria Cooper, who set up online fashion marketplace Pret A Portabello, attribute their productivity to their brutal honesty with each other. “There is no tip-toeing around each other. If we don’t agree with something, we don’t hesitate to say.”

Being Very Close and Understanding How to Work with Each Other

Twins Brianne and Brittany Dougherty, who run the Magic World Child Care Center, are best friends who know each other deeply. It is that profound understanding of the other that enables them to run their business so smoothly. Brianne says this is the secret of their success: “We’re always together. The business has brought us closer.” Twins Eric and Jason Negron, not only work together as co-owners of the Cheesesteak Factory, but they live together as well. They are best friends, are always together, and have learned how to operate a business together successfully. According to Eric, “I feel like we have the maturity to put our friendship aside, our egos aside, and focus on the job at hand.”

Complementary Skill Sets

According to a Forbes.com article, the perfect business partner is someone with a complementary set of skills and traits. For many twin-led businesses, this came easy. For instance, Randy Dupler takes a general management role, while his brother Brandon Dupler focuses on business development and customer service. Twins Helen and Lisa Tse, restaurateurs and foodie entrepreneurs, opened Sweet Mandarin restaurant and cooking school. Lisa is the head chef while Helen cooks and authored the family memoir and restaurant cookbook.

Of course it is possible that non-twin business partners could exhibit the above traits; and it is possible that a business relationship could be successful without the above traits. But what is clear is that a twin relationship can set two people up for a successful business venture. And that could get any parent of twins dreaming 🙂