Let's face it:

There are a ton of challenges with starting a business, especially if you have never done it before.

That's why having a business parnter with complimentary skills can be so helpful. Someone to help you stay focused, bounce ideas off of and ultimately shoulder the load.

However, what happens when that business parntership fails? Can you stay friends? How do you dissolve a business partnership peacefully?

To explore these questions, we talked with Joe Mellin, who use to actually be my original business partner.

We met each other when we were both grad students and then started a company together. That company would eventually become Proven.

We broke up as co-founders a couple years after that. We are still friends to this day.

On today's episode of Small Business War Stories, find out first hand how and why our business partnership came to an end and how we remained friends.

For those of us that grew up in the 90s, it's hard to talk about making soap and not think about Brad Pitt's role as Tyler Durden in the movie Fight Club.

However, that's the perfect setup for today's episode of Small Business War Stories.

We talked with Chris Cabiya, of Zen Soap, who is also a practitioner of Jiu-Jitsu. Chris is now in his second year of operation as a small business owner. 

Chris combines his passion for Jiu-Jitsu, a vegetarian diet, and his concern for the environment to create a high quality sustainable soap products.

We talked to Chris about how he got into the soap making business, why sustainability is important to him, and what advice he has for anyone starting a new venture.

There's a growing demand for massage therapy as more and more of the general public have accepted that massages help improve overall health.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the growth rate of massage therapist will be 19% through 2018.

Although a tremendous amount of both classroom and real world training goes into become a licensed massage therapist, there is not a lot of training about how to start your own massage busines and how to make it a success. 

Being a great therapist does not necessarily translate directly to being a great business owner.

To help us dissect the ins and outs of starting a massage business, on today's episode of Small Business War Stories we talk with Kyra Gerhard of Mantis Massage.

Since the 1990s the music industry has changed dramatically. Free downloading services in the late 90s, like Napster, were considered a dangerous threat to the music business.

In many ways, to survive, the music industry has had to reinvent itself. Services like Spotify and SoundCloud help people discover new music and helps unknown artists get their music heard.

The Internet has also had a dramatic effect on the retail side of the business. Budding musicians can now turn to online sites to purchase musical instruments.

With these rapid changes in the music business, how can a musical instrument store prosper? How can you make money as a performer in this new digital age? Ultimately, how you can make a living in the modern music business?

In today’s episode of Small Business War Stories we tackle these challenging questions and more with Nick Boettcher from Austin Vintage Guitars and performer in band The Reverent Few.

Having brand recognition can be hugely powerful, but when reviving a once iconic name, it can actually be a challenge and uphill battle to change built-in perception.

Antone's, a once famous blues club in Austin, Texas has gone through six different business iterations and was even closed for two years after being open every day for 38 years. 

However, Antone's is once again becoming a destination location for visitors of Austin and a place many musicians desire to play. 

In today's episode of Small Business War Stories, we walk with Will Bridges of Antone's about how they have been able to revive this amazing and iconic brand.

There are over 21 million college students in the U.S.

Generation Y (or Millennials) is the largest consumer group in U.S. history.

Despite the demographic's size, people often dismiss college students as not having money or they market to them like any other segment of the market.

However, students spend up to $30 billion on college back-to-school purchasing alone. There are huge opportunities for entrepreneurs who know how to reach this generation.

But how do you market to this young tech-savy generation that has grown up with smartphones and everything available on-demand?

To answer this question, we talked with Dean Ginsberg, founder of two successful companies, BinStored and ShuttleHome, that market directly to college students.

In today's episode of Small Business War Stories, we explore how to market to college students and much more with Dean Ginsberg.

Social entrepreneurship can be difficult to define.

There are also many misconceptions when it comes to social enterprises. 

People think that a company with a social mission can't be as successful as a purely for-profit business. 

However, Andrew Horn, Founder of Tribute, a socially conscious company that helps people build video tributes for their friends and family, believes this is simply not true.

He defines social entrepreneurship as a business with a dual or triple business goal, a balance between people, profit and the planet. A social entrepreneur strives to build businesses that are not only profitable, but have genuine impact on people's lives.

In today's episode of Small Business War Stories, we explore this topic and more with Tribute CEO and founder Andrew Horn.

We talk to Paul Hedrick, founder of Tecovas. Tecovas is unique in that they do not sell through third party stores, but rather directly to consumers. This helps them make a high quality product and sell it for a fraction of the price of other boot companies.

Paul talks about the struggles of running a manufacturing company, and also about how cool it was to sell boots at Willie Nelson's ranch.

If Lyle Lovett is listening...a free pair of boots is waiting for you!

Want to know how to build an iconic brand with no paid advertising?

Want to know what happens in the Carnival of Pizza?

Curious as to which celebrity was caught in a compromising position in the Home Slice Pizza bathroom?

This and more in the first episode of Small Business War Stories. Small Businesses are the Soul of America. This is where they tell their stories.