Friends can include (for example) classmates, relatives, colleagues and people from the same town, city, county or even province. On this level, interaction begins to take place on the basis of comradery or mutual help, rather than pure (or impure) self-interest. It's important to understand that we are talking about personal relationships. Businesses do not become "friends" with each other, but people in businesses do, and on the basis of those friendships new kinds of transaction can happen. It's personal relationships that matter in Consultancy business.