It’s good to have friends that fulfil different needs.

If we were all the same then the world would be a pretty boring place. But what about the types of friends successful people keep?

Richard Branson swears by hiring to his weaknesses and the same should go for your friends.

Here are my pick of the eight types of friends every successful person should have in their entourage.

1. The zen friend

A bit of spiritual guidance never hurt anyone. We all need a casual guru to give us some alternative advice from time to time.

It’s more than likely that this friend practices several types of yoga, meditates religiously, is vegetarian and whenever you go around for dinner you find yourself eating lots of raw (nutritious but tasteless) food.

2. The artist friend

This person is sometimes reckless, but highly creative.

They tend to live on another planet and are great to hang out with when you feel like escaping the grey shades of reality, while remaining totally sober.

3. The party friend

This friend is up for anything, anytime and you know you can always count on them to join you when you feel like going dancing until the wee hours of the morning and drinking one too many cocktails.

This person is also super handy, because they know all the door people at clubs (so you never have to wait in line), are chummy with bartenders everywhere, so you also never really pay for drinks. Winning.

But be warned, this friend is usually here for a good time, not the tough times.

4. The primary school friend

You may not have seen each other in a while, and there is a high chance you’ve taken very different paths in life, but this friend has been through it all with you since you were seven years old.

You just pick up where you left off and silences are never awkward.

5. The rich friend

It might sound shallow, but it’s always nice to have someone on hand with an infinity edge pool overlooking the beach for when you feel like a dip.

Or someone that spoils you with a surprise trip to Europe, dinner at a super fancy restaurant, or just wants to take you on a ginormous shopping spree. Let’s face it, we’d all like a black AMEX in our lives.

6. The grown up friend with a real job

Lawyers, accountants, doctors — these are all highly valuable friends that should be kept close and always looked after. You never know when you might need to call in a favour.

7. The handy friend

Someone to come around and change your light globe because you’re too scared to (or don’t know how), or the spider catcher, who never seems to suffer from any form of arachnophobia.

Plumbers, sparkies and chippies are all also highly sought-after successful friend candidates for when stuff breaks and you’re a city kid with no idea how to fix it.

8. The organiser friend

This is the person in your life that just gets sh*t done. They are always the busiest person you know, but somehow still manage to organise all the lazy ones in your group for social outings.

Remember that winery tour you were on last year with 10 of your closest pals on that private bus?

You probably don’t, but this friend is the one that got everyone together, hired the bus, got you drunk and then took you home safely in one piece. Definitely a keeper.