Quite apart from the legalities which you are OK on by the way as everyone else has said, very good call on doing them one at a time.
It's easy when you're a shiny new pilot to put pressure on yourself to do a flight with friends who are keen. I find the best way to explain GA flying to friends is to tell them that 'we will go flying on such and such a date, there is a 50% chance that it will be cancelled due to a multitude of factors so bear that in mind.'
Many non pilot pax seem to think, and why shouldn't they, that your dispatch rate is the same as a commercial airliner.