Is Partnering With Your Spouse in Business a Good Idea?

Have you ever considered working along side your spouse in an online business?  If so, you have probably wondered whether such a partnership can run smoothly or whether it might become a marriage sore spot.

Even though spouses profess an undying love and devotion for one another, working side-by-side can bring out some avoidable nuances and challenges that some couples will certainly take on whether they plan to or not.

There are special challenges and unique rewards for married couples that create and operate a home business in tandem.

This kind of joint project can create new feelings of unity, togetherness, and working for a common goal that many couples don’t experience in their hectic “do your own thing” lives.

On the other hand, business partnerships involving mates, if not handled properly, can also intensify negative feelings toward one another, add stress and pressure to a marriage, and drive a wedge into the heart of the relationship.

For these reasons, some couples would never consider working together in a small business, not wanting to risk possible clashes and avoidable irritations.  Others relish the challenge and feel that the bond between them is strong enough to overcome any negative aspects of working together.

Consider this:

Working closely together for a common goal might actually draw some couples into a more healthy and compassionate relationship, especially if they have been working all their lives in separate worlds and saying “hi” as their paths cross every once in a while.  Some couples would welcome the chance to “rub elbows” in a daily routine that brings them more together than they’ve ever been during their working years.

The key to a happy and successful working relationship with your spouse may lie in the preparation and foundation you lay for your business.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Sit down, in advance, and decide why you are going into business and what you hope to get out of it. Come to a meeting of the minds on your business goals, what you’ll do with the profits when they come, and how you will set up your planned exit strategy when the time arrives. Try to anticipate some of the potential areas of the business where you won’t see eye-to-eye and settle those up front.  Don’t say to one another “we’ll figure this out when it becomes a problem.”  By then, it may be too late to come to amicable terms.

2. Make sure you both participate equally in both the glory and the agony of the business.  Above all, understand that this is not one person working for the other. You are partners and both deserve the credit for a successful business. Likewise, if there are problems that come up, which there surely will be, don’t “designate” or assign those challenges to just one partner’s to-do list. The unpleasant, boring, or difficult tasks need to be shared in the same way you would share the fun stuff.

3. Develop a plan to assign certain duties and responsibilities to each partner as his/her share of the workload. Avoid the conflict of each of you trying to run the whole business “on your shift.”  You are working in this effort together but you each need your own space as you do that in order to feel that you are not being bird-dogged or micro managed every step of the way.

4. Determine how the “home-front” duties will be divided. Just because the wife, for example, managed all the household chores like cleaning, laundry, shopping, meal preparing, and child watching before, does not mean that she should be expected to continue all those same activities by herself and carry her load of the 1/2 the business duties.

5. Set aside time each week for a date, a walk together in the park, or a movie together and don’t let your business enter into the conversation during this “timeout.” You need to unwind and re-energize and just be a “couple” caring for each other away from your business partner setting.  A great “release” from the business would be an early morning shared exercise program routine.

6. Make sure to help each other at critical times. If there are some deadlines approaching that must be met, don’t hesitate to set less important things aside and work side-by-side to get the time-sensitive task accomplished. Just because the workload is compartmentalized, there is no sense in one partner “overloading” while the other cruises or tinkers.

7. Each person needs to be able to have some elbow room so you’re not tripping over the other as duties are performed. Plan tasks so that you’re sitting at the computer at different times (or get two computers.) If one person needs to be on the phone for a length of time, the other needs to arrange tasks so the phone won’t be needed at the same time. Just pay attention to staying out of each other’s way.

8. Differences and conflicts are bound to arise between partners in every business. Set up a procedure that you can both agree to that will help to resolve those conflicts without pain or tension. Disputes, arguments, and grievances need to be fixed as quickly and amicably as possible.  We are all unique individuals and we need to respect the right to express our feelings and talk through disputes or differences.

The business partnership can really be a growing and learning experience for a couple, especially if they have not spent much working time in close association in the past. Who knows, maybe a new office romance will develop!

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.SteveBrowneDirect.com