The following post was written for the readers we have who are starting a new life in a married relationship or are already married. Starting a business with your spouse can be a very rewarding and amazing experience, but there are some rules to follow if you want to be a successful entrepreneur with your significant other.
1. If you are already in a tense and stressful relationship – Don’t Do It!
- Working together is not therapeutic and is intensely stressful.
2. Know who will be in charge.
- Someone will ultimately need to make final decisions. So having this clarified at the beginning will help eliminate confusion later.
3. Write down your responsibilities.
- Make sure they are clear and separate.
4. Set a schedule and stick to it.
- Keep each other accountable for the time at work each day.
5. Separate your personal life and feelings during business hours.
- Keeping boundaries will help erase any gray areas between the business and the home.
6. Communicate with each other.
- Let each other know what your goals are for each day.
7. Make sure your goals and visions for the business line up.
- Like in marriage, before starting the business know where you want to go and that you have the same goals.
8. Get away with each other.
- Plan time out not talking about the business, but enjoying each other.
9. Get away from each other.
- Plan alone time, being together 24 hours a day can create tension.
10. Encourage each other and enjoy the journey.
- Nothing is more important than your spouse and your family, including your business.