Working Together: Essential Tips to Make it a Success

by Claire Burdett

You meet, you fall in love. Then you want to marry and live together, have babies together, share a dog, start a business... STOP!

Before you jump in blithely, let me say upfront that this is one business option that is truly the “girl with the curl” personified... you remember the nursery rhyme? “When she was good she was very, very good and when she was bad she was horrid”.

Well, that’s what running your own business with your spouse is like: it’s either very, very good and brings you even closer together, or can be so horrid it results in financial and emotional disaster that makes a normal divorce or business break up look like a picnic.

So what should you be aware of before you make the leap?

Be good friends first
Some spouses know if they can work together from the outset, because they are friends and companions, while others find they can’t the hard way. I always think that you know if you can, and if you have doubts then you probably can’t.

Keep talking
Talking is the very first thing that goes when you find yourselves at loggerheads, so make sure you can talk about everything and anything before you even start a business together. And never resort to email or text, especially when you are so cross you are spitting feathers – in fact, ban them completely from your relationship!

Laugh
When you live and work together, it is essential you share a sense of humour. Failing to see the funny side of something is a big deal when everything is in one bucket, so to speak. I'm sorry, that’s a BIG DEAL.

Take a break
Have agreed break off points when you don’t talk about the business and work. You could talk about the kids instead. Or the house. Or the cat or the dog. You could even go dancing so you can't talk at all! Ok, it rarely actually happens, but at least aiming to have a ‘no biz’ zone at least once a day means it might do occasionally. And just in case this never happens then be prepared for that to be the case and be relaxed about it, else don’t even bother starting.

Take more breaks
No, you won’t be able to take much proper holiday time, certainly not at first anyway, but do make sure you take regular hours, days, or weekends away together as a couple not a business, else you’ll end up stir crazy and feeling like you want to poke each other’s eyes out. With a blunt instrument.

Don’t take it personally
If you have an argument at work or an issue you don't agree on, it doesn’t have to carry on over the evening meal. Although let’s face it, it usually does. The trick is not to take it personally, or least try not to.

Space
Sometimes space is the only thing you really need. If you both work from home try separate workspaces or working at different times so you don’t work on top of each other.

Have contracts
Don’t ever assume that you get by on your marriage vows and hope. Contracts are a necessary evil so everyone is clear about what happens in the event of company insolvency or divorce or both. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but if you do it’s likely to get really really messy, so anything that’ll help is a bonus and may be the lifeline that helps you get through it without breaking up.

Don't have (unspoken) expectations
Know that expectations will be higher than usual when you are working with family, and that you need to discuss these regularly because unmet expectations can lead to a lot of misery.

Beware power struggles
They happen, both between you, within the family, and with jealous colleagues who aren’t members of the family. Tackle them head on because left to fester they can turn into a nightmare. My family went through three years of mistrust and upset following a particular nasty intrigue with a non-family colleague that set us all on our ears. It really isn’t worth the misery but the upside is that we are much more proactive these days when we spot the warning signals starting up again.

Agree on money
This isn’t just what gets spent on what and in what proportion, but also how the profits are split, who is responsible for paying bills and bookkeeping, how much gets reinvested back into the business, and how much goes into savings. If one or both of you have dependents from previous relationships then this is an important factor to budget in, and make sure it is done fairly or else it’ll lead to resentment. The requirements here are a financial plan that you both agree upon and a healthy attitude to money, which basically means you have to get over any romantic or coy notions that you shouldn't discuss money and just see it for what it is - the petrol you use to run your business and your lives. Together.

 

© Claire Burdett. No content to be reproduced without written approval of the author.

Claire Burdett is the Founder and Director of Funky Angel. She is a Writer, Journalist, and Editor, Integrated Marketing Expert, and Home Business Mentor.

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