Business, relationship, or both? The pros and cons of working with your partner.

I certainly never thought I’d spend so much time with my husband, I never imagined we spend so much of our career to date working together or now running our own boutique recruitment business. Truth is, I sent him to meet a colleague in 2000 to talk about finding a new role in the early days of his banking career, he came out with a recruitment job!

Anyway, here we are now in 2020, and reflecting on it surely I must have learned something from spending so much time with my partner. Firstly, if I had a dollar for “I don’t know how you do it” or “I couldn’t work with my partner” I might just have enough for that new red Mini Cooper I have my eye on. However, when you really consider the benefits it might just work, and when you take what employment and career challenges 2020 and Covid-19 have presented us with this might just be the time to take a real look at that family business idea. So here is my short sharp five-point tip list to hopefully making it work;

• Just because you work together doesn’t mean you have to work together, utilise working from home, shared office space, and diary management to have that time to yourself when you need it.
• Accept that your career and your relationship are very much one and the same thing.
• Play to your strengths, I know what I am good at, and I definitely know what Paul is better at.
• Know when to be the Boss and know when to be the employee.
• Don’t worry about the disagreements, conflicts, and differing opinions, that happens whether you work with your partner or not, roll with it.

Don’t be afraid of it, it's not for everyone, it’s been a fantastic journey, with plenty of highs (and the odd low!), I’ve learned a lot and I wouldn’t change a thing. So good luck if it's on the horizon, it might just be the best thing you do.