Starting a Business With Your Spouse: How to Succeed

#marriage #businessbuilding #familybusiness #legacybuilder #familyoffices

Business and marriage are hard work and can be harder to handle if they are thrown in together. Just as two like-minded people start a business, you and your spouse can also share the same passions and monetize them.

People often question whether it’s the right thing to do. However, with proper planning, a business with your spouse can turn into a successful venture.??

9 tips for starting a business with your spouse

Get on the same page about the business vision

One of the most important things about starting a business is setting a vision. A business needs a purpose so it can be steered in the right direction. You and your spouse should have a similar vision to create a successful business.?

Get on the same page as your spouse through communication. Set aside a time to discuss your business plan in detail. Voice your opinions and let your spouse voice theirs. This will help both of you come to an agreement and help you see your business goals more clearly.

Establish your roles and responsibilities?

Knowing what role you will play and what responsibilities you will have is crucial to creating a smooth workflow. You and your spouse are different people with different strengths. Identify your strengths and find a way to implement them in your business.?

As there are many different aspects of a business, such as finance or marketing, you can each designate yourself to something you’re good at. You can successfully navigate through it by creating job descriptions with specific roles and responsibilities that are best suited to you and your spouse.?

Establish workflows, processes, and automation systems?

To keep a business running successfully, various automation systems and processes can be established— one way to do this is through technology. As the world relies more and more on technology, businesses too tend to adopt technological ways to create an efficient workflow.?

There are various online/digital tools that can be used, such as:

• Trello: For managing workflows
• Asana: For managing workflows
• Mailchimp: For email marketing
• Quickbooks: For tracking finances
• Zapier: For automation of various tools and processes
• Buffer: For social media scheduling
• Calendy: For scheduling?

There are hundreds more. These tools are designed to help manage different projects, and they will also help keep your business organized.

Be upfront with finances, risk tolerance, and exit strategies?

Money is necessary when it comes to business. While you are starting a business to earn money, you also need to put out some money too. Discussing money matters with your spouse can get uncomfortable, but it is necessary.?

A few questions you can discuss include:

• How much risk are we willing to put into the business?
• At what point would we need to sell or close our doors??
• How much money are we comfortable spending upfront?
• How can we build a financial cushion/emergency fund?
• How much debt are we comfortable getting into?

Make time for each other outside of work

Dealing with your work all the time can get exhausting, particularly at the start, as you need to put in numerous hours to establish a brand. Giving yourself and your spouse a break can help you avoid burnout.

Arrange times in your schedules to do things such as going out on dates or doing an activity you both would enjoy. Having a break from work would strengthen your relationship and give you enough rest to work harder in your business.

If you want to spend time together outside of work, a few options include:

• Outdoors activities like camping, hiking, or cycling
• Taking walks
• Playing sports like tennis, pickleball, and golf
• Taking road trips
• Traveling to new countries
• Having a glass of wine at happy hour
• Drinking coffee together in the morning

Have open discussions about thoughts and feelings

Working professionally with your spouse doesn’t mean there is no space for personal feelings or thoughts. How you feel about your business and with your spouse as a business partner should definitely be communicated. Addressing those matters can help you run the business more efficiently.

You can have regular meetings to discuss these things, which will help you navigate future steps in your business as well as improve your relationship with your partner.

When talking about your feelings, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Show empathy for your partner’s feelings.
• Set aside time to talk with no distractions.
• Use “I” statements to explain how you are experiencing things.
• When talking about your partner’s behaviors, refer to specific actions instead of making general statements.?
• Be clear when asking your partner to do things differently.?

Practice self-care individually?

Being professional partners with your spouse would require you to work and live with them. No matter how much you enjoy spending time with your partner, everyone needs to spend time with themselves.

Make a commitment to practice self-care to give yourself some alone time. You need time away from your work and your relationship, which will help create balance in your lives.

A few options for self-care include:

• Doing a relaxing activity you enjoy like reading, writing, playing music, or creating art.?
• Doing a physical activity you enjoy like yoga, walking, weight lifting, playing sports, or cycling.?
• Spending time with friends, family, or pets who make you feel energized and loved.?
• Doing work you enjoy like gardening, working on a business, engaging more with your job (if you like your job), volunteering, or doing DIY projects.?
• Nurturing your body by eating healthy foods, practicing relaxation techniques like deep breathing, getting outside in the sun, and moving.?
• Doing things just for fun like seeing a movie, going to a happy hour, coloring in a coloring book, or playing a video game.?

Hire help and outsource

Running a company can get overwhelming and become difficult to handle as it grows. It is okay to hire help to take some things off your plate.

There are various resources and websites where you can find help suitable to your needs, such as Fiverr, Upwork, or local listings.

Almost anything can be outsourced! Outsourcing isn’t just for your business either. You can outsource everyday tasks in your non-business life.?

A few things you could outsource include:

• Cleaning your home and office.?
• Grocery shopping, meal prep, and cooking.?
• Childcare.
• Driving.
• Lawn care.
• Interior design.

Put your relationship first

Just as maintaining your business is important, your relationship is important too. At the end of the day, your business partner is your spouse first. You have to give priority to your relationship over your business. If your relationship becomes strained, your business might suffer too.

To sum it up

It all comes down to having good communication. Starting a business with your spouse will introduce several issues, and you will continue to face them as your enterprise grows. However, those issues can be tackled if you and your spouse have the ability to see eye-to-eye.

FAQs

Can couples run a business together?

Running a business with your spouse can be challenging, but it is possible. If you both share the same thoughts and know where you want to take your business, it can turn into a successful venture.

What are some successful husband and wife business examples?

There have been some businesses that have turned out to be quite successful under the ownership of a husband-and-wife duo.

One example includes Stewart & Lynda Resnick— their holding company owns several famous brands such as Fiji Water and POM Wonderful. They have turned their partnership into a successful business venture which now earns billions.

Another famous example would be Julia & Kevin Hertz, who own Eventbrite. They started the online ticketing platform in 2006, and it has become one of the most popular platforms for online ticket purchasing. Eventbrite is now used in over 179 countries and has grossed more than two billion dollars in revenue.