Small Business Discussion Forums -> Business & Family
Working with your spouse
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 by Magnus on 03 Dec 08 20:06 |
i've started a product design business with my other half... not sure it's the best idea, but our skills are complimenary.. ofcourse, we've just started and not sure if now is the right time! i was hesitant, but my uncle and aunt run a very successful business together, and have done for many years. our business is very young, and we're starting out in tough times, so I think if we can survive the conditions at the moment, then we can survive each other! heehe
| by Website Analyst on 17 Oct 08 13:34 |
I have an unusual situation in that my husband is a joint director in our company but he does not really understand what it is I do. He tries to and he is very supportive, but sometimes it is frustrating trying to explain something to him while I am in the middle of a difficult diagnostic or report. I can also feel quite pressured by him to be earning more and breaking through in this area and that area. To him it is encouragement, to me it is migraine triggering pressure. Having said that, he is the best business partner to have because, at the end of the day, our goals for our future and our family are the same and we both know that the business is there to achieve those goals, not to overshadow them.
| by trendy on 03 Oct 08 13:04 |
I have been working with my husband since 1983 when he took over his family's jewellery business in a small town and we expanded it to a multi million business with 4 retail stores before we migrate to Australia in 2003.
We ran a cafe together for more than 3 years, sold it as it was too much work and not much return with the lease running out (although we enjoyed it) and thought we try to work separately for a change.
We find it very difficult not to be together 24/7, not to have a common objective and unable to help each other resolve problems and are now back together in business again.
Marriages break up even for people who do not work together unless they treasure their relationship and know when to give and take. It all depends on your temperament, relationship with each other and knowing each others weakness/ability and the zest to make it work.
We ran a cafe together for more than 3 years, sold it as it was too much work and not much return with the lease running out (although we enjoyed it) and thought we try to work separately for a change.
We find it very difficult not to be together 24/7, not to have a common objective and unable to help each other resolve problems and are now back together in business again.
Marriages break up even for people who do not work together unless they treasure their relationship and know when to give and take. It all depends on your temperament, relationship with each other and knowing each others weakness/ability and the zest to make it work.
| by Route66 on 08 Sep 08 12:18 |
Being a 'businessman' for many years wearing the suit and tie, 12 hour days, I thought that it was about time I uncomplicated my life and start a business at home with my wife.
Best decision I have ever made. The business is going great and much has to due with 1) the support of my wife 2) the input of my wife and 3) the assistance of my wife.
We are probably one of the few husband and wife teams that work well together. We have now being doing this for 6 years.
Word of caution though. It takes discipline not only work from home but also with your wife/partner.
Anyway I suggest that if you have a strong marriage, with the right business attitude you should be able to have a good business as well working with your wife.
Best decision I have ever made. The business is going great and much has to due with 1) the support of my wife 2) the input of my wife and 3) the assistance of my wife.
We are probably one of the few husband and wife teams that work well together. We have now being doing this for 6 years.
Word of caution though. It takes discipline not only work from home but also with your wife/partner.
Anyway I suggest that if you have a strong marriage, with the right business attitude you should be able to have a good business as well working with your wife.
| by Sunshine Man on 02 Sep 08 15:15 |
I started in business in 1967 and have had a business partnership with my wife since marrying in 1971 (leave you to sort out the maths).
We are still happily married and still operating the same business.
In addition my daughter (now 29) is a partner in the business.
Yes, we have our moments but it is all give and take.
To be successful in business (and in marriage) you just have to learn to admit when you are wrong and master the skills of cooperation.
We are still happily married and still operating the same business.
In addition my daughter (now 29) is a partner in the business.
Yes, we have our moments but it is all give and take.
To be successful in business (and in marriage) you just have to learn to admit when you are wrong and master the skills of cooperation.
| by half-full on 21 Aug 08 10:31 |
In my experience, it is best to keep the spouse out of business matters.
It is just purely to avoid arguments & keep peace of mind all the time.
When I get home we hardly talk about the business.
As long as all the home bills & mortgage are paid on time we both happy chappy.
Good luck everyone.
It is just purely to avoid arguments & keep peace of mind all the time.
When I get home we hardly talk about the business.
As long as all the home bills & mortgage are paid on time we both happy chappy.
Good luck everyone.
| by BeauTyres on 19 Aug 08 10:43 |
This is forum such a great idea! Reading through these posts most seem so relevant to myself. My hubby and I decided three years ago to invest and run our own business. It has worked out great, although I found it a challenge as the industry was totally out of my expertise and definately right up hubby's alley. Feeling for the first time vulnerable in the workplace was overwhelming at times and spilled over to arguments, but all the hard work is has rewarded both of us and now we can relax a little and even take our first family holiday this year. Working with your spouse has definate advantages, the trust issue, sharing those brilliant days when all your hard work really pays off with the one you love the most. Have a great day all.
| by Dogwood on 30 Jul 08 08:25 |
First and foremost my wife and I, married for 28 years, working together for 27 years, are each other's best friend and therfore we find all this discussion of separation of work and home to be just so irrelevent. I think that if this is an issue for you then you should not be working together since there is something missing in the relationship. I guess that sounds like a shrink but I don't mean to.
On the question of moving the work to an external office, we did that in 2000 and what a disaster, costs went right up with rent, electricity, security, office equipment and so much more. Productivity went right down since we suddenly worked "office hours" rather than every hour that we wern't doing anything else. For example I woke early this morning around 4.30am and by 5.00am I was in my home office working, with the external office I would still have arrived around 8.00am and by late afternoon would have been quite tired.
We like our current setup, if we want a break we have one, if we want to work then we do that. We tend to average about 50 working hours a week and have no difficulty doing 80 hours if necessary. This is offset with for example an eight day break in Perth just two weeks ago.
What a great life.
Dogwood
On the question of moving the work to an external office, we did that in 2000 and what a disaster, costs went right up with rent, electricity, security, office equipment and so much more. Productivity went right down since we suddenly worked "office hours" rather than every hour that we wern't doing anything else. For example I woke early this morning around 4.30am and by 5.00am I was in my home office working, with the external office I would still have arrived around 8.00am and by late afternoon would have been quite tired.
We like our current setup, if we want a break we have one, if we want to work then we do that. We tend to average about 50 working hours a week and have no difficulty doing 80 hours if necessary. This is offset with for example an eight day break in Perth just two weeks ago.
What a great life.
Dogwood
| by workingwithspouse on 14 Jul 08 13:17 |
My husband & I work in manufacturing side by side. I am now taking on apprenticeship in this field. The past 12mths have been fantastic & our relationship overall has strengthened as we learn to improve communication both for business & personal. We regularly encounter others in the field who are suprised to learn we are married as we have set ourselves a high standard of professionalism on the job. After all nobody else is interested in our personal issues anyway! I have encountered a number of couples working together & no doubt it takes a special kind. Forgetting that your husband & wife during business hours, & respecting each other as individuals & for skills you can bring to the business makes all the difference. My husband was in a partnership for 8 years, building a successful business which eventually fell apart due to lack of communication, respect & very different views of direction the business should head in. With us working together our goals are the same & we drive each other.
| by Mighty Mate on 28 Feb 08 14:16 |
I have worked with my hubby for 3 years now a little worried at first as this is second marriage for us both, our fist both being very volitile we are not making the same mistakes second time round, trust and lots of love being the basis of everything we do together. We are in manufacturing and sales working from our home. Hubby and I both in workshop and office, the break is good for each of us to do what the other does. Definatly shut the office door, that puts things away for the day just as much as pulling down the roller door on the shed. We love working together, we don't have to say goodbye every day , we don't always finish buisness at 5 or at the weekend but we are doing it together which at the end of the day makes it all worth while. 
| by purp&burb on 25 Feb 08 15:42 |
I have to agree with signbloke. My partner and I work together and who better to trust in business than your life partner.
We are in small business for our families gain and benefits, we trust each other more than anyone else in the world (if we didn’t, we would be questioning our relationship), so have no fear of being done over by another party, we both understand to make it work we have to both put in equally.
Time off is hard, our work runs over into weekends, just the way it is in our line of work, however the balance here is that we have the flexibility of choosing, when we do or do not want to work, we can attend school functions and kids sports, and take off for a day or two without having to worry about other people. We get to choose together.
You have to be able to be flexible.
When you have work issues you have to be disciplined and say I am not at work, I do not want to discuss that now, then show respect of this and each other. You share the good and the bad. Its great to have someone who totally understands why you have had a bad day at work. You have to be prepared to work at this though and work together to say ok time off work, Stuff happens and let’s go do something fun to take our mind’s off it.
Other times I leave admin things till the night so we can share a morning of afternoon together doing things other than work and its heaps easier while my partner is watching TV, I work with no pressure, and a cuppa made for me not to mention unlimited hugs and support if I am stuck on something, what could be more perfect ???
I have to agree with working from a home office, its hard work convincing others that I am not here to have a chat, and as one person dropped in and said oh my your dishes need to be washed ! How can you sit at the computer knowing that? WOW! I am at work, and like she sometimes before you leave for work your housework has to wait till you return.
I now have a sign that goes on the front door. Office is now OPEN. Appears to have a little better results most friends now call out “dropped by for a chat I see your working, Ill drop over latter.” YEAH they get it !!!!
Not to mention we can use it for a little privacy if we choose.
Working with your partner can be hard at times but the benefits far out weight the negatives.
You just have to work together, not against each other.
Have a happy day all.
We are in small business for our families gain and benefits, we trust each other more than anyone else in the world (if we didn’t, we would be questioning our relationship), so have no fear of being done over by another party, we both understand to make it work we have to both put in equally.
Time off is hard, our work runs over into weekends, just the way it is in our line of work, however the balance here is that we have the flexibility of choosing, when we do or do not want to work, we can attend school functions and kids sports, and take off for a day or two without having to worry about other people. We get to choose together.
You have to be able to be flexible.
When you have work issues you have to be disciplined and say I am not at work, I do not want to discuss that now, then show respect of this and each other. You share the good and the bad. Its great to have someone who totally understands why you have had a bad day at work. You have to be prepared to work at this though and work together to say ok time off work, Stuff happens and let’s go do something fun to take our mind’s off it.
Other times I leave admin things till the night so we can share a morning of afternoon together doing things other than work and its heaps easier while my partner is watching TV, I work with no pressure, and a cuppa made for me not to mention unlimited hugs and support if I am stuck on something, what could be more perfect ???
I have to agree with working from a home office, its hard work convincing others that I am not here to have a chat, and as one person dropped in and said oh my your dishes need to be washed ! How can you sit at the computer knowing that? WOW! I am at work, and like she sometimes before you leave for work your housework has to wait till you return.
I now have a sign that goes on the front door. Office is now OPEN. Appears to have a little better results most friends now call out “dropped by for a chat I see your working, Ill drop over latter.” YEAH they get it !!!!
Not to mention we can use it for a little privacy if we choose.
Working with your partner can be hard at times but the benefits far out weight the negatives.
You just have to work together, not against each other.
Have a happy day all.
| by sleepyoz on 17 Feb 08 14:48 |
5 years ago my partner and I merged our seperate business entitites (operating in different in states) into 1 company operating in NSW) - 2 years ago we married(2nd marriages for us both) - I really couldnt think of working with anyone else now. We own a business consultancy business in the Central West of NSW where we provide bookkeeping, business consultancy and small business training and we work from our home office. We complement each other beautifully. Our client base is diverse the only problem that we had to overcome was our separate clients getting used to the other partner being involved in the business - which is now a thing of the past. We work from home and do a lot of travel around the Central West - we also train as a team and that can be great fun
My top 10 tips for working with your loved one!
1. Always seperate business from home
2. Set regular work hours and stick to them as much as possible
3. Split duties and responsibilities for the internal running of the business
4. Remember to count to 10 when getting upset
5. Have regular meetings to discuss opportunities such as marketing, new clients etc and write up notes from your meetings allocating duties to each partner (including the yukky stuff like filing otherwise its always left to the female!!!)
6. Have fun and laugh during the day
7. Take a regular lunch break
8. Use joint business cards and include both partners on all correspondence - clients, customers will get used to dealing with both parties
9. Have some outside interests which you enjoy with your partner or other people
10. Have a budget or cashflow for the business which you both understand and stick to
Give it a go its really worth it
Cheers
Sleepy
My top 10 tips for working with your loved one!
1. Always seperate business from home
2. Set regular work hours and stick to them as much as possible
3. Split duties and responsibilities for the internal running of the business
4. Remember to count to 10 when getting upset
5. Have regular meetings to discuss opportunities such as marketing, new clients etc and write up notes from your meetings allocating duties to each partner (including the yukky stuff like filing otherwise its always left to the female!!!)
6. Have fun and laugh during the day
7. Take a regular lunch break
8. Use joint business cards and include both partners on all correspondence - clients, customers will get used to dealing with both parties
9. Have some outside interests which you enjoy with your partner or other people
10. Have a budget or cashflow for the business which you both understand and stick to
Give it a go its really worth it
Cheers
Sleepy
| by Fuzz on 12 Feb 08 20:04 |
My husband and I have had our business since May and while he enjoys me being in the office and helping him - cause we do balance each other out - I'm finding it is me who isn't coping - not so much with working together - but with the 'pressures and stresses' that a business brings. I struggle to separate home and work and cannot turn off at 5pm which stresses my husband out. However, I believe that we have grown stronger through these stresses as we have communicated exactly how we feel. Open channels of communication - the good, the bad and the ugly. Communication is so important to a healthy working relationship and therefore marriage! And the opportunity to learn from each other and use the strengths of each other to grow the business.
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