If love is a battlefield, then running a business with your valentine means living on the front lines 24/7.
About a third of all family businesses are husband-and-wife teams. While some sweethearts can handle the dual pressure of building a relationship and a company, many others warn it's a difficult path. The constant interaction, the strain of juggling work and personal life, and the trials of entrepreneurship—especially in a difficult economy—can take a toll. Lots of couples don't see eye to eye or can't handle the stress, financial risks or sheer amount of time that "copreneurs" must spend together.
Glenn Muske, a small-business specialist at North Dakota State University, has studied copreneurs for nearly 15 years. In the worst cases he's seen, the stress "took down the business and it took down the marital relationship. I don't think everyone is cut out to do it."
The secret to making it work? Have a good marriage in the first place. Many couples say the complementary personalities that brought them together make them logical business partners. In the best cases, couples are "truly so in sync with one another that the business becomes an extension of the relationship they have with one another," says Mr. Muske.
Those couples succeed as business partners because they bring trust, communication and commitment to the table. They have clearly defined roles within the company and consider the business a "way of life" that gives them more flexibility as a family, he says.
The Wall Street Journal has three stories with mixed results. I encourage you to check them out here. It is very interesting. However, In my humble opinion, it doesent work and most likely will end up resulting with two unhappy people in a relationship. Moreover, if you are unhappy with an employee, you can put them on an improvement plan and replace them.
After all, the employee should be there to benefit the business. However, if your "significant" other is not producing results, it is much more difficult to replace them with a more effective business partner - without causing some discourse in the relationship. The moral of this story is choosing a business partner is just like choosing a life partner - but be really careful trying to get two for the price of one.
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Love and Marriage... what about business and marriage?
6:31 AM
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I think business and marriage can work, especially when you have two like-minded people who love and support each other. There still has to be a balance, though. In marriage, women are to be submissive and allow the husband to be the head. In business, it can be different. Nothing personal, just business!
I agree, I think it can work. But like everything thing else, it takes constant communication, flexibility and compromise. The vision for the business has to be shared and agreed upon, or it will not work. The same as it is in marriage.
@Proper4ever, I agree with your assessment. However, the data just does not support it. Moreover, when you look at the African American couple, they are even less likely to succeed. In my judgment, most African American women say that they want a man that's driven, but very rarely do you see them been supported. For example, I know some "Church-Going" women, that will knock down the church doors every time it opens. Better yet, if a program is happening in the community, they would be the first one to volunteer. But when it comes to their "business" it gets put on the back-burner of all the other activities. There are other cases where - like you said - the women are running the business. Well, in this case, the man wants his wife to be submissive at home, but he does not want to be subordinate to his wife at work. Consequently, he does not put forth the effort to make them truly successful, because he has an ego problem (among others.) These are just two instances that I know about and I am sure there are millions more. So.. in theory (the data) and in practice (my two examples) it seems to hold true: it just doesn't work.
@Sister Friend, your comment is an interesting one. I want to challenge you on a few things. First, why would the partner (male or female) enter into the business relationship (or marriage as you pointed out) without knowing the vision or the direction that they are going. If this is the case, this venture (or relationship) is doom to fail before getting started. Secondly, compromise is a term used for opposing forces. The concept of business should be to move as a unit - not to engage in combat (sorry for the military reference… spent a lot of time in the military). Never the less, this is a position that is also conducive to failure. Although, I do agree with your point on constant communication, but it seems to me, this should be the case whether in business (or a relationship) or not. Thanks for your comment… again, I find it most interesting.
Where there is no vision, the people perish. Yes, the vision has to be written and made plain so both spouses understand what the ultimate mission is. When it comes to "African Americans", we may have a little difficulty when it comes to handling business. Some of us are lazy and would rather for someone else to take the lead. (Stay in the background and let someone else do all the work, but ready to reap the benefits.) Still, I believe women are multifaceted. However, I think we do things in order of importance. So, if home is a priority, that's where our energy is spent. If a career takes precedence, then that's the main focus. Juggling both business and family is something that simply requires: compromise, flexibility, constant communication and understanding, like Sister Friend said.
@The Professor. Compromise = A settlement of differences in which each side makes concessions. People are different; we think differently and that's fine. You have to agree to disagree. It's important and very necessary to find a happy medium to make the business work. Unfortunately, some men do have an EGO. (Easing God Out)If he doesn't know who he is as man, yes, there will be issues being a subordinate or taking a backseat to his wife. Although there aren't too many men like him;I don't hear Steadman complaining! :-)
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