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Running a business with your spouse comes with a lot of potential pitfalls. Keep reading to learn how to ensure it doesn’t impact your relationship.
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Working together with your spouse in your own small business venture can be a great option for some people. You’ll be able to create something together for your family that will hopefully leave you with plenty of money in your bank account. And you’ll be able to spend time and collaborate with someone you love as you try to make your dreams come true.
However, opening a business together can be stressful as well. You’ll have to work closely to make the company a success and may have some financial struggles in the start. With financial problems contributing to between 20% and 40% of all divorces, it can be risky to jump into an endeavor that will require you to pool your skills in order to support your family.
To help ensure that you don’t ruin your marriage in the process of getting your company off the ground, here are five tips to be sure to follow.
1. Have a financial plan to support yourself as your company gets underway
If you and your spouse are both going to be working for the business, you need to make sure you have a plan to support your family until the company becomes profitable.
It can take months or even years until a business starts turning a consistent-enough profit that two people can earn a living from it (especially without draining the company of its assets and leaving it short of the capital it needs to grow).
You need to make sure you have a substantial amount of savings or some other plan to see you through until you can comfortably afford to live on what the company is earning. This may mean one or both of you need to work at least part time at other jobs while you’re getting the company off the ground.
2. Be sure you clearly outline each person’s roles and responsibilities
You don’t want to fall into a situation where one person is taking on all of the tasks and the other person feels resentful. You also don’t want to fight over who does what, or both try to take control of the same issues.
To avoid any of these undesirable outcomes, have a clear plan for who will take on what responsibilities. In fact, you should create job descriptions for both parties if you can, so there’s no confusion and you are on the same page about who is responsible for which tasks.
3. Get on the same page about your short-term and long-term goals for the business
There are lots of different outcomes when you start a successful company. You could stay small and avoid hiring employees, working in the company yourself for years to come. You could try to sell out and walk away with a big pot of cash or you could try to grow a huge business that has hundreds of employees.
If you and your spouse are not on the same page, that’s likely to lead to lots of problems both with making decisions about the company and making decisions about your future. So, outline your goals clearly and make sure you’re working towards the same final plan.
4. Carve out separate time
Starting a new company can be all consuming. If you are both spending endless hours on the business, it’s natural that tempers will start to fray. That’s especially true if you are also together all the time at home. Be sure you have the space for separate lives, so you can maintain a little separation and keep your own interests alive.
5. Discuss how you’ll handle business disputes
Finally, it is inevitable that conflicts are going to arise when you’re running a company and have different ideas. Have a plan for how you’ll discuss conflicts and who will make the final decision on specific issues if no consensus can be reached.
Following these tips can help you to build both a strong business and a stronger marriage, so be sure to keep them in mind as you move forward with starting a company together as a team.
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