- By Allie Siarto
When I was 24 years
old, I started a business with my fiancé (now husband) and one of our best
friends. Three years later, our business and marriage are stronger than ever,
but not without a few bumps along the way.
If you’re considering
starting a business with your spouse or significant other, or if you already
have a business and you’re considering bringing your significant other into the
mix, run through this checklist to avoid major headaches down the road:
1.Create an emergency fund.
Money is the number one reason for divorce,
and cash flow tends to be the number one challenge for new businesses. When we
first started out, we waited months to get our business cash flow in order and
get paid. But we didn’t stress, because we had saved a personal emergency fund
ahead of time.
2.Get office space.
You shouldn’t run out and get an office right away, but start budgeting for
an office or co-working membership as soon as possible. We spent the first year
of our business working from home, but we also joined a co-working group and
got together with other entrepreneurs twice a week at a local coffee shop just
to get out of the house and find camaraderie. Co-working spaces often offer
flexible part-time memberships that will give you a more budget-friendly
opportunity to get out, meet new people and maintain sanity.
3.Know your personality types.
I tend to draw my energy from being around other people, while my husband
draws energy from focused time by himself. I am more focused and energetic in
the morning, while he works best late at night. I am very focused on the big
picture, while he does better with the details. By understanding our individual
strengths, we are better able to find areas where we complement each other.
Consider taking a personality assessment to figure out your
individual strengths and how you can best work together.
4.Define management roles.
Along with knowing your personality type, you should have clearly defined
roles within the company. Write job descriptions for yourselves and set clear
expectations about who will take on which tasks for the business.
5.Engage in separate hobbies.
When you are starting out, you will be spending a lot of long hours working
together to get your business off the ground. It sounds strange, but it’s
important to schedule activities apart. When we started our business, I got involved
in the local photography community, while my husband got more involved with the
organizations in the local startup scene. This added some balance to our lives
and gave us something new to talk about outside of work.
6.Discuss risk tolerance.
Because our business is our main source of income, my husband and I tend to
be less risk-averse than we might be if we worked separately. We decided early
on we wanted to take a “slow and steady” growth path with no debt, loans or
investments, but we reevaluate our views on tolerance for risk, regularly.
7.Balance praise and constructive criticism.
Make a point to thank each other for a job well done, and be kind about how
you approach constructive criticism. In a close relationship, we often forget
these basic rules of business.
8.Have a sense of humor.
Don’t take yourself too seriously. Take time to find humor and happiness in
the little things each day. For example, I’ve been known to break into song and
dance during the work day.
Starting a business
with your spouse can be one of the most challenging and rewarding things you
will ever do. There will be tears and laughter. There will be celebrations and
frustrations. But in the end, there’s nothing like sharing the payoffs of working
together toward a common goal with your life partner.
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