Working with my husband has been one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life. Sharing a passion for wine with him is such a gift. This is not to say that I didn’t have reservations about how our business would affect our marriage. I would hope that similar concerns would arise in any spousal business venture.
We’re in our third year of business now and I am happy to report our communication and understanding of each other is better than when we started.
Five things we’ve gotten right:
- Keeping regular check-ins on the calendar prevents one of you from becoming the task master (my natural propensity for sure). A scheduled meeting promotes accountability and helps preserve your personal time away from the business too.
- Assess individual work styles by each completing a workplace personality test (tons available online) and sharing your results. You might know your spouse as a parent and a best friend, but you probably don’t know how they accept feedback or organize themselves at work.
- Staying fluid with changes to division of labor promotes engagement in the business and helps keep the rest of your life on track. Maintaining employment, raising kiddos … you owe it to everyone to be honest about what and how much you really want to do for the company.
- And to build on #3, don’t be too afraid or too proud to outsource certain tasks if neither one of you really want to or can get it done. Believe me, it will avoid frustration and stagnation.
- Celebrate the wins – yes, go out and have a good time together, hell, put it on the company credit card and spoil each other. No success is too small to warrant a nice lunch or a margarita, or a nice margarita at lunch.