Business Partners & Marital Partners, Will the Marriage Survive?
Part 1
With today's economy, and the layoffs occurring as a result of
these economic conditions, more and more people are opting to
start their own business. Due to the low start up costs, the
prevalence of home-based businesses is on the rise, many of
these started by husband and wife teams.
With the move from the corporate world to the home-based,
couples are finding that a new set of problems are occurring. In
the corporate arena, two major areas of importance are profits
and communication with employees. This is done through
evaluations, reviews, meetings, or a company newsletter
outlining company policies and news. All administrators realize
that a happy and informed employee is more efficient and
productive; in effect, increasing their profits.
Research on martial separation and divorce indicates two of the
main causes of separation and divorce are communication and
money, very much like corporate concerns. In the past, spouses
worked in their respective jobs, and came home to discuss what
was going on in the work place. In effect, they were sounding
boards for one another. With the move to the home front,
especially with starting up businesses together, the sounding
boards are gone.
In effect, placing couples in a start-up business can cause a
myriad of problems, previously seen only in the corporate world,
in addition to the normal stumbling blocks of starting up a
business. Too many couples working together are not practicing
good communication skills. Lack of communication, can cause one
spouse to feel that he or she is carrying all the business and
monetary responsibility.
Keep Your Marriage Solid
If you and your spouse have decided to run a business together,
be sure to discuss and outline the following:
Delineate responsibility. Decide who is going to handle what
business matters. In addition, be sure you both know how to
accomplish these functions. Unfortunately, illness occurs - you
need to be able to back up each other in all aspects of the
business. For example, if one of you does all the bank
statements, be sure your spouse understands how this is
accomplished, so if necessary, they can also handle this
responsibility. If you have a set procedure you follow and a way
you want it done, make up an outline, so it is accomplished in
the manner you want.
Marketing, return calls, daily correspondence, invoicing, weekly
and/or monthly expenses, supplies, calendaring, appointments,
deposits, bank statements, implementation of the business plan,
attendance at meetings (e.g. Chamber mixers, National groups,
User groups, etc.) all need to be taken care of. You will have
to split these responsibilities between you. Again, be sure you
know how each is implemented, so in an emergency, you can back
each other up.
Delineate responsibilities according to likes and dislikes and
who will do the best job. We all have our little niches, and if
it is something we like and do well, we can accomplish it better
and more efficiently. Once the responsibilities have been
delineated, make up a schedule for each item you both need to
deal with. Again, you must be able to act as each others back up.
Marketing is a major obstacle. Most individuals do not like to
use cold calling as a medium to promote their business. Be sure
both of you are involved. Do not let one person handle this. In
addition, develop a marketing strategy. Will you market daily,
weekly, monthly? What kind of marketing will you do-advertising,
cold calls, direct mail, etc. Again, be sure you both are
involved. This is important because money and marketing are tied
together. The more you market, the more aware the marketplace
will be of the services you offer. If only one individual is
marketing and monies are fluctuating, there is more tension
between the partners to make the business successful. No one
individual should have to carry this on their shoulders, or
perceive that they do. In addition, with both spouses marketing,
one person cannot blame the other for the success or failure of
the business.
The Most Important Tool
Remember, the most important tool you both have is
communication. Don't expect your spouse to read your mind. Keep
the marriage and business separate. It's difficult, especially
if you are home-based, but it can be done. If you have a problem
with the way your spouse is accomplishing a task in the business
environment, discuss it immediately. Do not wait. Do not let
this build into anger that is transferred to your personal
relationship. Remember that keeping your business and personal
relationships separate is very important to the survival of both
your business and your marriage.
In Part II of this article we will discuss how to implement this
strategy.
Copyright 2000, DeFiore Enterprises.