Working with your family — especially your spouse — can be challenging. But it doesn’t need to be. Many couples navigate working together, successfully managing a family business, and even strengthen their marriage at the same time! In fact, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, 53% of managers in family-run businesses share those duties with a spouse.
Running a business with your spouse isn’t that dissimilar from marriage: it requires effort. Here are our top tips for successfully running a business with your partner:
- Create healthy boundaries. That means separating home and work. Don’t carry household conflicts — like forgetting to unload the dishwasher or a disagreement over parenting — into a work environment. Save resolving conflicts for after work.
- Set working hours. Be specific with your spouse about when you do (and don’t!) want to discuss work-related issues. Unless it’s urgent, keep it to the office hours and use the rest of the day as family time.
- Equally divide work duties. Ensure that there is an equitable division of labor and each person knows their specific duties.
- Create your own space. Even though you may work from home, that doesn’t mean you need to be in the same room or take breaks together. You can also email your spouse to limit interruptions and keep a record of the discussion.
- Remember the value of your relationship. Above all else, marriage, and the strength of your relationship, comes first. That means bringing the values of marriage into your working relationship, too: trust, respect, consideration, communication and being open to feedback and conflict resolution.
