Recently in a podcast interview, I was asked a question that took me off guard.
Steve, do you recommend working together on a business with your spouse or significant other?
Here’s the thing. Starting and running a successful business is enough of a challenge as is. But when you add working with your spouse into the mix, you potentially have a recipe for disaster.
Now at first glance, starting a business with your significant other might appear like the ideal situation.
After all, you have the rare opportunity to work with someone whom you implicitly trust. You know their strengths, their weaknesses and that their interests are directly inline with your own.
The rewards can be great but when things go wrong, you can potentially ruin both your marriage and your business. Even though my wife and I get along really well, working with her on the business has been extremely challenging.
For example, my wife and I never used to fight at all before we launched our online store. Never!
But over the past 8 years, we’ve had some pretty bad, mentally draining fights. And the sad part is that we kept fighting all the time until we finally figured out a strategy on how to work together effectively. (I shut up and started agreeing with whatever she said)
Anyway, if you are even remotely thinking about working together with your significant other or even someone who you live with, here are some tips that worked for us.
We Divided Up The Responsibilities
One of our biggest problems early on was that we both tried to do everything ourselves and constantly clashed over key decisions. For example, my wife and I constantly argued about what products to carry and what look and feel we wanted for the store.
Did we want to appear sophisticated or casual and fun? Did we want to start off with only a limited product selection or did we want to open our business with a comprehensive array of items? What were our customer support policies? How quickly did we want to launch the store?
We kept stepping on each others toes and even worked on redundant tasks in the beginning since we each had our own ideals of how we wanted the business to be run. Ultimately, after a bunch of fights, we decided that it was best to divide up the decision making power and responsibilities.
Each person would have full control in their given domain but suggestions would be taken into consideration.
Since weddings were my wife’s passion, I reluctantly agreed that she should be in charge of determining what products to carry and the general look and feel of the store. She had a finance background too so it also made sense for her to handle all of the numbers.
Having a technical background, I was in charge of creating the website and implementing all of the logistics pertaining to the customer experience.
I had final say in most of the web design decisions and PPC marketing campaigns. My wife focused on working with vendors and deciding which products to sell. We still had our share of arguments, but we managed to defer decision making responsibility to whomever was in charge of their respective area.
We Set Aside Separate Workspaces
No only did my wife and I clash over decision making, but we also physically got in each other’s way around the office. In the beginning, we only devoted a single room to the business. The logistics behind this decision was that we thought being in the same room would foster communication and facilitate open discussion and productivity. Yeah right!
The problem was that the space was so small that the only thing we fostered was arguments. Our respective work spaces were so tight that we literally ran into each other on a constant basis. This caused unnecessary frustration because we both felt extremely claustrophobic.
I remember one particular fight where I accidentally rolled back in my chair and ran over some important documents that were on the floor behind me. The documents weren’t ruined but they did have a feint wheel tread imprinted on them where I had backed my chair.
My wife got really pissed off because she felt the documents were now too dirty to send out. I was mad because she shouldn’t have been putting such important papers on the floor directly behind my chair. Anyways, you get the picture. In the end, we decided to set aside separate work areas for each other (This is a euphemism for I got kicked out of the office).
We Set Aside Time To Just Hang Out
It’s very easy to get caught up in your business and forget about everything else. Simple questions like “How are you feeling today” or “How was your day?” were forgotten and replaced with “Did you ship out the order to the customer on time?”, “Did you contact the vendors?”, “Did you remember to buy the packaging materials?”.
We were so obsessed with the business at one point that I had absolutely no idea what was going on in my wife’s life for a period of several weeks.
The last straw broke when I completely forgot about a dinner appointment that my wife and I had planned with a good friend of hers that she really wanted me to meet. At that point, I realized that we needed to cut back on the business and focus more on our relationship and marriage again.
We came up with a schedule where we dedicated time slots just to hang out. No talk of the business was allowed and we tried to plan activities that were interactive and fun. Setting aside this time also provided the necessary stress relief required to recharge our batteries and renew our spirits. My wife turned into a wife again and not a coworker.
We Listened To Each Other
One of our biggest problems in the beginning was that we were both too opinionated about certain aspects of the business. There was my way of doing things and her way of doing things and no in between. When we discussed our plans of action with each other, we didn’t really listen. What made things worse was the fact that we knew how to push each other’s buttons all too well.
“I would like to organize our inventory this way.”
“I don’t think that your way is the most efficient way. Why don’t we try …blah…blah”
“Can I just do things my way? This is how I want to handle our inventory ok?
“Ok fine. Are you going to organize them as well as you organize your desk? Can you even see your desk under that pile of junk? When was the last time you were able to maintain any sort of organization?”
“Last time I checked, I organized our wedding, but you’re right, perhaps that was a big mistake”
In any case, once things started getting out of control, we sat down and had a long talk. And the outcome of our discussion was that we agreed to make an active effort to not interrupt each other and pay more attention.
Its amazing how well two people can get along by just listening. Amazing…
We Came Up With A Child Care Strategy
Just when things related to the business started getting under control, our new born daughter turned our world completely upside down. We could no longer devote the same amount of time to the business and we had to constantly cater to her every whim. This was probably the most challenging time for our business because we were first time parents and had absolutely no clue.
To get around the demanding needs of our daughter, my wife and I took turns taking care of her while the other person worked on the business. We also hired babysitters and enlisted friends and family to help us out as well. All of this turmoil could have been avoided had we planned ahead.
Frantically trying to find child care right at the moment when you need it is very stressful. If you are expecting a child or have children of your own, make sure you plan ahead, work out a schedule and hire the necessary help way in advance.
We Always Forgave Each Other
Sometimes inappropriate things are said in the heat of an argument and it’s important to give each other the benefit of the doubt and forgive. Wait till you both have cooled down and then talk about it.
Over time, my wife and I have become masters of forgiveness and I think that this has made our relationship even stronger. Ironically, my wife got mad at me for writing this blog entry because I didn’t consult her before posting it up. However, I’m sure everything will be all good once I point out this last paragraph to her.
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Steve Chou is a highly recognized influencer in the ecommerce space and has taught thousands of students how to effectively sell physical products online over at ProfitableOnlineStore.com.
His blog, MyWifeQuitHerJob.com, has been featured in Forbes, Inc, The New York Times, Entrepreneur and MSNBC.
He's also a contributing author for BigCommerce, Klaviyo, ManyChat, Printful, Privy, CXL, Ecommerce Fuel, GlockApps, Privy, Social Media Examiner, Web Designer Depot, Sumo and other leading business publications.
In addition, he runs a popular ecommerce podcast, My Wife Quit Her Job, which is a top 25 marketing show on all of Apple Podcasts.
To stay up to date with all of the latest ecommerce trends, Steve runs a 7 figure ecommerce store, BumblebeeLinens.com, with his wife and puts on an annual ecommerce conference called The Sellers Summit.
Steve carries both a bachelors and a masters degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Despite majoring in electrical engineering, he spent a good portion of his graduate education studying entrepreneurship and the mechanics of running small businesses.
We (my wife and I) are working on it.
Great ideas…I will try them with her…probably divide tasks is our main difficulty right now.
Thanks.
Great article! My husband and I can already see that it’s best to divvy up most of the tasks. He’s much better at the technical things; I’m better at the organizational things. So he’s in charge of choosing a shopping cart, installing the SSL cert, etc. I’m in charge of doing the paperwork for business license, FEIN, keeping track of receipts for taxes, etc. I’m sure we’ll still argue, but hopefully not too much 🙂
Yeah, divvying up the tasks is key and the only reason why we’re still married:)
This is a great article, my spouse and have been working together for juat over a year and can get in exactly the same arguments over very menial things like the paper order or a USB stick! However we have found that working in separate rooms helps and that there really is no need for either of us to her the content of every phone call made or received and to trust each other to make the right decision in the circumstances : )
Can you believe that we used to share the same computer? That was a disaster waiting to happen:)
Your article put a smile on my face. The hardest thing I had to learn was to shut up and listen (and then do it her way). Once I mastered that we where fine. You are also absolutely right that you need to divide up the responsibility and DO NOT second guess the other person. With those two simple things in place life is good.
Great article!
Thanks
Haha. Yes Keith. That is the meaning of life! Happy wife, happy life:)
Wow Steve
Thanks for such an honest article
I often wish that my wife and I could start a business together or if she was even a little entrepreneurial (she isnt)
But after reading your article I realise that not everyone is meant to have a business relationship with your wife
God Bless you
Hey Mohammed. Absolutely true. Make sure your marriage is strong first:)
Great article Steve. Also very timely. My wife and I are reviewing our options for her to stay home after her Mat Leave runs out with our second child.
With both of us being very competitive when we dig into something I can see some of the very same confrontations being in the works.
Our current strategy is to establish a completely separate side business she is 100% in charge of leveraging my current online business only in the same capacity a paying customer would…all plans are solid until put into practice! Looking forward to continue to hear more about how you guys manage 2 kids, wife, day job and online business (exact same very fortunate setup on my end).
Thanks for the note Jon. I’m glad there are similar people in my situation out there. I’m not sure how much more I’ll be writing about this topic though as it always seems to stir the pot a bit:)
My wife and I actually run a food and travel blog. She focuses on the travel and me on the cooking. We have other divisions based on our respective skill sets.
We can relate to what yo have written Steve. It’s tough working with your wife and many people underestimate just how tough it is! I love your honesty (and touch of humor).
Cheers.
Thanks Mark!
Nicely said Steve. Thoughts are very much more powerful here, the moment you say “each other” everything goes perfect. It naturally helps to balance between business and personal life. I have also made it good in my life and at least I am able to concentrate time for my online business still managing the family well.
Good Luck.
Thanks Ven!
Damn, where was this post a few years ago when I need it. Having a Risk-Taker and a Non-Risk Taker in the house was never going to have a happy ending.
You really should get into marriage counselling as that is great advice.
BTW: Those hankies are Rockin’. Nicely touch with the coat hanger design.
I think it can work actually. I know a few husband wife teams that are complete opposites in terms of risk tolerance and it all balances out.
Nice and lovely article! I love how you bold the keywords =), good wits!
It’s really a sure way to disaster running a business with your spouse. I totally do not recommend it. But I’m glad that you two survive through it. Keep up the good work, Steve!
I completely agree Mathieu:)
Hi Steve,
Nice article. Even i am working with my husband in the web marketing sector. though t is not my area of interest but my husband wanted me to be the part of his firm. being in same business, I personally feel that we are not as together as a married couple should. We have conversation on business things only. i will show your article to him so that life can be balanced at both front- personal and professional..
Thanks
Love the post and pics – esp where your wife stuffs your shot =). Boy those arguments sure sound like some of the ones Phyllis and I have had in the past too. Haha. Hope to see you all soon again!
Great post. This is very informative and effective article. I think its very helpful for us. Thanks for your nice post.
Lovely post 🙂 I think all the working couples should implement these great steps to run a succesfull business !
Thank you for the great article! … And I can speak to it’s validity. I married a multi-potentialist and have a flair for the entrepreneurial myself. My husband and I have been married just shy of 7 years, we have a 9 month old and co-own several businesses together. It can be done!
Divide and conquer, learn to listen, ask for advice/wisdom from others, taking time off and learning how to communicate and serve each other made such a huge difference for us.
Challenging? Uh, yeah. More so than spending 2 weeks backpacking solo through the Andes mountains. Rewarding? Absolutely! Our capacity to take on new challenges continues to grow exponentially because we have learned how to become a better team together.
Thank you for writing a positive article about marriage and business ownership!
Great Article. I appreciate the openness and honesty. My wife and I just had this conversation for the millionth time last night. It’s hard because we both want to succeed, in part to take care of and impress the other, but in doing so, it’s also hard to recognize that at the start of the day and the end of the day they’re our spouse. Great encouragement. We’re not the only ones facing these challenges. Thanks for the article. I will definitely check out more.
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Great Article. My husband and I are planning to start a business soon and I’m somehow agitated on how it will play out. This has really encouraged me. I love your openness in discussing the roughness and toughness of getting along with your spouse; it’s so real. Thank God for the success so far.
Abiola (Nigeria)
Steve very good article with some really practical suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to share as you and your wife’s areas of strengths are similar to my wife’s and mine. We are going to sit down and put some of these principles into play. Thanks again my friend!
My husband works for me yet likes to take credit for running the business and innovation I create. He makes no high level decisions nor help with executive tasks but he tells everyone about all the things and deals I get done, stealing the glory. I hate working with him. He is a horrible employee that does what he wants without following company procedure. He makes small impact.. i wish i had never asked him to help me out and take on a few ‘doer’ tasks to help years ago.. i would rather have someone else work for me and just have him as a husband. It is a bad situation as He thinks he is super important to the company but he is not. He gets in the way and i can not delegate tasks to him that are management level. Frustrating because your book is not helpful to me As it is not a sutuation of divide and conquer tasks.. any suggestions?
This was hilarious. You have a great voice for these things. Thank you for the post. It was incredibly refreshing. This was my first, so I’m looking forward to the rest of your content!
Cheers,
BC
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