Should You Start A Business With Your Spouse? (3 Tips)

It’s been over 10 years now, since my husband (Anu) and I began running our range of businesses together. We have come a long way I will admit. Today, we employ a growing number of staff and run our companies according to best practice principles. It has been a very rewarding and enjoyable experience all the way, the numerous challenges notwithstanding (believe me, there have been many!).

Recently (on Thursday 18th August 2011), Anu and I attended a “Diamond Business Club Networking Event” (held at a well known Restaurant & Bar in the Ikeja G.R.A. of Lagos). It was organised by our bank, in line with its Micro Small and Medium Enterprises development (MSME) strategy to promote interaction between certain groups of its customers in different industries for mutually benefitting networking purposes.

During that event, we handed out printed versions of our one page EDUCATIONAL flyer titled “FORGET DISINFECTANTS? Could There Really Be A BETTER Way To Keep Your Kitchen & Toilet/Bathroom Germ Free?“. In the course of the many conversations that took place, we once again found ourselves being asked “You mean you guys are married, and you run your businesses together? How do you cope? Don’t you get tired of seeing each other? Do you maintain joint accounts?” etc

For us however, the answers are quite simple. And any couple that is able to find similar answers for themselves, will do just as well as we have done – and continue to do – if not better. Are you trying to decide whether or not to start a business with your spouse (or partner)?

Here are a few tips to help you make up your mind:

1. Do You Have A Deep Friendship?

Yes, I know, LOVE…that word always comes up. However, in Nigeria especially, many who get married because they love one another, seem for some strange reason, unable to make a success of working at a mutual business interest with those they claim to love.

The reason is quite simple. You see, after love, I believe the next level a relationship needs to attain is that of FRIENDSHIP. Getting there requires both parties to work hard at better understanding one another. You will be prepared to see things from the perspective of your spouse, and to accept that sometimes s/he may not see eye to eye with you.

That understanding will see you through turbulent periods that WILL occur as you run you business(es).

Please note that friendship – true/real friendship implies trust. If you cannot trust your spouse as it relates to money, and keeping confidences, don’t try to start a business with him/her.

I would add that if this is the case, you might want to ask yourself what you’re even doing together at all!

2. Do You Have Similar Passion For Business?

Without passion, a one-man business will struggle to survive. When therefore you have to run a business with your spouse, it becomes crucial that BOTH of you have similar passion for it, otherwise, there will be major conflict e.g. one person will be hungry for more, even when things are getting tough, while the other will be lukewarm or downright negative or antagonistic about it.

Does your spouse share your enthusiasm for the business idea? If your friendship is deep enough, there is a good chance you will be able to determine this fairly easily. If the answer you come up with is NO, then think carefully before you go ahead. There’s no point starting something that will get abandoned mid way through.

One more thing: There is the chance that your spouse might want to go into a different business venture, totally unrelated to yours. If this happens, you could jointly explore ways to share the overheads (e.g office space, manpower, utilities bills etc). Every now and then, you could help one another out with ideas and even with meeting client or customer demands. Anu and I do this a lot.

3. Are You Both Ready For It?

This is probably the most important consideration you need to make. Even when both spouses are retired or have lost their jobs, they may not necessarily see starting a business as the logical direction to go. One person might prefer to keep looking for employment for instance.

But many times, people who care for one another do not want to offend or disappoint their partners or spouses. So, they say YES, and agree to go along with the other’s plans, so as to please them.

Rarely does this work for the long term. My advice is that you sit down with your spouse and ask him/her for an honest response to this question. Like I said in 2. above, if your understanding of your partner is sound, you are likely to be able to judge from his/her body language what the REAL answer is i.e. even if s/he does not admit it.

Summary

Anu and I have gone through many experiences together in running our different businesses over the last 10 years. Many times we have experienced devastating setbacks relating to client payments that failed to come, lack of bank support, getting defrauded by a supplier etc.

It is my considered opinion that the 3 factors mentioned above, were key to our ability to keep going until we recovered and eventually succeeded.

If you and your spouse can address these 3 and other possible influencing factors effectively, I believe your chances of jointly succeeding in business will be quite high.