In it together: When your life partner is also your business partner

The topic of being in business with your life partner came up recently in our podcast episode with former world class triathlete Reto Hug, who became the leader of the team managing his wife Nicola Spirig, the best Olympic triathlete ever. Personally, I assist my wife Gabriela in running a bed & breakfast in beautiful Tuscany (www.villa-cardeto.it).

Have you had experience working with your spouse, or being in the same industry as them? If so, you might have faced problems such as:

• Struggling to prevent serious business conversations becoming emotional and spilling into your private lives.
• Constantly talking about work at home
• Having to decide what happens to the business if the relationship is strained, or vice versa
  

A business partnership is comparable to a personal relationship or marriage in that the two of you (ideally) share the same goals and share many of the same values, making it easy and effective to support, encourage, and bring out the best in one another at work. But it's not always that simple, and the stresses of working life can lead to tension.

On the other hand, navigating a business and personal relationship can be truly rewarding and fulfilling - certainly the case for me personally!

Leveraging the advantages, skills, and resources of 2 distinct parties with a shared goal is the foundation of partnerships. Recognize that your attitudes and capabilities will work well together to help you continually develop your strategic approaches. It will be much easier to strengthen the business relationship if you lay out your business plan and clearly define your duties and responsibilities based on your experience and interests.

It will become evident that different situations cause your levels of creativity and productivity to fluctuate. One of you, for instance, might work best in the early mornings, while the other might prefer being active later in the day. While the other may be excellent at building, creating, gardening or cooking, one may have good business acumen. You'll be able to manage your time more effectively, make better decisions, and advance your business by acknowledging and accepting these differences.

Every entrepreneurial journey has its ups and downs, and so does every personal relationship. But is there anything nicer than sharing success with a partner that is really important to you at a very personal level?

Any experiences on your side? Let us hear about them!

Patrick K. Magyar