My Experience Running a Husband and Wife Small Business

Honestly, owning a business is a blessing and a curse. It's true: some weeks I hate me and my husband's 18-year old small business. We own and operate together, a distribution, sales, and service business in the outdoor play systems' industry. We cover Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Most of the time, I'm satisfied. I'll take being my own boss any day of the week. As a husband and wife team, though, we've learned to embrace a plethora of obstacles related to our joint venture.

Husband and Wife Team Can Be Difficult- Running a business with a friend is one thing. Running a business with your spouse can be, well, challenging. At times, I dub this business union a challenge on a good day. On days filled with business and personal related stress, challenge is usually preceded by cuss words that I won't bother to share with you.

Private stuff, like a quarrel or family issues happen. Keeping the drama out of the business and our workday is critical to running a successful company. So, how do we manage this aspect of being a team?

We're married No Matter What- OK. We run a business together; foremost, though, we are married. For better or worse, we have ordinary stuff to push through like any couple does. And yep, we argue. There are days I feel awful if I've quarreled with my husband. I learned the hard way that I have no choice but to let it go before work. He has to do the same.

Don't take it to Work- With every ounce of emotional energy we can muster, we have to nip an at-home argument in the bud quickly. One of us has to step up and basically put an end to anything that causes stress before we leave for work. This was extremely difficult during the early years when we were growing our business.

I took the fallout of every argument, out of the front door, and off to work with us. My husband did, too. It goes without saying that starting our day fresh off a fight with each other is a formula for a disaster. It only serves to make every little problem at work more difficult to deal with. Now, we settle our disputes promptly. We get on with the day. And take my word; we are much happier overall as a couple.

Who Makes Major Decisions? Often, I tend to distrust my proficiency at key decision-making in our small business. Because of this, I encourage my husband to make the call on pertinent factors pertaining to the company.

Some may view this as a weakness on my part. I see it as having the honesty to admit that he has a clearer head when it comes to some of the major decisions. I believe, for the sake of our business, that there are times I need to step aside. However, we are a team after all, and most of the day-to-day business decisions are made based on our joint effort.

Respecting Each Other's Concepts- Our mutual goal is to keep our business on track. We don't always agree on the direction it needs to take, though. My husband urges me to think creatively when it comes to business ideas. He appreciates it when I come up with a concept that will make the company run more efficiently. However, we have always been of the mindset that it is OK to disagree if a proposed business strategy simply stinks.

After 18 years as a team, we've each come up with some foolish proposals. Don't think for a minute, though, that I haven't ditched plenty of my ideas without kicking and screaming all the way. My husband has been more than gracious in letting me fly with some of my crazy plans; only to watch them fail miserably. The point is: he respects me enough as his business partner to let me give something a try. I have done the same for him. Co-operation and fairness are key elements to a smart business relationship.

No Business after Eight O'clock- At the end of the day, we leave the office, and the business behind. The company consumed our life for so long; we made a pact a few years ago. We decided to end all business-related talk, starting at 8 p.m. When we get home at night, our private world takes center stage. Now, any dialogue about business can wait until tomorrow.

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