Starting a Business With Your Special Someone

Starting a Business With Your Special Someone

When you’re in love, you want to do everything together. Why not embrace your small business dreams as a couple, as well? There are some definite benefits and drawbacks, but with a bit of awareness, you can run a successful business with your significant other.

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Take Your First Steps

One of the best things you can do for your fledgling business is to write a business plan which specifically lays out your plans and goals for the business. The document has sections to describe your business motto and culture, detail products and services, specify the business structure, and project funding and earnings information.

Once the business plan is completed, you both should have a clear idea of what you’re doing, though you should feel free to revisit this living document any time you need to.

Purchase a Larger House for Your Home Business

As your business grows, you may find that you need more room to accommodate inventory, supplies, or customers. If this is the case, you may want to consider buying a larger home for your business. While this may seem like a daunting expense, it can actually save you money in the long run. First of all, you won’t have to pay for commercial rental space. Additionally, you may be able to take advantage of lower property taxes and insurance rates by running your business out of your home.

When you’re ready to purchase a home, research home prices in your area and then connect with a knowledgeable real estate professional who can help you find the right home for your business.

Separate Romance and Business

When you spend all day with your sweetie, lines become blurred between business partner and loved one. Making a few changes and considerations from the very beginning may help you avoid this potential pitfall.

• Set clear roles. Each of you should have a specific part of the business you’re in charge of. Think of your individual strengths, and begin there. This prevents you from stepping on each other’s toes for every decision.
• Set time boundaries. Especially at the beginning, launching a new business takes a lot of time and effort. Be sure you’re setting specific time boundaries on when you’ll work, and then stick to them. While you can work at different times, you both should be putting similar amounts of time into working on the business unless you’ve discussed otherwise.
• Don’t bring work home, and vice versa. If you have an argument one evening, you can’t let that come to work with you the next day. By the same token, if you two have a disagreement about something in the business, shelve it at the end of the work day. Don’t bring that home to your private life.

Keep the Fires Burning

At some point, you just need to hang up your work hat and spend some time with the person you love. One great idea is to schedule a regular date night. Try something new every month, but make sure you’re not simply spending your entire dinner talking about inventory or finances.

While it may sound counterintuitive, it’s also helpful to spend some time without your partner. Go out with friends, watch a movie, or just run errands on your own. This helps keep you from being in each other’s face all the time, and gives you more to talk about at the end of your day than work, work, work.

Maintain Balance and Achieve Business Success

Write a detailed business plan, purchase a new home if you need more space for a home business, separate your relationship from your business, and find ways to stay romantic. Keeping these simple tips in mind helps you balance home and work with your special someone.

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This article was written by a guest writer, Vanessa Holwell.

Vanessa Holwell and her husband, Rick, created HiringSquad.net after losing their jobs during the financial crisis in 2008. The site is designed to be a forum for people to share advice on how to get hired, provide job search resources, and give you the tools you need to get the job you want.