Married to your Business Partner

In honor of Valentine’s Day 2020 we wanted to write an article about being married to your business partner. Any marriage has ups and downs, and although wonderful, the entrepreneurs’ marriage has its own challenges. Being married to your business partner can definitely draw you closer together, but it can also push you further apart. We definitely don’t have everything figured out yet, but the fact that we both genuinely love working together and being married is awesome. So, we wanted to share a few tips and tricks we have learned that help us be drawn closer together and keep our marriage glowing and growing just like it should. 

Never go to bed angry with each other. 

Let’s face it, if you’re married you’ll have spats, arguments, and fights. Not only does this practice create a much healthier marriage, it also saves time the next day. Waiting until the next day to deal with a spat only waists time the next day and allows feelings to fester so that there are more things to have to work through. So get it done and over with the night before. Also, make sure you don’t hold grudges and that you forgive quickly. You’ll find you’re both much more productive and that there’s a lot more peace in your home and business by following this rule. 

Always start your day together with prayer. 

Obviously, this is always a good idea no matter what. However, when you work together this becomes imperative for keeping peace and sanity. Starting the day with prayer aligns your hearts and minds to be centered around Christ, which also encourages you to view your spouse the way that God wants. When you work together this is probably the most valuable thing you can do. 

Take 5 minutes a day to share your feelings. 

Sometimes getting busy with work and responsibilities distracts you from taking time to see how your spouse is really doing. Setting aside 5 minutes every day to share just how you’re really feeling is crucial. Being open about your emotional, spiritual, physical and mental wellbeing helps your spouse make adjustments to help your day together be the best possible. Being an entrepreneur is the farthest thing from boring and mundane, so keeping tabs on how your spouse is doing daily really helps maintain stability for your relationship. 

Learn to handle stress.

Life is stressful. Being married, a parent, working a job, sickness, bills, owning a home or vehicle… These things are all stressful to some degree. So many things in life are stressful, but being self employed is a special type of stress. Take time to identify how you and your spouse each personally handle stress. Once identified, help each other come up with creative ways to combat stress together. Don’t be afraid to try different ideas and always catch the stress as soon as possible. Learning to combat stress will be refreshing and beneficial to your marriage and business. 

Remember to laugh. 

Laughter is good medicine. Learn to laugh at yourself  and see the funny side of life together. Ironically, this also helps combat stress. There is enough decision making and adulting to go around for a lifetime. Remembering to laugh will encourage healthier perspectives and enjoyment in life. Laughing easy also makes you much more fun to be around, which encourages a happy marriage. If you are having a hard time finding the funny side of things try finding a comedian you both like. Chances are you will end up with some great inside jokes, which will only help you to remember to laugh more.

Don’t be an echo chamber.

When you work together it’s easy to just regurgitate the same ideas over and over. When you’re trying to grow a business you spend a lot of time together discussing, planning, and working. Talking to your spouse is really a great thing, but sometimes your conversations get stuck. Instead of echoing each other, regurgitating, and cycling which all lead to irritation and frustration, remember to build healthy relationships with friends and mentors. Building relationships with others will provide you with fresh ideas and new perspectives as you work towards building an awesome relationship with your spouse. 

Schedule and invest in hobbies and interests.  

As an entrepreneur the sad truth is, if it isn’t on the schedule, it probably won’t happen. Make sure to schedule hobby nights, family time, dates, and other fun activities. There will always be work to do as an entrepreneur, and it will always be hard to find time to do things that “don’t pay the bills”. However, making it mandatory to set aside time for your hobbies and interests is vital. Scheduling these times ensures they will happen. Spending time doing things we enjoy is healthy both individually and for your marriage. Don’t lose your identity by being so driven with your business that you forget to develop other areas of your life. Cultivating your hobbies and interests keeps things interesting. Also, having hobbies and interests gives you things other than business to talk about, which is a win win. 

Keep it romantic. 

Be more than just coworkers. Make sure to keep the flame of love burning. This can mean different things depending on personalities and where you’re at in life. But, whether it means going on vacation together or having a morning coffee at your kitchen table, make sure it happens. Take time to look through your wedding album, watch a romantic movie, get dressed up and go out to dinner – just do something. Invest in your marriage by taking time to cultivate and grow your romance. You take time for your business, why not take time for your marriage? After all, without your marriage your business wouldn’t be worth everything you invest in it. 

Be thankful. 

Being thankful is always l. Finding things to be thankful for in your marriage and about your spouse will help you have a better attitude and outlook on life. Being thankful for your spouse will encourage them and uplift them. When we feel appreciated we are more likely to go above and beyond. Thankfulness is contagious. So, try listing three things each day that you’re thankful for. Think of things that are unique to your work and life and explain why you are thankful for them. Whether they are big things or little things expressing what you are thankful for will be an uplifting and positive experience for your marriage. Make it a habit. 

Strive for balance. 

When you’re an entrepreneur finding balance is always difficult and can sometimes feel impossible. Often times you will just get the hang of balancing everything going on and then… it all changes. When life circumstances change your balance is gone unless you make changes accordingly. Recognize this with your spouse and be sure to discuss life changes that are happening, no matter how small. Be willing to make changes quickly in order to maintain balance and order in your life. Realize there is no such thing as perfect and be patient with your spouse as you work through this ever changing process.

Valentine’s Day is a great time for rekindling and refocusing our marriages to be on track with where we really want them. So, we hope that these tips and tricks encourage you in some way. If nothing else, we want to share the message that being married to your business partner is absolutely possible, crazy fun, and we wouldn’t change a thing.