My wife and I first met each other in the company where we both worked before. After we got married, we continued working there together for two more years. Did we have a hard time working with each other? I would say, not really. We saw to it that we would remain professional when dealing with each other at work. When we had misunderstandings, we always made sure that we would not let such to affect our work relationship. Could that be because we respect our bosses and our workmates? Of course but also because we wanted to promote professionalism. More than anything, we wanted our relationship to bless others and not be a burden.
When I decided to give up my sales career in the year 2018 and start my own training company, my wife supported my decision. She continued working in that company until she also decided to take another path. Now that the operations involved in my training company are getting too much for me to handle alone, I asked my wife for help to which she agreed.
Now, working together in our own business is different than working together for someone else’s business. My wife has a mind of her own and thinks differently sometimes. Since both of us can contribute ideas, arguments sometimes take place when these ideas are not entertained nor accepted.
Indeed, there are disadvantages when you work with your spouse, but the following advantages outweigh these disadvantages.
First and foremost, your spouse knows your vision and mission by heart and no one else badly wants you to achieve those more than him/her. Although not very expressive, my wife shows me her support in my endeavors by allowing me to join training programs which are not only expensive but also entails me being away for many days. This is so I can enhance myself to become an effective trainer and coach. She religiously does her part in the operations of the company not only to ease my duties but also to fulfill our goals.
Second, your spouse would understand you better now that he/she knows the nature of your business. When we were not working together, we often experience misunderstandings because of our different tasks and challenges. In our minds, we are more burdened than the other. It was because we did not understand the challenges that come with our work. Now that my wife and I are finally working together, this kind of misunderstanding is no longer an issue for us.
Third, you will have more time together than before. I think it is safe to say that having less to no time for each other is a common complaint among many husbands or wives. This problem will be addressed when spouses work together instead, either as employees in the same company or as business owners and managers. Even though my wife and I have different daily tasks or assignments, we still get to talk a lot more than before because we are physically together, we talk about our common goals, and we collaborate to create projects for our company. Plus, we can now take breaks together.
Fourth, you have someone who will serve as the voice of reason when you make major decisions for the company. This person is vital because sometimes, no matter how we equip ourselves with new knowledge and skills through various training and self-development programs, we still tend to make bad decisions. This is the tendency when we do it on our own. Since my wife started working with me, I was able to see things from another person’s perspective. Hence, my decision-making ability improved.
Fifth, you grow together in all aspects of life. When spouses work together, both can discover new learnings together that will result in the growth of their business and their relationship. My wife and I found ideas that helped us become better in handling our business, and in making it grow. We learned how to use our unique strengths for the better, and how to deal with our weaknesses. More importantly, we were able to understand each other’s personalities now more than ever.
I agree that working with your spouse will not always be a smooth journey, but it is the best way to strengthen not only your business but also your marriage. At least for me.
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