THE DOS AND DON’TS OF STARTING A BUSINESS WITH YOUR LOVER

***Note:  make sure you don't have a relationship that is base on a "codependency of interest!"

When two streams are flowing in the same
 direction they are  both contributing to same pool.
Two is always better than one!

Starting a business with your romantic partner can be one of the best decisions you can ever make. Having the opportunity to do something you love with someone you love can be both rewarding and exhilarating. At the same time, getting a new business off of the ground can be taxing and tiresome, and if not properly dealt with these stressors can wreak havoc on your relationship. .To survive your business’ infancy stages with your relationship still intact, check out the dos and don’ts of going starting a business with your romantic partner.

Do be clear about expectations and responsibilities: 

My role is to do the road work!

My role is to do the paper work!

 

Piling the tasks associated with your business on top of your everyday responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning and paying the bills will almost always leave you feeling overwhelmed. And on the days when it feels like you’re stretching yourself thin, it will be easy to become frustrated with your partner because you feel like you’re doing everything. Before this happens, sit down with your boo and have an honest conversation about your roles within the household and the business. Establish a clear understanding regarding what you each expect of each other and who is responsible for what. Trust me, this will prevent problems down the line.

Let's face it  you screwed up!

Don’t play the blame game: Learning how to run your business is a lot like learning to ride a bike: you will fall off. There will be scrapes, scabs and bruises, but you’ll learn from them if you allow yourself to. When you encounter those inevitable setbacks and painful experiences on the road to entrepreneurship, it will be very easy to turn around and blame each other. When you’re tempted to point the finger and say, “This was your idea. I told you that we should have never done this,” remember that you’re a team and you’re in this together. Beating him down is not going to change what happened. When things calm down, address the mistake and discuss how you may be able to avoid a misstep of this nature in the future.

Let's save this for later

Do establish boundaries in business settings: While it’s perfectly fine to play footsie under the kitchen table and blow kisses at each other while the two of you work on your business’ social media strategy until the wee hours of the morning, you might want to cut back on the flirting while doing business in the presence of others. Treat each other at work like business associates. Avoid pet names, kissing during doing business for example.

Our Stock is up!

Don’t take business to bed with you: Things will go wrong sometimes and you will not always agree on everything, but find a way to separate your business relationship from your romantic relationship. Never, ever allow business-related disagreements to carry over into your bedroom and if possible, avoid going to bed angry. Of course, this is much easier said than done, but as with anything else, finding a healthy balance is possible if you consciously work at it.

Do communicate: Communication is key in both healthy relationships and successful businesses. Failure to properly correspond could result in loss of money and a host of other issues that could hurt your business.

Remember no business talk today

Don’t let bae time fall by the wayside: All of the excitement and stress that comes with starting a new business will have you wanting to talk about it all of the time. However, you must remember to nurture your relationship. Establish a date night and quiet times throughout the weekend where you both agree not to mention anything work related.


OK, but should you keep your personal relationship a secret?

For folks whose relationship will be viewed under a microscope, speculated and whispered about, the notion of keeping it secret seems cautious, protective, smart. Not only do people assume most Men in business  can’t be faithful, there are plenty of people who will root for public relationships to fail.

So figure out what  will work best for you and yours.
         Safe guard your privacy

If people don’t know you’re  married, if there are no social media announcements, there will be fewer people, random people, asking questions about your personal business.

Keeps your business your own 

Can we keep it a secret if we're wear our rings?

When we’re in love, we have a tendency to want to declare it. You might want to keep certain details or the entire relationship to yourself but as you’re speaking, things just keep flying out. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But it also invites wandering eyes into one of your most private, most intimate relationships. As joyous and celebratory as togetherness can be, they can be just as special if they’re shared between the two people who will ultimately have to work to keep the union strong.