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Working Together In Marriage

For many couples, the dream of running their own lives and working side by side towards a common goal is their idea of a successful marriage. Some couples, on the other hand, take that metaphor literally and choose to begin a business together. Running the business, owning it, working long hours side by side with their entire financial future depending on their joined skill set is the reality of a family business, and a common issue brought to marriage counselors.

Judy and I had both worked for other corporations for years when we saw an ad for a franchise opportunity. It sounded like a fantastic idea. We would be able to take our skills in computer technology and business management and open our own branch of a computer consulting firm. I would run the technical side and she would run the business end of things. We poured our savings into opening the franchise unit. We talked everyday about how great it was that we would be working for ourselves, with no other bosses to worry about. We’d be in charge of our own future.

Bob and I were really caught up in the romantic side of running a business tighter. Instead of seeing the problems that could come up when working together so much, we just told ourselves that we’d been married for 20 years already, there wasn’t anything we couldn’t do together. But the close quarters and the stress starting getting to us. I need Bob and his team to get things done, but when I gave them deadlines he’d argue, then we’d argue, and then we became a couple we didn’t even recognize.

With no distinction between working life and home life, the lines of communication can become strained and blurred. While many couples find great success both living and working together, the arrangement isn’t right for everyone. Judy and Bob eventually sold their franchise and re-entered the traditional workforce. Through marriage counseling, they found ways to overcome their hurts and differences and find new success in their marriage.

This article was written by Staff Writer, and posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 7:56 am. It is filed under Marriage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.