Starting a business requires a complete commitment to the goal of finding your market and serving your customers. Many entrepreneurs find that involving their spouse in the business helps to integrate it more fully into their lives and to provide a reliable confidante for advice and ideas. However, this spousal arrangement can be problematical when business threatens to dominate their personal lives. A number of tips can help you to keep the business in its proper place and preserve the marital bond.
Dividing Tasks
Working with your spouse allows for greater ease in dividing up the many tasks that business owners must accomplish each day. It is likely that you have a good idea of your spouse’s strengths and weaknesses. It is also likely that your spouse knows your strengths and shortcomings as well. You can use this information to assign tasks according to these strengths to make the business run more efficiently. It also allows you a more realistic assessment of what you can’t do, and where you should see outside resources to help support your efforts. For instance, if your spouse is better with money management, you can allow him or her to manage bank reconciliation, merchant accounts and accounts receivable while you concentrate on marketing efforts, client contact, purchasing and other duties.
The Time Factor
A new business often takes long hours of attending to details that can take you away from family responsibilities. When your spouse works with you, it helps to in cementing the bond between you. The spouse can be at the business and knows the day-to-day developments. Many business owners often involve their children in the business even when they are small. This allows the business owner to stay in touch with family even while caring for business concerns. However, it’s also important to find time away from the business to maintain a good perspective of both business and family life.
Money Matters
Having your spouse work with you on your business can make it easier to keep financial matters private. You can eliminate having office workers handling cash or knowing bank details. Your spouse can be a dependable partner in financial planning, acquiring loans, payment of loans, managing costs and decisions on expansion of the business. Close communication and a well-organized office system can help to keep track of credit card payment processing and accounts receivable.