Owning a business with your spouse is a rewarding, life-changing experience โ if you choose the right opportunity
You decided to spend your life with your significant other. Now, you’re considering whether opening a business with your husband or wife could be the next step. If you’re like most of us, when you leave the house in the morning, you spend the day missing that special someone. Opening a business with your spouse could mean unlocking a rewarding new chapter in your marriage.
Increasingly, husbands and wives are discovering the joys that come when they decide to start a company together. However, much of whether you decide to start a business with your S.O. comes down to a few important factors.
Taking the time to consider all of your options can make or break your new family-owned business. Here are a few questions to consider before you decide to start a business with your husband or wife.
Why can owning a business with my spouse be awesome?
Think about your wife or husband for a minute. You enjoy spending time together. You have shared tastes in movies and music. Maybe you both have a flair for adventure travel. They sound pretty awesome, and leaving them every morning for eight hours or more sounds depressing!
Now imagine waking up every day and getting to go to work with that person. He’s there to encourage you when you’re making that tough call or having a hard day. She’ll be there to celebrate after that big win with a grin and a firm pat on the back.
Owning a business with your spouse can be incredibly rewarding. But you’ll need to make sure you pick the right opportunity for both of you to maximize the experience.
How do I choose the right business to own with my spouse?
Think about your spouse and what makes them tick. Perhaps he likes to tinker. Maybe she’s good at math and finance. Or are they really good with people? Now do the same for yourself.
Chances are you just came up with two lists that are very different. Sure, you both have the ability to make people laugh and your friends all love you both, but your skills are probably complementary. There are areas of overlap, but there also are areas where one excels to make up the deficiencies of the other. Armed with this list, you can begin to assess what kinds of businesses you can go into. Here is a quick list of questions to help guide your process. Answer these questions for both of you, and then see where there are areas of shared potential.
- In what industry do each of you currently earn your living?
- What special skills do you have that could be used to generate a profit?
- Where are you stronger than your spouse? What about areas in which they are stronger than you?
- How do you each feel about manual labor? Sales? Accounting? Customer service? Does one of you love breaking a sweat while the other recoils at the idea of leaving the computer?
- Do each of you like being in an office? Or do you prefer being “out and about” doing your work?
Once you’re armed with these answers, you can begin to form a picture of the kinds of business opportunities that you should explore. Depending on the answers to these questions, your potential businesses could run the gamut from restaurants to home remodeling. Picking the right opportunity will help you both know what to expect when you start that new business.
What can I expect when I own a business with my spouse?
If you’re going to own a business with your wife or husband, you’ll need to set reasonable expectations for one another. Owning a family business is unlike opening any other kind of company. It’s a commitment not only to a business, but also to a set of shared values.
When you and yours decide to start a business together, you can expect the kinds of support and encouragement that helped you both make it through college or through that tough year of work. You’ll also be getting a business partner you can trust, with whom you have shared goals and who will look out for your interests.
At the same time, though, owning a business together can be challenging. He’s still your husband, and that can mean you’re bringing a spouse to work with you. At the end of the day, even a bad one, you still are going home to your wife. There are a few measures you can take, though, that will help make sure communication lines are open, disputes are resolved amicably, and your business belongs to both of you.
How can I position the business I own with my spouse for success?
Building a successful family business together will require a few things. You’ll both need to be completely open and up front about what you hope to achieve with the new endeavor. Beyond that, here are a few other factors that can help:
- Establish clear responsibilities. Write a job description for each of you. Make sure you both know what it is you have to do to make the business run on all cylinders.
- Maintain open communications. Schedule a meeting at regular intervals. During this meeting, have a written agenda outlining each aspect of the business and its functions. Go over challenging areas and update one another on progress and successes. Meanwhile, make sure there are methods for communicating on-the-go, either by cell phone, text or email. Communication is key.
- Keep employees in the loop. Make sure the people who work for your company know who they should turn to for answers to their questions. This can mean departmental responsibilities for each of you. Remember that list you made of your skills and theirs? Divvy up decision-making into the appropriate categories โ marketing, customer service, etc. โ and make sure employees know to whom they should address a particular question.
Most importantly, though, remember this: they are still your spouse, and this new business is about a lot more than just making money. Keep this in mind, and you’ll have set yourselves up for years of great, rewarding memories with one another.
How can N-Hance help me own a business with my spouse?
N-Hance franchise is a unique, wood refinishing franchise opportunity that makes a great business to own with your spouse. Our business model is simple to follow, our product is in high demand, and we will provide you with the operational and logistical support you need to succeed.
N-Hance Wood Refinishing is the No. 1 choice for refinishing cabinets, hardwood floors, furniture, and other wood surfaces. With more than 500 franchises in operation throughout North America, our owners enjoy high brand recognition and the power of a national presence in the local market.
More importantly, N-Hance franchise offers you both the opportunity to grow a business that embraces a diverse skill set, from sales to installation, and that means there is plenty of room for you and your spouse to establish yourselves as business leaders.
Get started with N-Hance Franchise today
Think N-Hance might be the right opportunity for you? Visit our research pages to learn more about what we do and how we do it. Or, if you’re ready to get started, request our free franchise information report and one of our N-Hance franchise team members will be in touch shortly.
