Article 25 - Starting A Work At Home Business With Your Spouse

Starting A Work At Home Business With Your Spouse

Copyright © Elston Tuitt
Work at Home Business Ideas and Opportunities

While on the surface this may seem like a good idea. After all you will both share the same goal of making money for the family, you are used to each other’s little quirks and if the business is based out of your home, the cost of getting to work can be a great savings on the family budget.

However, two people learning to live together as man and wife can be tough enough without spending all day, everyday together. Before joining hands and taking the plunge into the work at home pool, you will need to take a hard look at some of the potential obstacles.

The first item on the list of possible challenges is the fact that you will be spending almost every waking hour with your spouse. While compatibility in a relationship can hold it together just fine, you must determine if that compatibility can withstand another eight hours a day.

Making the change from business partner to husband and wife every day can be a tough transition. You will not be able to leave all of your work problems at the job and home problems at the door.

Make sure your goals for the company are in line with those of your spouse. By sitting down and discussing the goals of the business you may learn that your idea of what to expect from the business may be contrary to what your spouse is looking to achieve.

You may want to eventually expand and franchise the business while your spouse wants to simply make enough money for the family to live comfortably. If your goals are not aligned, your business will probably fail and so might the marriage, so make sure the business plan (Palo Alto Business Plan Pro Premier 2007 (PC))is agreed.

One of the most important aspects of entering into a business partnership with a spouse is having clearly defined roles in the business. Determine up front who will perform what function such as accounting or who will handle incoming orders and packing for shipping.

Look at the strengths and plan individual roles that best complement the strengths of each partner. It is not a good thing for one partner to believe that while you are the boss at work, they are boss at home.

Resist the urge to let customers know your business partner is also your spouse. While this may seem unimportant, it can possibly cause a customer to hold back if they have a complaint against your partner.

You also need to deal with business issues in a professional and constructive manner. You should never personally attack your partner for a business decision. Instead, address the situation and ways to fix it instead of addressing your partner.

Never mix work and family issues when on the job. You need to have a set schedule for work and the rest of time can be spent on family issues. Trying to mix the two will almost guarantee failing at both. If you both want it to work it will.

Elston Tuitt has a flair for writing articles on a diverse range of subjects. He helps anyone who wants to build a successful proven home business. He is a business owner, entrepreneur and a website owner. Elston recommends you visit his Blog and Home Business Ideas Website


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