30. Love and Business - How to Run A Business With Your Partner Without Losing Your Mind

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Running a business with your romantic partner can be both a dream and a challenge. One day, you're celebrating big wins together, and the next, you're arguing over who forgot to send an invoice. The lines between work and home blur, and before you know it, date nights feel like board meetings. If you and your partner are in business together—or you're considering it—this episode is for you!

Join me as I dive into the realities of working with your significant other, sharing both the highs and the "why did I think this was a good idea?" moments. Plus, I’ll give you five key strategies to help keep your relationship strong while growing a business together.

Key Takeaways:

1. Define Your Roles and Responsibilities
   • Avoid the "I thought you were doing that" arguments by clearly assigning tasks.
   • Who handles marketing? Finances? Operations? Play to each other's strengths!
2. Separate Work and Relationship Time
   • Set boundaries: No business talk during dinner, in bed, or on date nights.
   • Establish office hours—even if you work from home.
   • Do non-business activities together to keep the relationship fun.
3. Master Communication
   • Business talk should be direct, but respectful—no passive-aggressive emails!
   • Weekly check-ins prevent small frustrations from snowballing.
   • Disagreeing on a marketing strategy doesn’t mean your relationship is failing.
4. Play to Each Other’s Strengths
   • Don’t force equal roles—delegate based on skillsets.
   • Example: One person handles networking, the other manages finances.
   • In my business, my husband stays behind the scenes, while I take the spotlight!
5. Have an Exit Strategy and Conflict Plan
   • What happens if one of you wants out? Discuss this before it becomes a problem.
   • Have a plan for handling disagreements—consider a mediator if necessary.

Common Challenges & How to Overcome Them:

• Different Work Styles: Use tools like Trello or Asana to organize tasks.
• Work Stress Affecting the Relationship: Set a "venting rule" and then move on.
• Feeling Like One Person Is Doing More: Regularly check in and redistribute tasks fairly.

Final Thoughts:
Running a business with your partner isn’t always easy, but it can be incredibly rewarding when done right. Remember:

• Your relationship comes first.
• Set boundaries and communicate.
• Play to each other's strengths.
• Have fu

Cheers! Thank you for joining us for another episode. Have a chaotic moment, question, or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message or leave a review! If you loved this episode, share it with a friend who thrives in beautiful chaos too.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to Caffeinated Chaos,where business deals happen
between diaper changes andfriendships are fueled by
caffeine.
I'm Whitney Uggen, your host,and I'm here to talk all things
business, parenthood, and ofcourse, keeping up with the
BFFs.
Whether you're juggling theboardroom, the playroom, or just
here for some coffee fueledchaos, we've got you covered.

(00:20):
Get ready for real talk, laughs,and a whole lot of heart as we
dive into the beautiful messthat is entrepreneurship,
parenthood, and everything inbetween.
So let's embrace the chaostogether.
Caffeinated, of course.
Running a business with yourromantic partner can feel like a
dream or a total disasterdepending on the day.

(00:44):
One minute you're high fivingover a big win, and the next you
are arguing over who forgot toset an invoice.
The lines between work and homeblur and suddenly your date
nights start feeling like boardmeetings.
Well, if you and your partnerare in business together.
Or you're thinking about goingdown that road, you are not
alone.

(01:05):
Plenty of couples make it work,but it takes effort,
communication, and a whole lotof patience.
So today we're diving into therealities of working with your
significant other, the good, thebad, and the why.
Did I ever think this was a goodidea of moments?
Plus, I'll share some practicaltips to keep your relationship
strong while growing yourbusiness together, because me

(01:26):
and my husband.
Actually have a businesstogether.
We run GaN Studios and we madesure that we crossed a line in
the sand to keep everything atpeace.
So whether you're running abusiness with your partner or
you're considering it, thisepisode is for you.
Let's start with the truth.
Running a business together isnot like those cute Instagram

(01:50):
posts where a couples sip coffeeand strategize.
With perfect lighting, thereality, you are spending a lot
of time together, sometimes toomuch.
The stress of business decisionscan spill into your personal
life.
It's easy to blur the linesbetween work, talk, and quality
time.
Your different working stylescan create unexpected conflict.

(02:12):
But it's not all bad.
There are huge benefits toworking with your partner.
You both get the vision andyou're working towards a shared
goal.
You have built in trust,something that's really hard to
find in businesses, and you canplay to each other's strengths
and compliment each other.
The key is really just figuringout how to make it work without

(02:34):
ruining your relationship in theprocess.
Okay, so I'm gonna give you fivestrategies to make it work, and
these are strategies that I'veused with my husband and what
our business mentor had told usin the beginning.
One, define your roles andresponsibilities.
One of the biggest mistakescouples make is assuming that

(02:56):
they'll just figure it out.
No, no, honey, no.
You need.
Clear roles.
Just like in any businesspartnership, who handles
marketing?
Who manages finances?
Who's responsible for day-to-dayoperations?
Where do your strengthsnaturally fit?

(03:17):
Having defined roles preventstepping on each other's toes
and eliminates the quote.
I thought you were doing thatarguments.
Yeah.
Starting to sound familiar.
Okay.
Number two, separate work andrelationship time.
When your partner is also yourbusiness partner, it is easy to

(03:38):
let work take over your entirelife.
Suddenly date nights turn intostrategy meetings, and your
morning coffee is just anotherbusiness huddle.
You need to set boundaries,create no business zones, no
business talk during dinner.
Definitely not in bed and youknow, don't bring it on date
nights.

(03:59):
I want you to set office hours,even if you work from home, have
designated times for work andtimes for real life and your
relationship.
Have non-business activities, dothings together that have
absolutely nothing to do withwork, whether it's game nights,
travel, or binge watching yourfavorite show.

(04:19):
Three, learn how to communicate,like really, really communicate
with each other.
Communication isn't justimportant.
It's everything.
Okay, but business communicationis.
Different from relationshipcommunication.
When in business talk be direct,but respectful.

(04:39):
No passive aggressive emails.
No, I'll do it myself.
Attitudes set up regularcheck-ins with each other too.
A weekly business meeting canhelp get everything on the
table, so little frustrationsdon't build up in time.
Also.
Don't make it personal.
Disagreeing on a marketingstrategy doesn't mean that your

(05:00):
relationship is failing separatebusiness frustrations from
personal ones.
Okay.
Four.
Play to each other's strengths.
Instead of trying to be equal ineverything, define tasks based
on strengths.
If one of you is great atnetworking, let them handle
sales.
If one of you is great and lovesspreadsheets and numbers, well

(05:24):
guess what?
You're probably doing thefinances.
And if one of you is thecreative genius, we'll put them
in charge of branding.
This prevents stepping on eachother's toes and allows you both
to thrive in your role.
S me and my husband do this.
We have clear defined roles.
Typically, he's behind thecamera.
He is behind the scenes.

(05:44):
You don't really see him comeup.
I am the voice on the podcast.
He is watching the childrenright now so that I can record
this.
We each have our task, and it'ssomething that we decided that
we wanted to do.
He wanted to be behind thescenes, and I was okay with
being upfront so.
Clear defined roles.

(06:05):
Okay, five.
Have an exit strategy andconflict plan.
No one wants to think aboutthis, but let's be real.
It happens.
Things go south sometimes, notjust in your business, but in
your relationship.
What's the backup plan?
If one of you wants out, how areyou gonna handle disagreements
that affect the business?

(06:26):
And can you hire a mediator oradvisor if needed?
Thinking about these thingsbefore they become problems can
save you a lot of stress later.
so we talked about some of mytips.
Let's move on to commonchallenges and how you can
overcome them.
Even if you do everything right,challenges do come up and here

(06:51):
are some common ones.
Challenge one.
And here are some common ones.
Again, take what you like, leavewhat you don't.
Challenge one.
You and your partner havedifferent work styles.
Maybe one of you is an earlybird, maybe the other's a night
owl.
Maybe one of you loves detailedplanning, and the other one is

(07:11):
like, let's just wing it, youknow?
Find compromises.
Maybe one of you handles theearly task while the other takes
late ones.
Use tools like Trello or Asanato organize task in any way that
works for both of you.
Also, any kind of systems I sayin this podcast or suggest are

(07:32):
systems that I know of.
We are not sponsored by them.
There's no affiliate links.
I'm just stating what is outthere.
Challenge two, work.
Stress can and will affect yourrelationship.
If sales are low or a bigproject flops, it's really easy
to bring that frustration intoyour personal life.

(07:54):
Have a venting rule where youallow limited time to vent.
Then.
Be like Elsa, and let it go.
Move on.
Remind each other that businessstruggles.
Don't define your relationship.
Okay, challenge number three.
One of you feels like you'redoing more and.

(08:16):
Anyone who's ever done a groupproject knows this feeling.
It's common that one persontends to feel like they're
carrying the weight of the team,whether or not that is actually
true.
So have regular check-ins todiscuss workloads and
redistribute tasks as needed.
Be honest about burnout and askfor help communicate.

(08:39):
You said this earlier, butcommunication is key.
All right.
Running a business with yourpartner isn't always easy, but
it can be one of the mostrewarding things you do if you
approach it with the rightmindset.
So please remember these thingsI.

(09:00):
Your relationship comes first.
No business success is worthruining what you have with your
partner.
Set boundaries, communicate andplay to each other's strengths.
And don't forget to have funoutside of work.
If you're already in businesswith your partner, I love to
hear how it's going.
What's been your biggeststruggle and how do you even

(09:22):
handle it?
DM me, leave a review.
Share your story, and if youfound this episode helpful, send
it to another couple.
You know, who's navigatingbusiness together?
Alright, all of my businesscouples out there, stick
together.
Build your relationship, buildyour business.
And have fun love you all.

(09:45):
Have a great day and I will seeyou in the next episode.
That's a wrap on another episodeof Caffeinated Chaos.
I hope you're leaving with alittle more clarity, a lot more
inspiration, and maybe even anextra shot of motivation.
If you loved today's episode,don't forget to follow us, leave

(10:05):
a review, and share it with afriend who could use just a
little chaos and caffeine intheir life.
Until next time, keep embracingthe mess, chase your dreams, and
make magic happen.
One caffeinated, chaotic momentat a time.
I will see you all soon.
Bye now.