This week we are going to tackle a subject, that for some, would seem crazy. Working with your significant other… Seeing as this topic is so large, I am going to break it into multiple segments starting with some of the pitfalls.
In this blog we will focus mainly on the DIFFICULTIES that some individuals encounter running a company with a person they see all hours of the day and at night. No solutions, or suggestions, just the straight-up blind details. We will detail the ways we overcome it in part 2 of this blog in a few weeks. I want you to think about what I say first.
To start, it takes a special kind of relationship to be able to handle the number of hours together to run a company. That would mean not only would you be working together but, you would be living together. Think about the sheer time spent with one another, you see them most days from sun up to sun down. Let’s be honest, I know some of you out there are already shaking your heads.
Joking aside, I feel I am privileged to work alongside Lisa, she is one of the good ones. Smart, driven and extremely business savvy. That’s where some guys have issues for sure, they are intimidated by a strong driven business woman.
Let’s start right at the root of that. I see you guys out there going all quiet as soon as I said what I did. A STRONG, DRIVEN BUSINESS WOMAN, come on guys, this isn’t the 1950s we are living in. Its 2018. GET OVER IT. The old boy’s clubs are a thing of the past, that need to stay there. Lisa, in the past, has had her ass grabbed and slapped, has put up with dirty comments and gestures within an agency environment.
If the #MeToo hasn’t taught people that despicable era is OVER, I don't know what will.
It’s a topic that has been silent for far too long. Equal work for equal pay. Demeaning and demoralizing of the opposite sex in the workplace. I could make a whole series of blogs just on this topic, it upsets me that much. Honestly, people could write on it till the end of time and not run out of stories to tell. That should scare us all. It really should. I think I may return to this subject, in depth, in the future, but that is not the purpose of this blog.
Now that I got that part out of the way…
When we started working together we were both terrified that being around each other would be a strain on our relationship. Just think about this, most people leave the house and go to work with other people. You leave the house together, arrive at work together and then work together for the entire day. TOGETHER… After work you then pack up together and head home together. That’s a lot of TOGETHER, am I right or am I right?
Are there ways to help with this massive amount of time spent with each other? I can tell you we have been at it for 9 months and very little friction has arisen from our situation.
Now what happens when your business partner does something with a client that you disagree with? Do you call them out in front of the client, or do you take them aside and discuss the matter? There are infinite answers to this question.
You would not handle it like you were at home and talk life partner to life partner. You can’t just call them out or raise your voice, or even debate it. How does that make them look to the client? Do you want the client to question their competency? No, because this also makes you look bad. You are supposed to be a TEAM remember.
Another thing that can come up would be a business purchase made without consulting you. Would you get upset or would you trust their judgement in putting the company first? Wow, bet you didn’t think of that one when thinking of working with your spouse or girlfriend?
How about going on VACATIONS? Odds are you are going on vacation with your partner in life and work. Think about that for a moment. Your work is coming on vacation with you. There is no such thing as a non-work vacation. I bet you end up talking business on that vacation. It WILL happen.
Now do you see the difficulty in this endeavour? I know I do now, but back on day one it was not stuff we thought about. So many things to go right or go terribly wrong.
We did not know what we were doing in the beginning, I will tell you that much. There were so many things we had to learn by doing; so many situations we had to travel through to get to where we are right now.
Not in the slightest, but we know how the other thinks and acts, now. We know what to do in the situation to start the process of figuring out what to do next. Now I want you to think on what you would do. How would you act or behave in this situation? In a few weeks I’ll come back with part 2 in this story, where we figured out how to balance all of this.
For us, I will let you know there is one constant. We do what we have always done. We figure it out together.
Work hard, play harder. Till next time everyone….
Provoke Media & Design is where branding & graphic design meets great web design. We handle a wide range of your creative needs including website designing, print design and company brand creation.
1295 North Service Rd
Burlington, Ontario
L7P 0V5
Phone: 289.983.7143
Email: hello@getprovoked.ca
