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Rules to Run a Business with Your Spouse

home based business

Discover the secrets of happily working in business with your spouse.When Your Home is Your Business

Creating a home based accounting practice seems like an ideal opportunity for a couple. Shared goals, shared space, and shared resources. This profitable model generates over $427 billion annually. Do your homework, however, before you jump into a business with your spouse.

 According to incfile, 70 percent of home-based businesses are successful within three years of founding, compared with only 30 percent of regular businesses. Your chances of success are high while your expenses are minimal. Getting started can be as simple as printing business cards and upgrading your internet connection.

Want this to last for the long run? There are a couple details to figure out first. Skipping over these things can be costly. So, let’s reduce the risk of stressing out your marriage with business stuff.

Does Your Workspace Work?

Without some checks and balances your accounting practice can take over your life…and your marriage. Therefore, some minor adjustments fixes this issue.

[bctt tweet=”Without some checks and balances your business can take over your life…and your marriage. #workingwithyourspouse” username=”lorenfogelman”]

Most accounting professionals complain about the lack of work life balance. A home based business with your spouse takes up as much time as you choose to give it. Basically, an ongoing long list of details demand your attention.

Here’s where boundaries work in your favor. They’ll create sanity instead of allowing your practice to consume your life. Agree on ground rules about the business, work space in your home, and time devoted to non-work activities.Let’s reduce the risk of stressing out your marriage with business stuff.

Your Business with Your Spouse

Our history is rich with examples of couples in business together. As you surf the internet, you’ll find dream situations as well as nightmare stories. A home based business with your spouse blends marriage and business. Figuring out how to make it work without taking a toll on your marriage can be tricky.

Tips to thrive when you’re in business with your spouse:

1. Create office hours. Don’t put your toddler in the tub and then open your phone to answer one more email. Office hours become especially important when one person wants to stop at 5 pm and the other partner works continuously.

2. Treat your business like a business. You would never leave the office to transfer your laundry from the washing machine to the dryer. When you are at work during your office hours, leave home tasks alone. Postpone personal errands and calls with friends to your break time or after work hours.

3. Strengths. A lot of heavy lifting occurs in the beginning. As your home based practice grows, you want to focus your time on the things you do best. So, if you earned an advanced degree in accounting, then you don’t want to spend all your time in data entry. Yes, your business needs to get some specific things done. However, you want to do work which brings out the best in you. This means focusing on your strengths. Otherwise, the work feels like punishment when you never get to do the things you enjoy most.

[bctt tweet=”Do work that brings out the best in you. That means focusing on your strengths. #workingwithyourspouse ” username=”lorenfogelman”]

4. Carve out your work space. Some couples can easily work side by side. But that makes concentration difficult when you’re involved in a complex project while your partner loudly talks to a client on the phone. Steve likes to listen to music while I prefer quiet. So, he wears noise-canceling headphones when we’re both working at home.

Get inspired. Sometimes a change in place will inspire you.5. Separate your work and living spaces. Working on the couch may seem ideal. Studies reveal that commuting to your work space gets your mind in gear for work. Therefore, save the couch for movies and reading a good book.

6. Create a Do Not Disturb signal. Minor interruptions can easily break your concentration. What clues will let your partner know not to interrupt you? Some of the couples I’ve worked with choose to hang a do not disturb sign or wear their earbuds. Whatever you decide, it’s important to respect each other’s signals. Out of respect for your partner, save your questions for later or send your partner a text.

7. Use your own tools. Business at home is one place where sharing becomes costly. Sharing a computer gets sticky when you both need to get work done.

8. Communication breakdown. Constant interruptions become annoying and reduce flow. Instead, figure out the best way to exchange information. One couple who had separate offices in the house relied on Slack for messaging. How often have you thought you shared a critical detail with your spouse, but never did? A messaging system reduces those oversights.

9. Create neutral ground. Keep your work space focused on work. However, a neutral ground like the kitchen is similar to the office water cooler. If you both meet in the kitchen you can stray away from work topics, spend a few minutes on fun, or share a hug and a kiss.

10. Get out of the office. Simply because your accounting practice is at home doesn’t mean your stuck there. Stake out a table at your favorite coffeehouse or work in the park on a pleasant day. Periodically, a change in location will inspire you.

11. Go home from work. Your work styles may differ. Don’t let your business with your spouse stifle your relationship. Remember to relax, do fun things together, invite friends over, go out, etc.

Spend Time Togetherhome based business. Remember to do fun things together.

Even with those guidelines in place, you and your partner may prefer different work flows. Being in business with your spouse is a process. As a result, you’ll discover things about one another which you didn’t realize before.

Do you go for a run together at 4 pm and then put in two hours at 8 pm.? Does your partner work all day and then shuts down at 5 pm?

Get crystal clear about each other’s preferred schedule. And, remember to do fun things together. Otherwise, resentments can build. You’re more likely to succeed in your home-based business when your marriage is nurtured.

Both require attention and communication. It’s difficult to separate work and marriage, especially with a home based accounting practice. Working in business with your spouse is demanding. You deserve to grow a practice which supports your lifestyle instead of one where you continually sacrifice.

Being in business with your spouse is a unique opportunity. Your marriage will strengthen as your practice grows. Follow these recommendations td grow your business while keeping your passion alive. Discover how to earn more without working additional hours. Right NOW claim your FREE RESOURCE to grow your bank account and lighten your workload.