Comments on: How to Keep Your Marriage Strong while Running a Small Business

By: Heather from Mom 4 Life

Heather from Mom 4 Life — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:45:31 +0000

I am glad you enjoyed it Sarah.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:23:09 +0000

Great article, its amazing to know that we are all wired the same as women . I am also dealling with the whole balancing act of life ….and sometimes the scale tilts in favor of my business which i am hugely passionate about!! But i think thats what passion is and my husband is my voice of reason pulling me back and ensuring i am on track family wise as well. I love him for this even if i dont always admit it.

By: Heather from Mom 4 Life

Heather from Mom 4 Life — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:16:11 +0000

Great points Deborah, thank you!

By: Deborah Gardner, One Heart Bulgaria

Deborah Gardner, One Heart Bulgaria — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:06:54 +0000

I love this post, Heather! It is good to learn that so many of you have such supportive husbands. One thing I have found is that husbands are not ALWAYS crazy about our business ideas and plans. Nor are they ALWAYS supportive. Sometimes husbands and wives just think differently and clash. Sometimes husbands forget that in addition to running a business, many of us are also full-time mommies who are running themselves ragged. And I hate to say it, but yes, sometimes we succeed IN SPITE of our husbands…do you know what I mean? My husband supports what I do, but there are times when he’s tired of listening to another “big idea” or “big plan.” That can feel lonely. A few things I have learned are to make sure to talk about other things besides my work whenever we go on a date. I have also learned that he feels included and important if I ask for his opinion or advice on an important matter. I also agree that we need to keep our husbands and children FIRST, not our work.

By: Barbara Ling

Barbara Ling — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:34:32 +0000

My husband and I have been a work at home team now since 2003; I build sites/write books and he builds all the tools I need for the behind-the-scenes techie things.

One thing that helps us is to always say things in terms of “I” – ie, “I feel that…” instead of “you make me feel that” etc. Taking ownership of emotions/feelings is very useful for getting rid of emotional angst.

Data points,

Barbara

Barbara Lings last blog post..How kids can make money on the Internet online – The beginning of the experiment

By: Heather from Mom 4 Life

Heather from Mom 4 Life — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:22:39 +0000

Great comments ladies, thanks so much! Isn’t it nice to see we all are in the same boat too? I really can’t imagine not having a supportive spouse, I am so blessed. Thanks so much for your feedback and I am glad you enjoyed the article.

By: Tamara Kappauf

Tamara Kappauf — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:24:33 +0000

I think that Heather’s article is right on. My husband and I have been working together in business for 13 years. One thing that was great for us, was to be evaluated by an independent person, who was trying to sell us a franchise, and he gave us a personality test. My husband and I each found out what our strengths and weaknesses were. It helps in that we can each focus on the part of the business that we excell in, and not always expect our spouse to do things the way that we would do them.

By: Jamie Bird

Jamie Bird — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:48:12 +0000

Great article. I was nodding my head in agreement the entire time, until I got to the “hiring out” part. I know I need this, yet I resist. For some reason, this has always been a struggle. I currently have one employee, but find myself not really giving them entire projects, just pieces…ultimately at the end of the day it is hard to give up that control fully. Knowing I need to let go and actually doing it are two different things.

I also notice that the time I spend with my husband is not as compromised as the “quality of me” when I work too much. It is hard for me to head to work when my family is playing and spending time together. I feel like I am missing out, so instead I wait until their bedtime to start working. By the time 3-4 am rolls around and I finally head to bed, I am exhausted. Trying to be functional, awake, and full of cheer the next day has lead to many days of feeling completely burnt out, which I think can be just as detrimental as letting the actual “working time” crowd in.

I love what you said about working together, though. Even reading your post has brought me back to many times my husband has helped me frantically trying to beat the mail truck. It certainly is more fun to do together, and maybe I just gave the solution to my own problem:-)

Thanks for the excellent post!

By: Debbie Savage

Debbie Savage — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:21:03 +0000

How this newsletter came at a very important time for me. I know that I am challenged with this. I think to myself if only there were more “Debbies’” to do this and that. But, the true secret is learning how to say “yes” to saying “no” and remember to put first things first and that is family and my sweet hubby. And when I find myself doing that everything falls into place magically.

By: Kelly King

Kelly King — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:30:58 +0000

Great points. I agree its possible to keep your marriage strong while owning a business and would even argue there are many ways that it can create greater depth to your relationship. I am fortunate to have a husband that is a business owner like me and I think one of the hardest yet most important things in our situation is to be sensitive to each other’s successes and hardships in spite of our own. As every business owner knows, you lead a rollercoaster of a life. So when one business has had a challenging day or week and the other amazing, we have to be sure to “know ourselves” and “know our spouse” well enough to understand which deserves the family’s priority on any given day. We also have to pay extra special attention to saying yes to together time where our discussions about business become limited or non-existent.