A Tip Sheet for Working with Your Husband

Posted by: Margaret Johnson, Co-Founder and President Sep 01, 2009 0 Comments

As a woman business owner married to the business co-founder, the comment I hear most often is, “How do you work with your husband? I could never do that.” From our beginnings in a house on the edge of Rock Creek Park, Scott and I have been building our marriage, our family, and Rock Creek Strategic Marketing together for the last 24 years. Today, all three are thriving, but not without some very hard work and clear ground rules. When people ask me our secret to working together without divorcing (or killing) each other, I boil it down to five guidelines.

1) Define who does what. There’s a clear division of labor between Scott and me: he enjoys networking and learning about new trends and technologies, and I prefer running the business and management-related issues. By staying within our areas of expertise, we can capitalize on our strengths and support each other in areas of weakness. It also eliminates competition, power struggles, and control issues that can contaminate both work and home.

2) Compartmentalize. Although it was much harder to do this in the early days of the business, it’s always been important to both of us that, as much as possible, we maintain a strong sense of work-life balance. We try very hard not to bring work-related issues home with us. This became especially important when we had our kids, Lizzie and Charles. Work stays at work; home means time to focus on our family.

3) Have interests outside of work. Scott and I have shared and separate interests that have nothing to do with work. He loves windsurfing and going camping and hiking; I enjoy cooking, exercising, and traveling. We both look forward to spending time with our family at our cottage on the Chesapeake Bay on the weekends. Outside interests help us manage stress and give us time to enjoy each other.

4) Communicate. Working together requires us to hone our communication skills; it’s the key to being able to be with one another day in and day out. Scott and I talk all the time about our expectations and goals for the business, each other, and our family. By keeping the lines of communication between us open, we avoid conflicts and misunderstandings that could negatively impact the business and our relationship.

5) Maintain a sense of humor. When you’re juggling work, home, and kids, you’ve got to maintain your perspective and remind yourself not to take things too seriously. Luckily, Scott keeps me laughing every day, inside and outside the office.

But the most important factors in being able to work with your spouse are trust and mutual respect. It may sound cliché, but they’re even more important when your personal and professional lives are wed together. A fundamentally sound relationship provides the solid foundation on which to build a successful business.

Enjoy this post?

Subscribe to the feed

-->

Margaret Johnson

Co-Founder and President

• Most Recent
• Topics

View all previous posts