Are you in business with your life partner and can't tell the difference between your bedroom and the boardroom? Welcome to the world of Couplepreneurs!

What are Couplepreneurs?  This term describes any two persons living together in a committed relationship and also running a business together. Couplepreneurship is a growing phenomenon for several reasons, including: corporate downsizing; more women entering the workforce; early retirees looking for another venture; and technology that allows a small business to become a viable option for earning a family income.

Statistics are not specifically kept on the number of small businesses jointly owned by couples.  However, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA), the number of jointly owned sole proprietorships is increasing steadily at greater than 5% a year. Since jointly owned sole proprietorship is a tax term for a business where two individuals share ownership, this information could indicate a rise in Couplepreneurship. The actual increase in businesses owned by couples may be higher, as the SBA does not keep statistics on corporations or partnerships run by couples either.

Being partners at home and in business is not only doubly challenging, but exponentially more complicated than being partners in only one of these endeavors. I congratulate all of those brave and adventurous souls who are doing both successfully. The following tips have been gathered from my own experiences living and owning businesses with my entrepreneurial husband over the past twenty years; extensive reading; and interviews with several other successful Couplepreneurs.

So, for couples finding some bumps traveling the Couplepreneur road, Couplepreneurs who want more from either their personal or business partnership; and those considering embarking on the couplepreneur adventure - I offer the following success secrets. 

1. A shared, clear vision of your ideal business and relationship with an integrated plan to have both.

To be successful as Couplepreneurs requires planning a life with a vision that includes personal and relationship goals as well as business goals. If both partners are not going in the same direction toward common goals, they will grow apart.  Idealistically, partners will always be on the same wavelength. Realistically, they may start out with different goals and desires related to the business, and/or as the business and family circumstances change, their dreams may diverge. Successful Couplepreneurs look for creative alternatives that honor both partner's visions. 

2. Respect for each other's values.

Since values are the principles and beliefs that guide decisions, attitudes and behaviors; partner's values must be acceptable to each other. If partners are forced to act contrary to their core values frustration and struggle will ensue.  Assumedly partners have similar values since they are a couple sharing a life.  However, when partners team up in business they may become aware of some aspects of their partner's value system of which they were previously unaware. Values about money, commitment, work ethic, integrity, authority and responsibility may become much more significant  when sharing both personal and business lives. Successful Couplepreneurs honor each other's values at home and in business.

3. Effective communication system to resolve conflicts.

Perfect communication between any two human beings is not realistic. However, when partners learn to manage their preferred communication styles and take advantage of their complementary skills, their relationship and business both benefit. When they support each other's natural problem solving process, conflicts are resolved more quickly and easily. Through experience they have learned what works for each partner whether one needs to retreat, be reassured, blow off steam, etc. They know that It is important not to judge each other for reacting differently to conflict, and it is most important to not take their partner's reactions personally. They focus the anger and frustration on the problem and not on each other. Successful Couplepreneurs solve conflicts together by creatively implementing a joint solution.

4.  Agreements on levels of financial risk.

This goes back to respecting each other's values, as beliefs about money are integral to a person's value system. Risk tolerance is based on beliefs about money. Successful Couplepreneurs have examined their money beliefs, including the following:

• Is each partner basically optimistic or pessimistic when it comes to their relationship to money?
• Do they have the abundance or scarcity mentality?
• What is each partner willing to risk to make the business grow?
• What is the line each will not cross? (For example: not losing the house, keeping medical insurance.)

For success, the more risk tolerant partner must agree not to exceed the level acceptable to the more conservative partner. When the less risk tolerant partner feels that their boundary is being respected, they then become more flexible within that boundary.

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