In planning my business I asked my fiance to help me get my business going in the first few months. Since I work a full time job I was going to have her do the basic day to day operations (answering the phone, process orders, etc) but the closer and closer I get to opening I'm REALLY starting to reconsider. Everything I say she takes personally, I mean literally EVERYTHING when to me its just business. I'm tenacious when it comes to details and research and while I don't expect her to have that same tenacity I'm really wondering why she even wants to do it. At this time she does not work so I figured we would be helping each other but in all honesty I'm thinking this whole thing may ruin our relationship altogether. We cannot go 10 minutes into a conversation about the business without tension and uncomfortable silence. (like right now, which is the reason why I'm posting) So has anyone else been there? Does it get better? Because my next post may be to look for a service that takes customer calls.
if u and ur fiance get into arguements coz of a task as simple as taking customers phone calls then u might as well find urself a new fiance
We get along perfect on a personal level.. but when it comes to business it just all goes out the door. Starting to believe that even though we love each other we do not mesh well when it comes to business.. that is all.
Not everyone can do good in business and thats why not everyone is their own boss. Its not easy to run a successful business and handle all the day to day problems. Job is something completely different, you work your ass off but when you are off from job you have nothing to worry about. It is not same in business, you will be thinking about business in bed too because it is yours. So if someone is not a business minded person dont try to push him/her into it. Business isnt something very easy to do thats why about 90% of business's fail in their first year. My suggestion if she dont like it dont push her into it or it wont help you at all. I would say dont compromise your relationship
I have to agree with jaree, is she doesn't want to do it, don't force her to. Ask her what she wants to do in the business, if she finds answering calls boring, she might like doing some thing creative, e.g. making business cards, writing a great review of the business etc I think it would be wonderful if you two could work together, I mean you instantly have that trust there which is most important in a business. I hope you two work things out! Good Luck!!
hi, i work with my wife and... sometimes goes sweet, sometimes goes wrong That´s life. But don't put pressure on her: if she doesnt want to do certain things or wants to do it other way, give her space to do so. I had similar issues with my wife and learned the hard way that she is a great manager! so... try to give her some space and see what happens if goes wrong you will think of something nice.
I appreciate all the advice, really this business was supposed to be all me but she wanted to help out.. I was hesitant and I still am but I'm going to give it a try. I think we just have to iron some things out, she's the type that goes with the flow and I try to plan for any and every scenario. I have told her that she doesn't have to do this and ultimately if it begins to tear away at our relationship I will try a different route rather than us working together.
Give her the time to see if she can do it. Don't give her unwanted suggestions or such, this may hurt her and make her think that you don't have trust in what she is doing. Anyone has got different ways to do the same thing, so just wait and check for results later. If you'll have a negative result, then both of you will know what to do just my humble advice! It is better to lose something in business... but not your spouse, imho
I can't imagine doing this with my gf. As said, you're with your business 24/7, and if you do this with your fiancee, business and personal life will quickly intertwine. That may be ok when business is good, but when business is bad, your personal life won't be that great either...
I do it with my lady ... everything on internet business we do together but I told her from the beginning who is the boss and she just do as I say....talk to her more and tell her you are the boss !!! and she must do like you say .... times will come when she will be the boss you should tell her
It is difficult to work with a family member unless you are on the same page about things. Since you are not married, this could be a sign that she doesn't want to be tied down or maybe she doesn't want you lording your authority over her. I work from home, my wife is here, but I only ask her to run some errands and discuss some general business matters with her. Beyond that, it is all on my shoulders which is fine with me. No expectancy, no problem.
That sounds like a MAJOR missmatch which won't work for any length of time. I think she is going to feel micro managed. As more of a go with the flow kind of person the idea of planning and worrying about a bunch of things that may or may not happen would drive me crazy. Just deal when/if the time comes.
I think I'm going to trust her to do her part rather than hitting her with these crazy scenarios. As I said its just the basic stuff, answering the phone and dealing with customers.. I still do the planning and any major changes that may come.
I agree, it can be very fulfilling but at the same time if things are bad at your business and then it spills over to your personal life it can be very frustrating .
I met my fiance at my last job. We worked at a carwash cafe. He was the car detailer and I ran the cafe. I helped him out alot with the cars and I agree that there is sometimes tension there. We are planning on buying a cafe next year and running it together so Im sure we will face our problems. I know its hard but just try to keep work seperate.
I honostly believe working in family is the worse as far as business. Especially your wife/girlfriend/fiance. You have to look at it where life in the working world is a different perspective in which you undergo hours in a (usually) stressful environment. You get home and you usually want to relax and spend time with your family, not discussing business plans and arguing over mistakes at work with your spouse, that's just how I see it.
Trust me I completely understand this, my immediate family (even my father) wanted to help but I would not allow it because I know the consequences. The reason why I chose my fiance is #1.. I know I can trust her more than anyone else I know or could hire. #2 Her dedication to finishing a task and how focused she is. Basically if she walked into my office to apply for a position without ever knowing her I would hire her in a second.. she is definitely an assett and the fact that she is my fiance had no weight in my decision to work with her. Under normal circumstances I would choose not to work with someone so close to me but I cannot see letting someone that has the potential to help me reach the next level stand idle, I just think in the beginning it gets difficult to get on the same page. Since I've posted this and listened to the advice here we havent had one problem because I'm not worrying her as much as I was before.