24 Dec Want to Go Into Business with Your Spouse? Franchising May be Right for You!
If you’re a married couple who are interested in teaming up in business, you won’t be alone. More and more couples are finding entrepreneurial success by combining forces — choosing to make their life partnership a business partnership, too.
Owning and running a business with your spouse can be an exciting journey, one that requires patience, excellent communication, the delegation of responsibility, and most importantly an overall understanding of each other’s mindset and goals.
In fact, more than 1.4 million businesses in the U.S. are run by teams united in marriage, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The trend is very common in franchising, reports the International Franchise Association. When you buy a franchise, you get a proven system for setting up and operating your business. This is one of the main reasons people choose to buy a franchise instead of starting a business from scratch. The wedded team approach alleviates some of the stress of a single ownership and allows the couple flexibility to juggle the business with family obligations.
The most successful business couples know how to give and take when it comes to work, how to divide responsibilities to play to each other’s strengths, and how to shut it off when they’re outside of the office.
Owning a franchise requires hard work and commitment. If you and your spouse share this dream, you can build a successful business — and a happy marriage — together.
Here are some teamwork takeaways from other successful couples in franchising.
Divide and Conquer
Just like in marriage, in a business partnership, there is a yin and a yang. Franchise owner teams whose skill sets and interests complement each other have the best shot at making their business a success.
“We split responsibilities,” says Sarah Sokol, who owns Closets by Design of Nashville with husband Mark. “I handle the front-end including hiring, advertising, and accounting and Mark oversees the back-end operations like production and installation.”
Recognize one another’s strengths and weaknesses and divide the workload accordingly. This way, you can be sure you’re tackling everything that needs to be done without stepping on each other’s toes.
Set Boundaries
Separate personal from professional on the job. Displays of affection or marital disagreements can make working conditions uncomfortable for employees. Keep your work and home issues separate. This will alleviate stress in the workplace and help foster harmony at home.
Work/Life Balance
Since you will be spending a lot of time together, make sure both of you have the space you need during the day.
“One thing that helps us is we don’t share an office. We have separate working spaces,” adds Sarah Eppard, who co-owns Closets by Design of Minneapolis with her husband Bob. “We also drive to work separately. These little things give us the alone time necessary to gear up for the day or wind down after work.”
Since you will be spending a lot of time together, make sure both of you have the space you need during the day. Asking the other person how their day went and if they need help with anything can go a long way in keeping a relationship a happy and productive one.
Patty and Jeff Mitchell, owners of Closets by Design of Boston, take a different approach to run their business. “I do all of the marketing and advertising from my office at home while Jeff goes into the factory every day to handle the day to day operations”.
While it can be easy to get wrapped up in the work, make sure to regularly spend time together (like a date night) away from the office.
“We take a couple of vacations each year to “get away from things”,” adds Sokol. “It allows us to re-set and be ready to get back to work when we return home.”
Nothing unites two people more than achieving something together. Owning a Closets by Design franchise is a great opportunity for couples to fulfill their dream of business partnership.
Closets by Design is the fastest-growing custom organization franchise in the home improvement industry. The home improvement industry does well over $400 billion in revenue annually and is projected to grow at a rate of more than five percent through 2025.
Throughout the Closets by Design system, numerous married franchisees are running successful businesses and making an impact in their communities.
It’s no problem if you don’t have experience. When you invest in a Closets by Design franchise, you will complete a comprehensive, two-week training session at our corporate headquarters as well as on-site support during your start up. We make sure you understand the day-to-day operations of your franchise so you are prepared to be a business owner in the home improvement industry.
You’ll benefit from our more than 30 years of experience with topics such as sales and financing, design and installation, marketing, and much, much more. We also offer ongoing support to help you maintain and grow the skills you’ve built up.
Get more information about about saying “I do” with a Closets by Design franchise today.