When it comes to your business, how much do you share about it with your life partner?
The life of an entrepreneur is a challenging one. The demands and responsibilities at work may often be overwhelming that you will sometimes feel the need to be supported at home by your spouse or life partner when it comes to your business endeavours.
However, each entrepreneur may have different circumstances and approaches when it comes to discussing bits and pieces of their business with their significant other. It often depends on the personality of each person, the dynamics between couples, and the kind of business one gets into. The important thing is that you find the best way that works for your relationship and the situation that you may be in at a particular moment.
Telling them everything
Some find their relationship becoming stronger when they share everything with each other, including the nitty-gritty parts of their business. That is the case with Dion Castle, CEO of Struber. As Dion puts it, “We are partners in life and business,” which is why he tells everything to his spouse.
Similarly, Steve Jackson, Director at PurpleMonky and Founder of Moon & Back Co., feels comfortable disclosing everything about his business to his life partner. “My partner is my greatest sounding board and often offers a perspective that helps me find the best solution for myself personally, as well as the business,” he explained.
Joanne Camilleri, General Manager of the Telco Business Solutions Group and Co-Founder of Work Tank, does the same. “(I tell him) everything that is the key headlines in the business – the successes, the challenges and the pressures. Even though my life partner is not directly involved, we approach everything in life as a team, so my entrepreneurship has had an impact on him and the life choices that we make. I could not do what I do without him so he is a key part of the journey,” she remarked.
Divulging mostly everything but not all
Some entrepreneurs may talk a lot about their business with their life partner but may hold back on certain aspects. For Austin Vaughan, Managing Director of Pacific Solar, “mostly everything is discussed, but to a level of detail that is over-arching as she is not involved in the business directly.”
There are a lot of reasons for doing so and it’s perfectly fine, especially if the nature of the business is a bit too technical or if there’s a lot of information that needs to be kept confidential. Certain aspects of the business are better left discussed only within the internal environment or those who are not part of the company may not fully grasp the issues and intricacies that happen within the organisation.
Sharing just a bit about the business
On the other hand, entrepreneurs have different ways of coping and talking about other things apart from business with a partner can be refreshing. Some may prefer to discuss their common interests or other matters with their spouse or life partner rather than about business to take their minds off work. Others may want to talk about work but only tiny bits and pieces as they are considerate of their partner’s interests, which may not be focused on business. It could be that there are more important matters to discuss between couples, such as family, kids or home-related topics.
“To be honest, I do share not as much as I like to. She is not super business-minded or entrepreneurial, so surprisingly finds it a bit boring,” Cameron Bell acknowledged.
No matter how much you share with your life partner about your business, the important thing is that you support each other and that that support is felt in the best way possible. Some say that the entrepreneurial path is a lonely one, but it doesn’t have to be lonely throughout the journey. This is why we have Entrepreneurs’ Organization, which brings together like-minded entrepreneurs and business owners as well as includes spouses and life partners in their members’ entrepreneurial journey through its Spousal/Life Partner (SLP Program) where their significant others have the opportunity to experience the same support, education and experience-sharing that members enjoy.