Best Advice for Couples Who Work Together
Not determining the right role for you and your spouse can cause conflict and business failure.
Use our formula – The Three Ts – to find the perfect place for you and your skills in your small business.
Go Beyond Job Title
We are not talking about deciding who will be CEO or CFO. As an owner, you know that your title is just the beginning of the many roles you will take on as you manage your small business. But it’s vital that you each determine your roles in the business.
In fact, according to an article from Success Magazine, one of the most important tips for a successful business partnership with your spouse is to “detail duties for each spouse in the business partnership.”
“Even if each partner has naturally slipped into a particular role in the business, it is critical to sit down .... and write down their job responsibilities.”
Having a specific role or task to “own” gives each partner something to focus on without stepping on the other’s toes.
This blog is meant to help you hone in on the business role(s) that are the best fit for you based on three main criteria - or The Three Ts.
The Three Ts
Our Three Ts Venn diagram will help you determine where best to put your energy and focus.
First, let’s define what each of the Ts stands for.
TALENT
Education/Training
Inherent Abilities/Skills
Experience
TIME
Easily Fits Into Your Schedule
Can Dedicate Quality Time To
Deadlines Easily Met
TAKE JOY IN
Love Doing
Endless Energy To Complete Task
Feel Accomplished
Think about the various roles/tasks that you and your spouse must manage within your business.
How do these tasks fit into these three categories for each of you?
Where do they overlap?
Where are there gaps?
Your PERFECT Role
When all three of these sectors intersect in the Venn diagram you have found your sweet spot.
This is a clear indication as to which role you should take on.
In the case of our marketing business…Glenn has the Talent, Time and Takes Joy In all things tech and IT. So, he leads that area of our business.
Whereas, my Venn diagram shows that I should most definitely focus on strategic planning. It’s my perfect role.
If there is overlap— you both are ideal for customer service, for example— then personal choice or circumstance decides. But be clear early in the business as to whom these responsibilities will fall. It will save so much trouble in the long run.
Of course, we know that a perfect alignment for all tasks is not always possible.
So, below are other Venn diagram intersections of note and how to make the most of them.
Your POWER Role
When TALENT and what you TAKE JOY IN intersect, these are areas where your focus SHOULD be.
You just need to find the way to make that happen.
The problem in this situation is that by any measure you are the best for this specific task. This should be your role. BUT, you are struggling to find the time to do it or an efficient way to fit it into your schedule.
Here are some ways to address this:
Delegate other tasks that don’t play to your strengths
Prioritize these tasks by blocking time on your calendar
Use software or systems that save you time on other tasks so more of your day can be spent in this zone
An example of this might be: you have a natural gift when it comes to dealing with clients or customers, you instinctively know what they need and how your business can help them. You also really enjoy this part of the job.
But as your business has grown you find that you are spending less TIME directly with clients and more hours on administrative work - like creating proposals or developing budgets.
Can you create systems that allow you to streamline these tasks so you can have more face-time with clients? Proposal templates, for example.
Is your spouse more of a behind-the-scenes type? Can they take this on?
The Goal: make TIME to do this role
Your POTENTIAL Role
In this scenario, you have the TIME and might TAKE JOY IN a task but your TALENT is not quite there yet.
You can address your skill set deficiency or these tasks might be better suited to your business partner.
In the case of your POWER role you want to address your TIME deficit so you can do the most good for your business. But in this case, it depends on how much effort, time or money you want to devote to strengthening your skill set.
Here are some ways to address this:
In-person or online courses
YouTube tutorials or webinars
Rely on outside sources or software to supplement the skills you lack
An example of this might be: you love being creative and writing blog content and you have the time to do this but you don’t know anything about website creation or coding.
With services like SquareSpace (the system we use) you can create websites very simply with minimal tech knowledge. There are countless other technological options out there to help you do research, write, edit audio/video and more. It just might cost money to use them.
Or you love people and have the time to do more networking but you don’t feel confident in your presentation skills. You can also consult resources like Toastmasters to help overcome your stage fright and hone your communication skills.
The Goal: if you truly want to expand this role, invest in honing the TALENT.
Your PRACTICAL Role
Sometimes your TALENT and TIME intersect, but you definitely don’t TAKE JOY IN certain tasks.
These are areas where you might need to just get the job done.
As a business owner there will always be tasks that fall under the PRACTICAL ROLE. For a couple in business, this might be divided between the two of you so that you each take on a necessary, if not always enjoyable, role.
Here are some ways to address this:
Find a way to make this fun or reward yourself when the task is complete
Tackle this during a high-energy time or at a set time each day so it becomes habit
Rely on outside sources or software to supplement the skills you lack
For example, Glenn monitors Google and Facebook reviews for our clients. Not always a pleasant task…but he finds ways to make it fun.
(You should see some of his “responses” that never get posted!)
Or when I finish billing tasks, I definitely grab a few Dove dark chocolate candies to reward myself.
Final Thoughts
Determining your role is one of the most important things you can do as a small business owner. And this exercise is a great way to get the conversation started.
For more Work Better, Together tips, we recommend checking out a recent Couples Inc Podcast episode that discusses how to prioritize tasks and managing burnout.
