Managing a successful company with your spouse

In a 2018 Parents magazine cover page, internet sensation and comedian Timothy Kimani aka Njugush attributed his success to having his wife, Celestine Ndinda Kimani, as his manager. Njugush mentioned that he struggled with quoting his worth, and that he preferred creating the content as opposed to managing his brand. Given his wife’s entrepreneurial background, he made her his manager.

Running a successful business with your partner requires honesty, effective communication, transparency, and boundaries.

Effective communication

Effective communication ensures that you understand your partner as a spouse and a business partner. Be honest and clear with each other on any concerns you may have.

Transparency and honesty

A business partner is someone you should be able to voice your strengths and fears around. By being honest, you let your partner know when certain responsibilities are too hard on you or which ones you would have an easy time doing. Honesty also plays a significant role when defining roles.

Defined roles

As mentioned, Njugush hired his wife, Celestine, as his manager because she was better at it. Assign the roles based on individual strengths and abilities. The creative would come up with logos or a mission statement. The analytical one would handle the math, and if you have social media accounts, let whoever has good communication skills handle that. Whatever roles you cannot handle, study them, or outsource. Clearly defining your roles helps you set boundaries.

Set clear boundaries

Boundaries keep us in check. In a work setup, everyone has their assigned roles. You must observe this. Everyone should tend to their designated duties. Do not work on your partner’s responsibilities, unless they ask you. Unless they are sick or unable to perform their duties, you should not be taking up their responsibilities. You can set boundaries by working in different rooms or different desks. This also helps keep your individualism.

Give each other personal time

When working with your partner, the lines between work and personal life sometimes become blurry. Business talks and duties may take over your life, which is detrimental to your well-being and love life. To avoid this, dedicate some time either weekly or biweekly to discuss business issues and give each other feedback. It is also normal to feel like you spend all your days around your partner, so take up individual hobbies to keep the individualism.

To run a successful business, you must trust your partner. If you do not trust your partner’s ability, it is best that you do not start the business together. It is also important that you don’t hierarchically approach the business; view each other as equals.