“Green Burgers Kill People!”
So, Kerri and I have been flipping channels tonight, and we were drawn in to the latest Fox reality train wreck, Kitchen Nightmares with Gordan Ramsay. Tonight’s show centered on a family run restaurant, and its got me thinking about being in business with my spouse. I wonder if we could do it. I know many are able to navigate those waters. In my full-time career a number of our clients are local, family owned and operated businesses. But I don’t know…
(Economic realities being what they are, I won’t be retiring just yet. And given the look of dread that washes over Kerri’s face at the mere mention of the word “fiduciary” I don’t think she will be entering my career field any time soon. :D )
Don’t get me wrong: Kerri and I get along great. I can’t wait until the kids move out and I retire. But there seems to be a different dynamic involved when your running a business together. Either one spouse is put in the position of being the employee of the other, which is awkward in my mind; or you have to come up with an equitable distribution of power and delineation of duties.
And what about the stress factor! When you’ve had a crappy day at work, you can’t just go to your spouse because the odds are pretty good that she, too, had the same crappy day. If you work different jobs and you both have a crappy day, at least it’s different crap.
Any opinions out there on this? Any of you in business with your spouse? Is it really as hard as it seems, or am I making it more difficult than it really is?
PS - The teaser for next week’s Kitchen Nightmares contained the stellar line used in the title of this post.
POSTED IN: Questions & Answers
5 opinions for “Green Burgers Kill People!”
Heather`
Sep 22, 2007 at 1:55 am
Heh - being a very right brained wife of an engineer, I don’t think we could agree on a mutual career path. I tried - suggested we run a farmer’s market and sheep farm in Maine. But since I don’t even know what sheep eat and we live in Ohio….well, it’s just not working out!
If you ever get a chance - watch the BBC Kitchen Nightmares - Ramsey is even better!
J Unger
Sep 23, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I work with my husband in a small business. We don’t own it, but are the main support for the owner. Of course there are days you wanna kill each other, but thats what doors are for. We try to never bring work home, so we can kep owrk and home separate. Overall its nice working with your mate. We save on gas, which is a big plus.
Bald Man
Sep 23, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Heather,
Your comment begs the question for me: Would a joint business work better with a wife and husband who were very similar or very different?
J,
I would think that you’d have to have firm rules about where the office begins and ends. Is that something you worked out in advance or put in place over time through trial and error?
J Unger
Sep 23, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Once that clock hits 5pm and we leave the office the office part of our day ends. There are times we need to discuss things after work about work but we keep it to a minimum. Sometimes thats hard for me to do but my husband reminds me when I don’t so it works out well.
Marriage-101
Sep 24, 2007 at 2:58 pm
My husband and I dream of owning our own business. We both bring different qualities to the business ideas we have, so I have no worries about working with him. If it’s something both peope are passionate about, then I can’t see how it would be an issue. Kind of like raising children.
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