Working as a couple comes with some great advantages and occasionally a few challenges, but on the whole its been really positive and we’re still married so that must count for something.
My name is Ian Delaney and together with my wife Amanda, we have our own health and nutrition business. My background is as an engineer and Amanda’s is as a beautician, so I never thought we’d actually be in business together as our industries were miles apart. But 6 years ago we came across a company called Forever Living and it opened up a whole range of possibilities. Initially, I used to say I was in “the childminding department” of the business as we have four beautiful children. It was important to have them minded while Amanda did a lot of the frontline work, but now we very much work it together.
I find one of the main advantages of working as couple is that we share the same goals and as such, were both “rowing the boat in the same direction”. This helps in the challenging times when you can encourage each other towards the end goal.
Also men and women have a very different way of looking at situations, so together you get a view point from both sides. As in any relationship, each of us have our strengths and weaknesses so the trick is to position each other in the areas where they’re strong. Our business involves working with a large team of people, who are also in business for themselves, so I’m very much in the PC and technical support side of things. Amanda however, is not good with technology but very much excels in the motivational and training side. Together we try to compliment each other.
Obviously there can be challenges. There is no hiding when you’re working as a couple because the other person can see when you haven’t done what you’re supposed to do. So this comes with an accountability that can be a bit of a burden at times. But we have learned to overcome many of the challenges and are still learning as we go.
As a summary I would strongly recommend to work in business as a couple. It can be very rewarding for us both and our family and is something we really enjoy. You can find more information about what we do and our contact details on our website.
http://www.amandadelaney.flp.com