If you have read my previous publication “Marriage and Business” you know how my husband and I operate our businesses. However, almost 2 years ago my husband had been talking to an acquaintance of mine about opening a business. He was married to my good friend and have stayed in touch for over 20 years.
As I said before, supporting your spouse is a very important part of the couples - entrepreneur relationship. We thought they had the kind of dedication that we have always had and also had a family . Hello, what planet were we on? After some meetings with this other couple it was decided that we would like to help them out and open a business. My husband and I would be the silent partner, build the building, invest, give them advice, get the business on it's feet and eventually the appropriate time would come and they would buy us out, it would be a great opportunity for everyone. As I have said before, not everyone has what it takes to be a business owner.
From day one, we worked as a team (or so I thought) to get this business on its feet. New employees, new vendors, a retail/service business. Retail was not something we were familiar with but we took a dive. Now, when I say we took a dive, little did I know we were going to take the hardest dive we have ever taken in the 20 years my husband and I have been together. What started out as a wonderful opportunity for everyone(including the dedicated employees) turned out to be a nightmare and the end of a long friendship.
There is something to be said for trusting your instincts. Although we thought we knew about half way through our venture things were not as they seemed, we trusted our friends/partners and took them at their word that the financials they were giving us were true. I am sure if you are reading this article you too have discovered the power of soul searching. We did a lot of soul searching and certainly found out a lot about ourselves and our experience brought us closer together. Not to say we were smiles all the time, on the contrary, we were in a dark place but knew for the sake of our family we needed support each other. My husband and I never once placed the blame on each other. It was just unspoken, we were in this together and we would get through it together.
In order to give you a true picture, I will be continuing this in the articles to come. My hope is to give other people who may be struggling with issues a chance to be more supportive of each other.
