Each week as Smallbizlady, I conduct interviews with small business experts on my weekly Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. This is excerpted from my #SmallBizChat interview with Angela Belford, @AngelaBelford CEO of The Belford Group, is a marketer and website/software developer with more than 12 years’ experience. She balances work and home-life as an entrepreneur, devoted wife and active mother of three. http://www.thebelfordgroup.com/
SmallBizLady: What is the first piece of advice you would give to someone thinking of going into business with their spouse?
Angela Belford: The first advice I would give to someone starting out is to give yourself as much financial stability as you can. We had just gotten out of school and had a ton of debt when we bought the business. The first mistake we made was that I quit my job to focus on sales. There weren’t enough sales appointments to go on to justify it but I was a big dreamer. It was an uphill battle that caused a lot of stress.
SmallBizLady? How do you and your spouse divide roles in your business?
Angela Belford: I am gifted in leadership, planning and strategy. Barry is good at minute details. So he’s taking a larger role in cash flow management and I set the direction. He’s also the primary programmer so he has a very large role in creating the software.
SmallBizLady: How do you suggest people juggle caring for kids that are not school age and run their small business?
Angela Belford: We had been married 5 years when we bought the business. We had a 4 year old, an 18 month old and I was pregnant. It was pretty regular for us to work 8-4:30 and 7-11 pm, actually it still is. Once the youngest was a year old, we did mom’s day out and I completed my sales calls on those days. I am not great with toddlers so it wasn’t a super hard decision for me to use daycare, but I had all this guilt like I’m supposed to like being with my kids instead of dressing nice and talking to adults. In the end Barry told me that not everyone was meant to be a stay at home mom and that my children needed a happy mom.
SmallBizLady: What advice can you suggest to protect your relationship once you start working together?
Angela Belford: We were fortunate that we saw building the business as the “common enemy” that united us together instead of tearing us apart. We try to go on a vacation just the 2 of us every other year. I think sometimes small business people think they can’t afford to go on a vacation but I think that is what kept us together and going.
SmallBizLady: What are your keys to business success working with your spouse?
Angela Belford: I believe if you are raised humans, you will probably need therapy of some sort eventually. You have to deal with your issues emotionally or it will get in the way of business. If you have self esteem issues and try to get your self esteem from your job you
SmallBizLady: How do you handle choosing who is in charge?
Angela Belford: I am very goal-oriented, strategic and macro. Barry is good at research and development and is very micro. When we have to make a decision we talk things out and try to come to a consensus. Sometimes I push Barry out of his comfort zone, other times Barry holds my feet to the ground and steers us through what could have been a disaster. It’s a good partnership through lots of therapy, lots of friends and lots of sticking with it.
SmallBizLady: You joined your husband’s business. Do you think it would be harder for a husband to join their wife’s business?
Angela Belford: Initially I joined Barry’s business, but then after I took a break from the company, I started my own business, the web and marketing team. It took a management consultant to convince me to marry the 2 businesses. Yes it was harder for Barry because I had always been a support for him, but if you have different strengths and you figure out that the spouse can provide skills that you would have to hire, I think you should go for it.
SmallBizLady: What advice would you give to a couple where one has a bigger vision than the other one?
Angela Belford: That is tough. I had a better appetite for risk than my husband. Barry is much better at saying yes but how will we make sure we have enough cash in the account for payroll and mortgage. I’m the dreamer and he is the practical one. It creates a lot of conflict. From Angela’s perspective she loses a lot but from Barry’s perspective he loses a lot and there is still a lot of stress while we are in growth mode. You must become good at compromise.
SmallBizLady: How do you leave work issues at work and home issues at home? Is it possible?
Angela Belford: We had to create a separate space in our home so we had a “commute” to work. That helped, other than that, we have mortgage and other bills so we know we have to work together. It also helps that we have now that we have separate roles in the business. The money stress is what carries over because from the beginning the business was our only financial support.
SmallBizLady: How do you keep work out of the bedroom?
Angela Belford: We don’t. We wake up in the morning talking about things we need to do, we go to bed dreaming of a day when we will have a little less stress in our lives. Some days it’s the only time we really get to talk. People think that we see each other all day, but really we are working and often I’m not even in the office. Then we have to juggle who’s got kid duty and then we are like everyone else that is running kids to soccer and youth group and PTO and whatever else.
SmallBizLady: When you both have to be at work, who picks up the sick child from school?
Angela Belford: Typically one or the other can get free. Plus until recently we worked from home so we were able to go get the sick child and then go back to work. Barry can work from anywhere and has a little more flexibility then Angela if she has client meetings. We tag team like other parents. It’s probably a little harder to because we don’t have family in town. But we’ve formed great friendships with others to help out with carpooling and such.
SmallBizLady: What is the hardest part of working together?
Angela Belford: We are both very passionate about our work. When we are working on a project where we both have ideas of how things should go, we can get loud in expressing our opinions. Not easy for the employees. But we have figured out that if we can work through it our clients get much better results and we develop killer products together.
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Inspiring read with useful tips for any couple considering to go into business together! Depending on the couple and the business involved, it could turn out to be either a dream situation or a disaster. I guess the fundamental principles of trust, respect, hard work, dedication and commitment will go a long way in making both the marriage and the business a success!