Gender Roles of Copreneurs & Romance September 1st, 2010

Alisa at Project Happily Ever After was interviewed for this segment on the CBS Early Show.  She and her husband talk about how when he helps around the house, it helps free her mind to be more romantic.  The funny part of the interview is when they both claim that they do 70% of the housework.  Julie Chen also talks with a sex therapist and an editor from Cosmopolitan, who use Alisa and her husband as an example in this segment. (Segment comes after 30 sec ad.)

While you would think that we copreneurs are an equality minded bunch, research shows that we are actually MORE likely to find ourselves fulfilling traditional gender roles than dual career couples.  Eighty three percent (83%) of copreneurial wives are solely responsible for the housework compared to forty nine percent (49% ) of women who have a career that doesn’t involve working with/for their husband.

I would say that I probably still do the majority of the housework, but Leonard helps me out a lot.  When Leonard first began helping me with the housework, it was hard for me to let him help me I felt that I was creating work for him during his already busy schedule.  I knew that I was just as busy as him, but somehow it felt as if I was failing at being a good wife because he was helping me with housework.  Once I let go of the fact that I needed to do it all to be a good wife, I was able to enjoy the time that his help freed up in the evenings so we could spend more time together.

Anyway, this segment brought back some memories, a chuckle and was source for an interesting discussion in our household when we viewed it. Hopefully it can steer some interesting conversation in yours too.  I would love to hear your experience with this issue…

Comments (0) Filed under: copreneurs,entrepreneurial couples,marriage — Tags: copreneurs and romance, entrepreneurial couple, marriage communication — Julie Magro @ 10:42 am

A ‘third-party’ in your marriage is a NO NO! But should you consider having non-family members involved in your business? July 27th, 2010

Undoubtedly anyone starting a business intends to be successful, but not everyone perceives success the same.  In the case of copreneurs, perceived success is even more convoluted, because the work domain is integrated with the marriage and family domains. Nevertheless we can all agree that no matter what success means to us, we all want our business venture to be successful. So, how can we increase the probability that our copreneurial business is successful?

Several factors, both relational-based and organisational-based, can influence the success of copreneurial businesses.  In their research paper “Selected relational-based factors that impact on the successful functioning of copreneurial businesses: A proposed conceptual model“; the authors Elmarie Venter, Shelley Farrington & Christo Boshoff concentrate on a number of selected relational-based factors influencing copreneurial businesses.

In fact, this study has various findings which are very insightful for entrepreneurial couples, but in this post I would like to focus on specifically one variable – Non-Family involvement – and its impact on the success of copreneurial businesses.  The main reason I’m focusing on this variable is because in our experience Julie and I struggled at times to recognize the need to bring in consultants/advisors to help in our business on specific matters, as is typical with entrepreneurs. In our case this is probably due to the strong educational background and the ‘go do it‘ attitude that we both carry, but nonetheless, in hindsight we could have used some more help.  ‘Non-family involvement‘ refers to copreneurs approaching non-family members for advice and expertise on business matters when needed.

As other studies suggest (some of which also referenced in this paper) and as is also depicted in Figure 1 above:

H^5a : There is a positive relationship between Nonfamily involvement and the Perceived success of the copreneurial business

H^5b : There is a positive relationship between Nonfamily involvement and the Financial performance of the copreneurial business

This study takes it to the next level and identifies exactly the ‘How’ the perceived success is being influenced by Non-Family Involvement.  Refer to Figure 2 below.

The authors go in a  lot of details about how the data was processed and the validity and reliability of the results, but for this purpose, we’re not getting into the technical interpretation of the modeled numbers. We can go directly to the conclusions and recommendations:

A positive relationship was found to exist between Nonfamily involvement and all three the dependent variables, namely , Perceived success, Financial performance and Growth performance. This result implies that by involving non-family members in a copreneurial business, spouses are more likely to experience their involvement in the copreneurship as satisfying. In addition, the business is more likely to be profitable and show evidence of growth.

The authors continue to explain that non-family involvement can take the form, amongst others, of advisors, consultants and non-family employees. When dealing with non-family members involved in the business, certain recommendations were suggested. Copreneurs should allow non-family members to serve a mediating role to assist in managing conflict between the spouses and other employees. Non-family members are often more objective because they are not emotionally involved. Involving outside experts in areas of the business in which copreneurs are not experienced or knowledgeable helps to improve the quality of the business and increase profits.

So, I started out asking should you consider non-family member involvement in your business? And the answer is a resounding YES! To me asking for advice is somewhat intuitive, but asking for advice from a non-family member is less so.  Looking at this study amongst others strengthens my belief that non-family advisors/consultants/employees have a big role to play in successful copreneurial businesses. What’s your experience?

Comments (0) Filed under: business planning,copreneurs,dual entrepreneurs,entrepreneurial couples — Tags: copreneurial business advisor, copreneurial business consultant, copreneurs consulting — Leonard Magro @ 1:25 pm

Can the Way You Network as Copreneurs Affect Your Business Growth? July 22nd, 2010

Most business owners understand that their network of influence can play a significant role in the success of their business, especially in the startup phase. They are also most likely aware that networking is an integral function in the sales & revenue generating process. From our own experience in our business, Julie and I can attest  that networking played a significant role in the growth of our business.  And although at times networking functions took us away from the business, looking back I can say it was definitely a necessary ‘evil’.

Recently I came across this study that continued to explore the effect of networking in a copreneurial business setting. The study:

Networking of Copreneurs and Small Firm Growth: Personal Sub-networks Analysis
by Tina Bratkovic, Bostjan Antoncic.
Zagreb International Review of Economics & Business.
Zagreb: Nov 2009. Vol. 12, Iss. 2; pg. 33, 24 pgs

Some very interesting insights came out of this study, but early on, in this paper they reference a previous study and make a very interesting claim:
“Millman and Martin (2007) explored the role of females in small copreneurial companies and found that females in copreneurship have equal need for achievement as their partners, have great self confidence, and take the strategic role in firm development. Further, they manage both life at home and life at work. While both male and female bring critical resources for business development, females are the ones who bring drive into the business.” They continue on in talking about how women have to also play a balancing act between life at home and life at work, BUT what took me by surprise is the claim that the ‘females are the ones who bring drive into the business‘.  In our own experience we were quite the opposite, so to put a general claim like that surprised me, although this was not the primary focus of the study I’m still curious to know what you think about that statement?

Now with respect to Copreneurs Networking the real interesting findings from this study are as follows:

1. Although both copreneurs might be involved in the networking activities of the firm, a lower involvement by either partners might result in lower-growth. So, on the basis of past research and this research findings the authors argue that the involvement of the copreneurial team in the firm networking is beneficial for firm growth.
2. This study also highlights the importance of the quality of the network/s that the copreneurs participate in. For example, network density can also influence the growth of the firm. Hence, a network with a higher density can improve the growth rate of the company. Researchers argue that the flow of information and resources is uninterrupted in high density networks, hence they are more effective.
3. Also, based on the research results it may be possible to give advice to copreneurs how to form an efficient network. A thorough analysis of various relationships embedded in personal networks allows copreneurial couples to acquire important information about the structural characteristics of their personal networks. Thus, eventual weaknesses in the network structure could be identified and removed with appropriate network activities. For example, a network analysis could indicate the presence of mediators in the network. Therefore, the flow of resources and information between the network members largely depends on them. Therefore, in order to acquire diverse resources copreneurs should develop strong relationships with their mediators.

The researchers acknowledge that this research has some limitations in the way the experiments where conducted, but none the less the information is very eye opening.  Prior to reading this study, I used to look at networking as one-dimensional – ‘the more you network, the better the results‘, but if you are like me and a copreneur you should probably take another look at this.  For example, in our business I did 90% of the networking. This study clearly recommends a more balanced approach and equal involvement by both spouses.  I also never paid close attention to whether there’s a moderator or not within the group, moving forward I’ll be more conscious of the dynamics of the group.  What’s your experience?

Comments (0) Filed under: copreneurs,entrepreneurial couples — Tags: business networking, copreneurs networking — Leonard Magro @ 11:36 am

Do You Have a Scheduled Date Night? July 20th, 2010

If there is one piece of marriage advice Leonard and I consistently ignored for the better part of our marriage it was the advice to “Schedule a Date Night.” We questioned why we would need to schedule more time together when we are together almost 24×7 and enjoying it. But one day we decided to stop questioning Date Night and start trying it. And alas, Friday night date night was born.

Our trial run at scheduled date nights was a success! Honestly I can’t put my finger on exactly what we both like so much about it, because we are not doing anything extraordinary. Our date nights have included different things like renting movies, feeding the kids early and making ourselves a more adult dinner to have once the kids are in bed, rekindling our Cribbage habit and bringing a blanket to the park and flipping through our new vegetable gardening book together. And yet, despite the simpleness of our date nights, it is a time we really look forward to each week. I think it is because being together in the busyness of raising a family and the business of working together is fun, but it is not the same as scheduling the time to make your relationship the sole priority for a block of time with your spouse.

I would encourage any couple without a regularly scheduled date night to plan one. If you have problems deciding what to do, there are many resources online and offline that can give you ideas on what to do together.

Go ahead, stop questioning if date night is right for you and give it a try! We think you will be glad you did!

Comments (0) Filed under: marriage — Tags: Date Night, dedicating time to the relationship — Julie Magro @ 10:57 am

Book Review: Married in Business July 9th, 2010

Married in Business by Jack & Elaine Wyman is a collection of stories from entrepreneurial couples across the country who are Married and work together in their own business.  The book also contains 41 cartoons by Linus Maurer that highlight the funnier side of working with your spouse.

The book is divided into two sections.  Part I – Married… In Business Basics – of the book deals with the Wymans’ own entrepreneurial story and their resulting advice about being married and working together.  I doubt many couples already working together will benefit from the advice they offer as it is an over-simplified description of what it takes to be successful in business together.

Part II – Married… In Business Profiles – of the book has the 3-4 page story of 44 different entrepreneurial couples.  Initially the stories of each couple are interesting, but as the stories progress, they all start to sound very familiar and it was difficult to get through each story without feeling like I had read it before.  The authors include bite-sized pieces of advice from each couple, like “keep a sense of humor” in each story, but very little practical advice is offered and I often felt they glossed over the challenges each couple voiced.  Most entrepreneurial couples will find little help in the advice to laugh at yourself when the bills are plowing in and you cannot tell night from day because you are working around the clock.  In addition, because the book was written over ten years ago, there is only a few mentions of any type of business based on computers and none that centered on using the Internet/Social Media.

In summary, while this book presents an overly simplified view of what it takes to work with your spouse, I think the book still has a small place in copreneur literature because it serves as inspiration to couples who want to start a business, and there is value in encouraging husbands and wives to join forces as a team to live out their dreams.

You can purchase ‘Married in Business – What you must know and achieve to survive and thrive in this all-important partnership‘ on Amazon.com

Comments (0) Filed under: Copreneurial Book Review — Tags: entrepreneurial couple, married in business, working with spouse — Julie Magro @ 4:13 pm

How Would You Feel if Someone Did that To You? July 7th, 2010

Photo Credit: emmaline

If there is one question I find myself asking my kids more than any other question it is, “How Would You Feel if Someone Did that To You?” This comes up frequently when trying to teach a 3 and 5 year old how to be considerate when playing with each other, how to talk to me or Leonard or adults in general, how to play successfully with their friends, and how to take care of the things in their environment. It forces them to stop. and think.

Last week it made ME stop.  As I was asking them this very question, I wondered how often we as adults ask ourselves how we would we feel if someone did that to us?

Would we feel alone if our spouse was uncommunicative? Then why is OK when we don’t communicate?

Would we feel unimportant if our spouse did not take time out from work to spend time with us? Then why is it ok for us to put our spouse last on our schedule?

Would we feel unappreciated if our spouse failed to recognize our accomplishments in the business? Then why is it OK when we fail to thank our spouse for a job well done?

BUT…..

Would we feel loved if our spouse surprised us by arranging a babysitter and taking us out to dinner to catch up? Then arrange a surprise dinner date with your spouse.

Would we feel like a priority if our spouse called us into their office where a hot cup of coffee and snack were waiting for us for a 10-minute coffee break? Then stop by Starbucks on your way into the office tomorrow and pick up some coffee for you and your love!

Would we feel appreciated if our spouse took the time to write us a note thanking us for our contributions to the business that day? Then pick up those post-it notes and stick a note of thanks to their computer screen.

As parents, we work hard to consistently build and nurture our kids’ character. Building and nurturing the intimacy in our marriage requires a similar effort from our side too. Most of the time it doesn’t need to be expensive or elaborate because little things count. Feel free to share some of the ways you protect and nurture the intimacy in your relationships.

Comments (0) Filed under: Office Romance,marriage — Tags: dual roles, feelings, marriage, Questions — Julie Magro @ 3:32 pm

Book Review: Honey, I Want to Start My Own Business June 25th, 2010

Honey, I Want to Start My Own Business is another good book to read if you are planning to work with your spouse. I felt that the author – Azriela Jaffe geared this book primarily towards couples who are still in the planning phases (as the title even suggests), but those already working together will find some good take aways also. Overall, the book has a lot of good information, but it’s presented in a rather broad fashion and if you are already working with your spouse a lot of the information in this book might not apply to you.

Each chapter is complemented with self assessments, so you can really get involved and work through the issues in your particular situation. But at times working through this book, Julie and I felt like it falls into paralysis by analysis. That is, it has so much information that it’s more like a doctorate dissertation rather than a friendly guide. The assessments are all good but obviously most are not going to apply to your situation. For example if you are a ‘dual entrepreneur’ couple, you are not going to find the assessment test for ‘supportive spouses’ very useful. Or else if you are still in the planning phases of the business, you might not be that enthusiastic about reading chapter eight – ‘This Isn’t What I Bargained For’. On the other hand though, being aware of certain pitfalls is beneficial, because you can quickly correct these flaws in your marriage and business relationship if you find yourself moving towards that direction.

All Chapter Titles

Part 1: Creating a Family Plan

1. Exploring Self-Employment Alternatives: Considering Family Issues
2. Combining Marriage and Entrepreneurship: Three Models of Joining Together on the Entrepreneurial Journey
3. Financial and Family Planning: Planning Ahead to Avoid Disaster
4. The Joys and Challenges of Working at Home: How Working at Home Can Work – and When It Can’t

Part 2: Sustaining a Thriving Marriage

5. Communication Skills: Understanding Your Partner and Getting Your Point Across
6. Win/Win Conflict Resolution: Resolving Conflict at Work and at Home
7. Keeping the Romance Alive: Creative Ways to Protect and Nurture the Intimacy of Your Relationship
8. This Isn’t What I Bargained For: Coping with Hard Times and Coming Out Stronger

One chapter I highly recommend in this book is chapter 7 – Keeping the Romance Alive: Creative Ways to Protect and Nurture the Intimacy of Your Relationship. This applies no matter where in you entrepreneurial couple relationship you are in and the author does a great job explaining what is a romantic marriage and then offers great tips on how to develop a romantic marriage. Her list of ‘Romantic Gifts that Don’t Cost Money‘ is well worth it.

My recommendation for this book would be to first read the full book without doing any of the self assessments, while reading mark the ones of interest to you. Then complete the assessments at the end.

You can purchase ‘Honey, I Want to Start My Own Business – A planning Guide for Couples’ on Amazon.com.

Comments (0) Filed under: Copreneurial Book Review — Tags: entrepreneurial couple, start business, working with husband, working with spouse, working with wife — Leonard Magro @ 9:02 am