ENTREPRENEURIAL COUPLES

This technical note is mainly intended for couples of entrepreneurs and may also be of interest to those considering becoming entrepreneurs. These latter will be able to take note of valuable advice to minimize the sharing of professional and private daily life as much as possible through the sharing of experiences from the former concerning what they have put in place within the couple and the company. Couples of entrepreneurs who have already taken the plunge will be able to assess, on the basis of shared good practices, the extent to which various elements essential to their proper functioning, such as the distribution of tasks, communication on and off the workplace and their relationship with others as a couple of partners, have been judiciously considered.

This work is therefore structured around two axes since it tends to highlight the implications that the couple’s relationship can have on the development and management of the company on the one hand, and those that the latter can have on the private side of the relationship on the other hand.

Unsurprisingly, all the characteristics of a couple are intertwined and form part of a whole that can have positive and negative repercussions on the business project and its management, the reverse being also true. These analyses show that it is interesting to call on a third party to be accompanied throughout the process, both in the technical and legal aspects of business management (financial, legal) and in the relational aspects (management coach). Coaches and therapists can of course also provide valuable advice on how to manage the balance between private and professional life.

With regard to this balance and since it is an aspect that is essential for the proper development of the common business, all the interviewees agree that the starting point of any professional company with its spouse is to feed its couple enough so that it can carry the project and not the opposite. The latter must indeed be seen as a “cherry on the cake” that enhances the relationship built upstream. Once this priority is well understood and established, the interpersonal relationship can in turn benefit from the professional relationship to enrich itself and the second part of this note will explain how.