Husband and wife team Hayley & Luca Lepola on working with your partner

1. Listen

Working with your partner is bound to create a less formal atmosphere than a normal workplace setting. Even if things are more relaxed in this respect it’s so important to listen to each other, take ideas and suggestions seriously and see the value in what the other half has to offer. Working with your partner, someone you should be so comfortable with, should really be the perfect partnership for sharing ideas.

2. Find Your Niche

From the outset there will probably be obvious roles that you each fill within the business. However, as time goes on the business will evolve, it’s important to be aware of each other’s skills and interests, to understand who is best suited to new tasks.

3. Do Lunch Together

It won’t be possible every day, but try to find just 30 minutes to have lunch together. Try not to discuss work during your lunch break, enjoy a little bit of time to catch up as a couple, it will lead to a much more enjoyable and productive afternoon!

4. Switch Off

It sounds so simple but keeping work and home life separate is so important in the long run, especially if your workspace is in the home. Your working hours might not be nine to five, but have a cut off. Know when it’s time to set business to one side and focus on being a couple (or two individuals!) This is the most difficult tip to practice and one we regularly fail to follow!

5. Embrace The Opportunity

If you are able to make working together work it can be a life-changing opportunity. We started working together while studying at university, without any expectation for the business to be a long-term thing. More than 12 years later we are seeing more benefits that working together can bring, from flexible working hours when it comes to juggling family life, to enjoying working with the kids (when they want to get involved). You might not just be working with your partner, but starting what could become a family business. Embrace the change and enjoy what it can offer!

For more professional tips and tricks, check out out Woman In Work articles.

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