Get the MP3 and transcript here: http://buildyoursalon.uk/living-working-partner Welcome, and today we’re talking about working and living with the same person, how we’re going to run our businesses and our relationships successfully when your partner at home is also your partner in the business. If you get it wrong it can have dire consequences not only on the business front, but it can end a relationship as well. I’ve lived and worked with the same person for about twenty years now. Now there are some amazing benefits, but there are a lot of down sides as well; you’ve got to be really careful. Firstly you’ve got to start with the end in mind. Are you going to be selling the business at some stage, is the idea that one partner leaves the business, what happens if you split up? You need to have these difficult conversations before you embark on working together. Sometimes they are hard conversations, but you have to get an agreement in the end. Secondly you have to agree on the big stuff, you have to be pushing your business in the same direction. You will destroy your relationship and your business if you’re pulling in different directions. If you agree on the big stuff, the strategy for the business, the long term goals, when you have arguments all you’re arguing about is how you’re going to get there. You’ve agreed on the destination, you’re only arguing about the slightly different routes that you want to take. Point number three is you need to be crystal clear on your roles in the business, not only for your own sanity, but also if you’re not clear on the roles there’s a real waste of resource because you end up with two people doing something that one person could do a lot more effectively. This is particularly important if you have staff; they need to know who it is that they go to otherwise they’re very confused and end up not communicating effectively with the Management team at all. Point number four is you have to manage or be managed. In every element of your business someone needs to be in charge. If you’re not willing to be in charge, then you’re going to have to hand over control to the other person and not interfere. There are times when you have to toss a coin to figure out who’s going to be in charge of an area of your business and this happens with personal relationships in the Salon, because there will be times when you’d have to have difficult conversations. So you have to be that clear about your roles, you have to manage or be managed. And finally say what’s on your mind, when it occurs to you. It is impossible to put artificial boundaries into your home and work relationship. If you put these artificial constraints, what you do is you put undue pressure on your relationship. So if you need to get something of your chest get it out there, and then you can put work behind you and start focussing on your personal relationship instead. I hope that’s been useful to you, if it has please don’t forget to subscribe I put content out like this every single Monday, and I would hate you to miss out on what I’m sharing with you. If you’ve got a successful work and personal relationship with somebody, put it in the comments below or share it over on the Build Your Salon Facebook page. Until then I’ll see you next week.