Franchising with your better half can give you the best of both worlds

Franchise businesses are often purchased by husband-and-wife teams, and this can be a perfect opportunity for couples to work together towards a common goal. Challenges may come along the way, but the rewards can be amazing

Owning a business with your husband or wife is quite common. However, it’s not easy to manage a business with your life partner, much less trying to manage a marriage and everything that goes along with it. So, why do couples choose to go into business together? Business Partnership wants to highlight the top benefits of working with a partner.

The top four benefits of working with a partner:

1. Time: Couples enjoy each other’s company and talents, so spending more time together is a bonus. It will also mean that for the most part, you will be working on the same schedule.

2. Financial goals: Couples can make more money by working together rather than hiring outside executive staff. Who else will care more about helping you grow the business than someone equally invested in it? You can work toward common goals, such as the number of clients you would like to acquire and the amount of income you want to achieve each year.

3. Passion: Sharing a passion that you both feel strongly about can bring couples even closer together. Your business is likely to be more successful if you share a passion and you’re sure that what you want to do can be channelled into a sustainable business.

4. Trust: Who better to go into business with than someone you trust implicitly and who has your back 100 per cent? Working as a team and growing a business together can have a very positive impact on both of you. Businesses will often fail because the business partners lose their trust in one another, which then leads to more issues and further conflict. However, with your spouse around you, you know you can trust each other, being fully aware that you have each other’s best interests at heart.

“Of course, there are lots of challenges when running a business with your partner and crafting a business plan is probably one of the most important steps you can take to avoid any confusion or oversight. All businesses can benefit from a plan, but when a business is owned and managed by a married couple, it’s especially helpful to understand each other’s roles from the very beginning,” said Alex Dodgshon, manager for client services at Business Partnership Manchester Central and South Cheshire.

“Having a title and clearly defined roles is incredibly important when running a business together,” added regional partner Paul Dodgshon. “Not only is this a good way to create separation based on your area of expertise. For example, I have a more commercial mind and Alex initially came into the business as admin support despite her own quality improvement and training background. We’re now both instrumental in the day-to-day running of the business, but the division of labour and playing to your strengths allows people to see you both as individuals in a more professional setting. When I started the business in 2005 and Alex joined in 2007, we were a young family. The perks of running our own business meant we were able to attend our children’s school plays, sports days and I was even able to coach rugby for a time.”

Raymond Blin and Fiona Best have been running Business Partnership Scotland West together for five years, having just renewed with the brand. Fiona had worked in both events and marketing businesses and Raymond had a background in corporate business and accountancy when they invested in their franchise.

“The great thing about working with a partner is that clients really get two minds for the price of one. As a couple, we also inject more empathy into the process, which adds a more human feel. Selling a business can often be quite an emotional experience and the fact we are a couple makes people feel more comfortable during that process,” said Raymond.

Tim and Nikki Bayley, regional partner and manager of sales and administration at Business Partnership Birmingham & Warwickshire still feel the same sense of achievement being able to help clients achieve their goals almost 20 years on from when they took on the business.

“We were initially attracted to Business Partnership because we knew our individual skillsets would match the brand perfectly. We had grown disenchanted with the corporate world and decided it was time to buy a business of our own. We saw the advert for a franchise territory with Business Partnership and because of my sales background and Tim’s project management background, we thought it would be the perfect fit for us,” explained Nikki.

“Working together, we can offer a more professional and personal service to our clients with truly local representation and knowledge of the local marketplace. Even after 20 years when a sale or purchase is completed, we still have the same sense of achievement being able to help a client achieve their goal,” added Tim.

Obviously, co-owning a business is not for every couple. It requires blending your business and personal lives, equally sharing power, and setting reasonable boundaries so you never let a business dispute become a personal one. Franchise businesses are often purchased by husband-and-wife teams, and this can be a perfect opportunity for couples to work together and work towards a common goal. Challenges may come along the way, but the rewards can be amazing.