Akuba: Everything was perfect…guest were confirmed, cards and t-shirts printed, presentation was ready and here we were less than forty-eight hours from our Bizzyness launch party having a heated discussion…an argument if you will. Now arguments are a normal and necessary part of relationships, but there are boundaries and expectations that must be put into place to keep issues in perspective. The mistake I found myself making in this particular situation was not keeping this argument in perspective. About an hour or two into our discussion, frustrated and tired, I asked Justin if we should postpone the event because we couldn’t find a middle ground in our discussion. He answered my question with the same question in which my response was: “Business is Business.” Because that was my response, I believe it to be the right answer, but what made me attach my personal life to my business life? I took our personal relationship and merged it with our business relationship. After all they both go hand in hand because the same two people make up both relationships right? Wrong.

The truth is the way I went about things was the absolute wrong approach. As a result of this ‘pre-game’ situation, I learned that it is imperative to remember that I can not maintain the same expectations for Justin in two completely opposite environments. The key is maintaining a work-life balance. The other day, I read about one couple (lets call them Susie and Mike) whose reference of the other depends on their environment. For instance after a long day at work, Susie can come home and complain to ‘home Mike’ about how much a jerk ‘work Mike’ was to her that day. It does wonders for separating work from home and emphasizes how the same person can have an entirely different temperament depending on their environment. I will try this approach out and let you know how it goes.

Justin: Akuba is right, everything was perfect and we were prepared to welcome our guest to our event, but something just wasn’t “ok” in our relationship. The truth is that our most recent attention to our event caused us neglect of our relationship just enough to cause the subsequent argument. It was unfortunate and something we’ll try never to do again but is also an important lesson learned. That lesson; keep business and your personal life separate. Separation is key because businesses will come and go, but your relationship will hopefully last a lifetime.

The best approach for me is to try and keep things as professionally sound as possible while doing business. That means having formal meetings (when possible) with agendas, setting specific and detailed business objectives, and only talking business during “business hours.” Doing these things not only keeps us on schedule with our business objectives but it also reminds me on the importance of keeping the two relationship separate.

In the end it’s about balance and maintaining that balance through sound business practices, strong work ethic and solid communication. These tools are essential to a healthy business relationship and an even stronger relationship with you significant other.

Question to our readers: How would/have you handled this situation?

Tags: Bizzyness, Business, copreneurs, Couplepreneurs, Love, Relationships, Work Life Balance
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