Couples Learn How To Be Romantic and Business Partners (New York Times)

Not everyone can work with their spouse so reporter, Joyce Rosenberg, with the Associated Press put out a call to those who felt they had successfully accomplished this Herculean feat to share stories of successes and struggles. I joined my husband’s marketing firm in 2008, so with 11 years of partnership and us celebrating 20 years of marriage this year - I felt qualified to share.

Here’s the bit that was included from my interview:

“Sometimes, working well together takes brutal honesty. Cynthia Smoot remembers struggling with her husband Randy for several years after she joined his advertising agency, Gangway Advertising, in 2008. They had an ongoing clash of egos and a hard time accepting each other's point of view. She remembers one argument during which he was pretty blunt.

"You want to do your own thing? What do you think you're bringing to the table?" Cynthia Smoot recalls her husband saying. "Some things that I thought were strengths, he saw as weakness. That was an eye-opening exercise."

Part of the problem was too much closeness — being together 24/7 didn't work. So, they transitioned from sharing a home office to two separate rooms in different parts of their house in Dallas.

"I was as far away as I could get from him," Cynthia says. "I told him, 'don't even come walking in here. Google-chat me!'"

Now, she says, they share harmony and a successful company.”

To read this article on the New York Times website in its entirety, click HERE. This article was also picked up by Yahoo!, FOX Business, Miami Herald, ABC News, and the Houston Chronicle among other publications nationwide.