JANINE and TOM FONDON: Success in Marriage and Business

            With a web site named UnityFirst.com, founders Janine and Tom Fondon know all too well what it means to be a ‘union’ first. They have been married for 15 years and despite the odds, their joint business venture, UnityFirst.com/African American Newswire has grown and flourished along with their relationship.

        While many business ventures often break couples up, Janine and Tom were brought closer together over the 10 years of building their business by sharing everything—goals, responsibility, opportunity and accountability. “We take 50-50 responsibility for everything,” Tom says.

“We found a greater love for each other as we helped bring others together in business,” says Janine. “Together, we learn from each other while moving through the good times and bad,” adds Tom.

“Most of our time is spent sharing information about other people’s businesses and helping business owners meet people who can help them,” Tom says. “With our upcoming UnityFirst.com Business World Summit ( September 23-24, 2005 ) held in New York City (Hilton Hotel), we will bring business owners together to sharpen their skills and add to their client and contact base.”

The duo has accomplished much together, but believe their most important achievements are keeping God first, taking care of their daughter, and positively managing their health and finances. “We base every conversation on these values, and thank God for watching over us. Our job is to love one another and to treat people as we ourselves would like to be treated,” says Janine. “Our purpose in life is to ‘to love unconditionally’ and to leave ‘judging’ up to God.’ We try to show others that love and good sense can take you a long way.”

        The three attributes that make their relationship function at its best are:

Communication – say what you mean and mean what you say. “We don’t sugar coat the truth, we acknowledge and deal with it without getting offended. Best of all, we listen to each other and understand our partners’ motivation or viewpoint. We agree to disagree or help the other person at least understand the thought process.”

Understanding Cash Flow – “We have similar outlooks on how to manage money, including how to spend money and pay it back. We also invest in each other’s dreams.” Tom likes real estate and over the years he has pursued that dream. Janine wanted to buy a house and get a car that didn’t break down every other week. Together, they sacrificed to make each dream come true.

Trustworthiness and Attitude-free Understanding – “We truly trust each other, without question. We can be honest with each other and say if we are bored, if we need a vacation, if we are tired of eating the same recipes every week, and decide to eat out.”

Their personal rituals are based on the following premise: do not sweat the small and big decisions. For instance, “we take a drive when we need to get away; it’s fun to get away from the routines of life. We look at the bigger picture—we are thankful that we can eat every day whether the menu for that day brings burnt meatballs or lobster. Also, we are grateful that we can share meals with friends, family and associates. The best ritual we have is traveling down South to Mississippi [Tom’s place of birth]. Somehow, the South makes you slow down and relax.”       

 “Our relationship moved to a deeper level after we cared for my father who was stricken with cancer,” says Janine. “Both Tom and I agree that caring for a cancer patient and driving from Massachusetts to New York most every week, showed us that we could work through everything and that commitment to wishes of a treasured family member mattered most in our lives.”

Tom adds, “The birth of our daughter was also a turning point for us. Our miracle daughter showed us that most anything is possible with a little love.”

Tom and Janine show appreciation for each other through mutual respect, “every day, hour and minute. We believe in each other and embrace each other’s hopes and dreams, while also honestly discussing the roles we each play in those dreams.”

To keep the flame burning brightly, “always remember that love may have brought you into the relationship, but it will be the growing love, respect and adoration for each other that will sustain your relationship and your business. Don’t just love the people you are with, but like them for who they are, and support them in the dreams they share with you.”

About UnityFirst.com

UnityFirst.com/African American Newswire, a distributor of diversity-related e-news, is one of the nation's leading online news services reaching over 4,000 members of the diverse press and some 1.5 million consumers of color (African Americans, Africans, Caribbeans, Asians, Hispanics/Latinos and others). The company has been covered in publications such as FORTUNE, Black Enterprise and ENTREPRENEUR magazine. Recently, UnityFirst.com founders, Janine and Tom Fondon, released a new book, The Practice of Power: Finding Success in a Diverse World. Also, in March 2005, Janine Fondon, President and CEO of UnityFirst.com and African American Newswire, was named one of the 25 Influential Black Women in Business by The Network Journal (TNJ), a black professional and small business magazine based in New York City. To purchase their book, register to receive their weekly newswire or to attend the UnityFirst.com World Business Summit, click: www.unityfirst.com.