Can Couples Successfully Mix Business and Romance?

How many times have you heard the adage: “Never mix business with pleasure”? Change “pleasure” to “romance” and it becomes a proscription advising couples against running a business together. Since we are romantically involved in a wonderful relationship with each other as life and business partners, we decided to interview several successful couples in business to discover the secrets of their success.

Janine and Tom Fondon, founders of UnityFirst.com, have been married for fifteen years and are the proud parents of a ten-year old daughter as well as a thriving decade-long Internet business. While many business ventures often break couples up, Janine and Tom were brought closer together 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.

They have 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. “We try to show others that love and good sense can take you a long way.”

Married for close to 20 years, Cynthia Franklin and Lloyd C. Grant began Kip Communications in 1992, and a small business publication, the Kip Business Report in 1998. Both worked in the corporate realm previously; Cynthia was an account executive with a division of Time-Warner, Lloyd worked a systems analyst at Paine Webber. Their relationship is based upon mutual love, communication grounded in good listening skills, laughing at and with one another, and the sharing of similar values, “religious, spiritual, moral. Also, we are both very culturally conscious and share a strong concern for and commitment to uplifting our community,” says Cynthia.

Like the Fondons, Cynthia and Lloyd engage in certain rituals to strengthen their bond, such as attending church, cooking dinner together, and sharing movie nights. Launching their business was a “. . . leap of faith. Neither of us had any real experience. We just believed in our abilities and talents and felt strongly that we had a greater purpose in life than the corporate jobs we were holding down at the time. Through the business, we discovered what we were capable of accomplishing together.”

We (Jewel and Greg) translate the passion and intensity of our personal relationship into our business, which, like the enterprises of the couples above, is grounded in the desire to improve our community. That’s the common business objective, and the Fondon’s answer the question posed in the title above: “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.”

By Greg and Jewel, Co-Founders
VoicesofRomance.com