Love and Leadership: What Building a Business With Your Partner Teaches You About Love and Success

The Risk of Building a Business With Your Partner

The odds are not known to be good for couples who work together on a startup.

So… Why would you risk building a business with your partner?

I'm not gonna lie, some days it scares me… What will we face that we don't anticipate?

(Plenty of things, business-wise, here I'm talking relationally)

But, how is it actually going?

"This is WAY easier than raising kids with someone" my partner (and father of 3) says.

I knew when we got into this that we already had good communication skills and emotional awareness (and yeah, we mess up, we repair, we re-commit to love and growth).

He also has rock-solid boundaries and no hesitation standing up for himself (with love), which inspires respect and trust on my end.

We both already work all the time (we are both MIT grads, well-trained to grind, ugh!), so even though a startup is all-consuming, we are already 'all-consumed'.

We have a solid foundation of prioritizing our romantic connection outside of work and kids.

Our differing roles in the business and level of commitment are well-defined.

And we have our own lives and friends outside of the startup, so it's not our entire shared identity.

Still, there are tough moments. For example, switching between how I act with him as a romantic partner vs how I act with him as a business partner requires different tracks in my brain and it’s not always smooth.

Our commitment to owning our shit, repairing, and growing are essential for this to work and for the mistakes, hurts, and miscommunications to not pile up.

I'm well aware, as a relationship coach, that even with the best-laid foundation, there's no guarantee.

For now, though, two years in… It's going great. I love getting to build an empire together.

And that’s something many men I work with get wrong when it comes to women:

They believe they have to have it all figured out, to have already made all the money, in order to have the woman they want.

But nothing could be farther from the truth.

As long as she can see that you are responsible, reliable, and ambitious - a woman can believe in you and support you to build your wealth, or you can build together.

You want to make sure she has those same qualities, too - of course.

No more assessing on the basis of ‘is she pretty and nice’ as the only relationship criteria.

When building a business with your partner, instead focus on assessing:

Can you make hard decisions together?

Can you repair effectively?

How do you treat each other when you’re at your worst?

How do you react when things don’t go your way?

Are you able to take intentional time apart (so necessary when both romance and work combine)

Can you reconcile how you each relate to money, if it’s different (a primary source of conflict)?

Bring Back The Spark In Your Relationship

If building a business with your partner and scaling empires has dulled the spark in your relationship, here’s how to reignite the spark…

Download my free guide on 4 Keys to Passionate Relationships.

Show up as a powerful presence that women love (no more worries about being seen as 'creepy') and fix your ‘upper limit’ so you can actually receive the pleasure and connection you're longing for.

Create high-quality relationships across the board in your life (with your partner, kids, parents, boss, and friends).

Get your free guide here.

Dr. Jessica,

Follow me on IG: @drjessicagold and on X: @drjessicagold, and connect with me on LinkedIn: Dr. Jessica Gold, PhD