The Trailing Spouse

On today’s episode we’re talking about making sure your spouse or partner is on board with your business goals. One of the greatest sources of stress in a relationship is when business goals are at odds with family goals. How do I know about this? My wife is a marriage counselor and encounters situations like this on a regular basis. I’ve seen several people make the transition from employee to real estate entrepreneur and lose their marriage in the process. The greatest cause of this discord is the failure to align values between life partners. The trailing spouse in business can translate into the trailing spouse in life. A trailing spouse in life can split a relationship apart. That doesn’t mean that you need to go into business with your spouse. But you do need to take the time and make sure your spouse is sharing at least part of your journey of personal and professional growth. In my case, My wife and I attend several conferences each year. That has been a great source of alignment between us. Every year my wife and I plan which events we are going to attend together. The entrepreneurial life is a journey. Experiencing that journey together is so important. We’re strongly connected in other ways. By experiencing part of the business journey together keeps us connected in the one dimension that in reality is quite separate.