Partnering for Prosperity: Boosting Your Home Business with Spousal Help

As a new entrepreneur with a baby on the way and newlywed, I launched www.easyshopeasycook.com, a home-based delivery service e-commerce company. The work-from-home setup was ideal for balancing my business and domestic responsibilities, but I quickly realized that managing multiple roles could lead to stress. That's when I appreciated the significance of my spouse's support. His involvement was crucial in ensuring both the success of my business and our marriage. In this article, I'll highlight the key ways my spouse helped and how his support impacted my success.

Emotional support was crucial when I started Easyshop Easycook. Initially, I only had a vague idea of what I was doing but I believed I started the business to help working women buy fresh groceries. However, I quickly learned that the systems for sourcing, processing, and delivering were not in place. Each day brought new challenges, but my spouse's daily encouragement helped me overcome my doubts and stay motivated. Although he had no prior experience in starting a business, his reassuring words provided the emotional support I needed.

Assisting with tasks: My background is in website development, so I had limited knowledge in bookkeeping and accounting. Nonetheless, I knew that keeping accurate records was essential for the success of my business. My spouse, a chartered accountant, provided valuable assistance in this area. He gave me a template to use during the day and reviewed it each evening when he returns from his own workplace. His support was crucial in ensuring the implementation of proper corporate governance principles and tax compliance from the start, which I am very thankful for. I emphasize the importance of bookkeeping in my entrepreneurship classes, and my spouse sometimes joins and adds humor about our early days. Although, don't take everything he says too seriously.

Offering constructive feedback: Entrepreneurship can be a solitary journey, especially for a pioneer business like mine, with no mentors to turn to in the early days as people thought I was crazy. However, my spouse was a supportive partner who understood my vision. As I put into practice what I learned from my research and training programs, he was available to offer constructive feedback.

Unique Skills and Perspective: I often share with my mentees and students that your spouse's skills are a valuable extension to yours and can benefit your business at no cost. My spouse, a chartered accountant, brings a wealth of experience from working in technology, dredging and waste management industries, providing valuable perspectives for me. His diverse skills and background played a crucial role in strengthening my business in the early stages and made us appealing to angel investors.

Shared workload: As Easyshop Easycook is a service aimed at supporting working men and women, I didn't want to neglect my own household while helping others maintain theirs. My spouse and I divided domestic responsibilities and decided to hire staff and other support services for assistance where needed. I also acquired a personal driver and we planned school activities around my business schedule. This allowed me to balance my roles as a spouse, mother, and business owner and be productive in all areas.

Shared financial responsibility: Starting a business can be financially draining, when you have a supportive spouse and you open up your business to him/her, this becomes easier to manage. From pooling resources together to designing fund raising slides. My husband had over 20 different cashflow projections of my business. I will design the pitch deck based on the target sum and he will create a cashflow sheet for my deck. Very early on in the business, I was able to separate personal funds from business funds because of his influence. 

Collaborating with your spouse is crucial for success in a home-based business. A supportive spouse made a big impact on my success as a working woman. Without their understanding, encouragement, constructive feedback, social connections, financial management, and unconditional love, I wouldn't have been able to balance the multiple roles I play effectively.