It's inevitable: You and your mate are experiencing tremendous conflicts. Suddenly, your home business venture isn't sounding so great. You've even stopped communicating. Instead, you grunt in each other's direction. And, during morning breaks you sit watching "Divorce Court," sympathizing with the complainants.

Now is the perfect time for you to outline a plan for working with your spouse. The following tips are very effective and can be adapted to your own situation:

1. Make sure both partners share a burning passion for the same home business venture. You don't want to invest in widgets and find out later that your husband wanted to open a sports- related Web site.
   
   
2. Discuss openly any family obligations that might interfere with business commitments. Decide which is most important to you, your son's baseball game or learning to use a new financial spreadsheet program on your computer.
   
   
3. Decide to discuss honestly any problems you encounter. In one case I know of, a wife who believed in purchasing only the best- quality, highest-priced office furniture, for their home office. The budget-conscious husband literally hit the roof when he discovered his wife had spent almost a years budget on what he called "over-priced office doodads."
   
   
4. Agree how the profits will be split. Know who is responsible for paying the bills. How much will be invested back into the business?
   
   
5. Clearly outline what duties each person will perform daily. This will decrease conflicts considerably and help the work flow smoothly.
   
   
6. Treat each other as professionals, while respecting each other's unique contributions to the business.
   
   
7. Always remember that your marriage is your first priority in your life, more important than any business issue that might arise.
   
   

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BB Lee is Editor/Publisher Of SmallBizBits. Subscribe Now For The Latest Home Biz Advice! Bonus Business E-book Package For Subscribing! http://www.angelfire.com/zine/smallbiz
Email - smallbiz@angelfire.com