In love and in business

To mark the most romantic day of the year we turned to some of the entrepreneurial couples who are part of the Enterprise Nation membership and asked them to share their experiences of being business as well as life partners. Happy Valentine's Day!

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Caroline and Andrew Jackson, Little Women

Why did you decide to go into business together?

My husband sold his software business a couple of years previously and it was making me mad at him watching sci-fi box sets! An opportunity arose to purchase an existing business that we knew was for sale and although it was primarily to be 'my' business I knew that there were elements of the business that needed his skills. We did the due diligence, the area of business was right up my street and we just saw possibilities and decided to go for it. I knew that we were a reasonably good team from working with him on other ventures previously so it was not a big deal.

What advantages does being a couple bring to your business?

We can be anywhere at any time and discuss stuff about the business, we can cover each other with no real issues about 'not my job', we present a united front to the team by being a business and personal partnership and we trust each other absolutely implicitly!

How do you ensure that any complications involved with running a company don't impact on your personal relationship?

Sometimes they do. We are sitting in the sunshine in Rome right now and have just had 'words' about a business matter that has no real place here on our break! However we are friends as well as lovers and we both know that this is business, not our relationship that causes occasional friction. Sometimes we have to just say 'stop! I'm not talking about work right now'.

What are your three tips for running a business with your partner?

• Remember your relationship is a living thing that needs space, light and attention away from the business

• When disagreeing about the business remind yourself it's professional not personal and don't mix personal and business disagreement

• Allow both of you space to have ideas and input and do your best to listen before shouting the other down!

Effie and Clive Moss, Just For Tiny People

Why did you decide to go into business together?

My hubby worked for a big retailer for over 20 years but five years ago the business closed and he became redundant. We agreed that he would look after our little girl and I would focus on growing JFTP. As JFTP grew and I gave up my full time job, we decided it was the right time following my appearance Dragons' Den and our little girl had started school, for him to join the company and look after operations.

What advantages does being a couple bring to your business?

Trust is a huge factor. It is lovely to have chats and make decisions with somebody who understands the day to day running of the company. I might not always like the answer and I can't promise that we keep it out of our home life, but somehow his pragmatic side works with my entrepreneurial, creative side :)

How do you ensure that any complications involved with running a company don't impact on your personal relationship?

I am not sure there is a perfect answer for this. As with any relationship it is important to carve out time for each other outside of work. As we work together, work chats tend to creep into our home life and our little girl is a big focus for us. But somehow we manage to switch off when we can or allow each the space we need when we need to resolve an issue.

What are your three tips for running a business with your partner?

• Listen to each other and respect each others' views

• Don't forget that you are a couple and have a life outside of work

• It's ok to disagree but leave work at work if you can

Francesca Geens and Nazz Ahammad, Digital Dragonfly

Why did you decide to go into business together?

We needed a change in the way we worked when we had kids. Anyone who has a traditional 9-5 job will know how hard it is to accommodate paid leave with very long holidays! Not being tied to traditional office jobs means we have the freedom to structure our working days and have a much better work-life balance whilst the kids are young. I suppose we were just looking for a more flexible approach the work and family life. It's much more integrated now.

What advantages does being a couple bring to your business?

The main advantage is the work-life balance for the kids. We are both around for their breakfast and dinner and do school pick-up and drop-off. The kids get a lot more of our time and attention and we get to spend out energy on work or family life rather than commuting. We also get to see more of each other during the week which means the evenings and weekends aren't such a rush with competing demands on your time as you get home after a day in the office. When it comes to running the business it's good to have a trusted partner to work with.

How do you ensure that any complications involved with running a company don't impact on your personal relationship?

I am not sure that we are always very good at this! But it helps to have clear roles so that we know who is responsible for what. We also have a quick daily stand-up meeting where we catch-up on what we are working on, issues, questions etc. This helps make sure we get everything out of the way during the day so we don't end up talking about it over dinner. We also both belong to separate 'mastermind' groups which are great sounding boards and it's important to be able to get outside opinions and perspectives to bring back into the decision making process.

What are your three tips for running a business with your partner?

• Separate offices (we only had the pleasure of experiencing this recently when we moved house; it's great!)

• Clear roles and routines for communication

• Regular date nights where we aren't allowed to talk about work (or the kids)!

Sabrina and Ian Bluck, CoCo Loves

Why did you decide to go into business together?

It was sort of by accident really. Prior to giving birth to our first child, I (Sabrina) had been made redundant. I made a personalised frame for a friend's wedding, posted it on Facebook and CoCo Loves was born. The interest from there was unbelievable. We quickly realised we had an opportunity to turn this hobby into a business, so we focused on social media, created a website and it has continued growing over the last two years. Ian has a senior role within Lloyds Banking Group so he was able to apply learning and good business practice into our small business. He continues to support our business while working full time.

What advantages does being a couple bring to your business?

With two children under three and CoCo the dog, being a mum takes priority, but with the flexibility of working from home with our own hours, we get to do more things as a family during the week as well as at weekends. During the day tends to be making sure we have enough stock to make cards and frames and when Ian gets home I hand the children over to him so I can start completing orders. Once they are in bed we tend to discuss up and coming strategies between winding down with a glass of wine.

How do you ensure that any complications involved with running a company don't impact on your personal relationship?

Don't get me wrong there are many times where we don't agree, but that just shows the passion we have for making this business a success. We never end the night where we don't agree on something, we'll just hug it out so to speak and move on. It helps that we are not in each other's pockets all day with Ian's day job. We both know our responsibilities within the business and tend to leave each other to get on with their own part but ensuring we are both aligned to the goals we have set. I focus on the customer experience and fulfilling orders and Ian will look after the strategy and infrastructure of the business.

What are your three tips for running a business with your partner?

• Embrace the ups as well as the downs. Things don't always go to plan, but if you accept the situation, learn from it and move on you won't dwell on the negatives

• Deliver on your promises and don't let each other down. We've found the key to being successful is getting things done. Set realistic goals and deliver on them

• Remember you're a family. Our goals are to have four holidays a year; two abroad and two with CoCo in the UK. We work hard to able to achieve these goals

Enterprise Nation member Krisi Smith, co-founder of Bluebird Tea Co., which she runs with her partner Mike, shares her advice:

We'd love you to become a member. Access small business benefits that you'll adore! Join today.