12 Smart Strategies to Balance Romance and Entrepreneurship

7. Communication challenges and victories.

“It’s important to clue your significant other in on any challenges and victories you may be experiencing in your business; it will help explain any swift changes in your mood or behavior, which only protects your relationship and presents opportunity to show support for each other. If you truly care about making your relationship last, spending quality time is key.”

– Kenny Pugh, CEO of Kenny Pugh, LLC: @MrKennyPugh

8. Strengthen your relationships.

“There will always be more that can be done for your startup or business, but life also goes on outside of that. My husband and I regularly establish a list of objectives to complete, and after that we fill in extra time with family time to strengthen our relationship as well as our bond with our young daughter. When we are really busy we take a few minutes to do something fun and create a memory, and then it’s back to work!”

– Katie Wallace, Co-Founder of Yummi Pouch: @yummipouch

9. Develop small and consistent habits with your partner.

“Find a minimum of three things that you like to do with your significant other and make time to do those things as much as possible.  Have a date night every week; don’t ever bump it.  Do something for them at least once a month that requires your full attention, no phone, no tablet, no distractions. Keep small habits that you can share together.”

– Daniel James Scott, Founder of Alorum: @sparkcatalyst

10. Be fun and romantic to make up for lost time. 

“[My] situation is a bit more complex since we both work together, so we need to make romance a priority. To do this we try to devote dinner and the rest of the evening afterwards on us, whether we are having date night or TV night.  Of course there are days when this can’t happen, but we always try to add fun to our romance.”

– Anne Shaeffer, Founder and President of Sulpice Chocolat: @SulpiceChocolat

11. Be totally transparent.

“There may be times where you have to deal with different groups of people. Some may be from your past, but as long as you stay transparent with your partner and communicate everything it will provide a healthy balance.”

– Nailah Ellis, CEO of Ellis Island Tea: @EllisIslandTea

12. Focus and include your partner.

“Balancing a relationship with entrepreneurship is tricky, but they both require focus. Finding a way to include my partner in decisions about my company so they feel a sense of inclusion is important and I always remind my partner that my financial independence is due to the risk and time commitment of running my own business. ”

– Josh Robbins, Owner of BNA Talent Group: @bnatalent

Entrepreneur Launch Pad suggests, “Don’t underestimate the toll that emotional stress takes on your physical health and your ability to concentrate on your work or enjoy time with your family. Make sure you make time for the important people and events in your life. Your business will still be there tomorrow or next week.”

Photo: GANT