Husbands in business – a new syndrome?

Just presented to Her Business Network Meeting in Napier, Hawkes Bay. What an impressive group of business women. The very fact that these business owners give up their Wednesday evening to spend time learning and sharing ideas with other business owners tells me that they have the attitude it takes to create financial freedom from their business. It was a very fulfilling evening, I enjoyed presenting to this group very much. But I must confess to being completely at a loss for advice for two women who came up to me to ‘pick my brains’ after my talk. Their question was this: “What do you do when you are in business with your husband and he, as the more dominant partner, not only doesn’t see things the same way but refuses to explore the ideas you put in front of him?” I was stumped because I’ve never had to deal with this issue. In my first business I had no partner, and in my current business my business partner and I follow our plan of action with equal clarity and commitment. When it comes to the big picture and purpose of our business – we’ve had the same goal from day one, and clearly have the same end result in mind. So what do you do when your business partner is also your life partner and won’t listen to you? I still don’t know what to advise these business women. Appreciate any ideas…