Correlation between Couple and Success

YOUR SILENT PARTNER

If you own your own business and you are married, one of the most important roles is not yours, or your eventual business partners. A person who almost never enters the ray of light or in the praise of your success is your partner. Your silent partner without whom perhaps nothing would have been possible.

The role of your partner is vital to the well-being of your business. And for yours. But how do you choose the right person? Many people think that being the spouse of an entrepreneur is very glamorous. That it comes with financial advantages out of the ordinary, regardless of the difficulties that come with lifestyle.

Life of an entrepreneur

In order to define how to choose a partner, or if you should consider marrying an entrepreneur, it is important to understand how these types of people live. An entrepreneur is someone who takes considerable risks, both financially, time-wise, with health, and make personal sacrifice to achieve a challenge that many consider unattainable, or simply stupid. Entrepreneurs are people who understand the importance of human capital, the value that each one can bring to the table. They also understand when someone waste their time. They are loyal to people, have a lot of empathy, and can be very direct with their way of speaking and expressing feelings and opinions. It is important to be cold-blooded because despite loving you, there will be moments in which they could demonstrate their natural strength without seeking to offend you.

In my case, I would be lying if I said that I was never very cold or rude to my wife. It is not something I do wanting to offend, it is something natural that comes with the mentality of someone who knows where he wants to go, and who will not let anyone discourage him.

Living with an entrepreneur has its financial risks as well. In order to stabilize myself with a successful idea, I have had several companies that rose and fell without being able to control or correct the trajectory. That resulted in having to look for work so as not to lose everything. Get up again. And try again. Despite having a daughter, and then two.

The difference between a normal person and an entrepreneur is that the former falls and conforms. The entrepreneur falls and rises to success.

The life of an entrepreneur is a roller coaster. There are very high moments, very strong falls, very low moments. If you understand that, that you can bear it, support it, and be a life and business partner rather than a person who expects to receive more than what (s)he gives, then maybe you can be a part of his world.

If you want to be successful and have a full life, give ten times what you expect to receive. Success is found in the value you add to the world, not in what you take out of it.

The role of an entrepreneur’s couple

Being the spouse of an entrepreneur is not limited to helping around the house with daily tasks: children, food and cleaning… Your role has a sufficiently important weight on the scale to define the trajectory of success that the project will have. Your support must be psychological, physiological, spiritual, and technical. It does not mean doing everything to please your partner. It means that you have to try to add value to your better half with something constructive. Offer more than you receive.

Many entrepreneurs divorce because many married people do not understand their role in the company and the couple. It is important to lighten the life of your partner, removing the weight of daily tasks that can waste time, lose focus on what you have to be sharply aware of. And it is equally important that you share your opinion and vision about the project without holding anything back.

An entrepreneur places great value on well thought out and constructed opinions. Your role is simple: help him see what he is not seeing. You are part of the business the same way as he is. After all, it is what gives you a roof, food and everything else. Your interest in the business should be very high, as well as your understanding of it.

You are the image of the company and your partner. If you read Forbes, Entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal and other business magazines, you can tell that the CEOs of the largest companies have their partner in almost every major event and launch, whether they are internal to the company or public. Your goal? Represent an image that makes people think they are lucky to have you. Not the other way around. Inspire respect and admiration.

In the case of my wife Natalia and I, she was the inspiration that led me to what I managed to build. She opened my eyes to my passion for business without ever telling me what to do. She inspired me to grow up and give her a better life. And along the way, she was always by my side, supporting me with advice, opinions, discussions, both good and bad, that led me on the path that corresponds to me. She was my guide to success.

Balance to have a happy life

The business being part of your daily lives, it is difficult to make the distinction between your personal life and professional life. It is difficult to be the wife/husband without being the partner. It is important to celebrate the successes of the company together, but it is also important to get away from time to time to live without thinking about work.

I have my wife, two daughters, 5 businesses and chairs at 5 boards of directors of other companies in 4 countries. If I let my professional life consume all my time, we would have no life. Natalia supported me by choosing employees who can assume certain responsibilities while I am not in the office or in the country. We started hiring more people, investing time and money in lengthy recruiting and training process, and building trust. It took a few years, but without it, I couldn’t take Sundays to unwind and enjoy with my family. I couldn’t take a vacation when schools closed, I couldn’t see my family in Europe.

As an entrepreneur’s partner, I recommend choosing someone who understands all of those points. The good ones, and especially the bad ones. In addition, I recommend someone who understands people, who knows how to read beyond appearances, in order to be the trustworthy person that their partner requires to be successful.

As a life and business mentor for senior executives in one of the most important companies in Latin America and the United States, I always say the same thing: It does not matter at what level you are. You always need a mentor for you too. Mine is my wife.