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Love for Business

- February 2011

Business Bulletin spoke to three couples who spend their working and domestic lives together and discovered the pros and cons of a 24/7 relationship.

Gordon and Lizanne Shepherd have had a close working relationship for the majority of their marriage but for more than a decade they have run a business together and wouldn’t want it any other way.

Gordon moved from general practice to set up Ark Occupational Health in 1999 and asked Lizanne to help him get it started.

She is now the managing director of the company which has 15 staff. “Twelve years on I haven’t been able to extricate myself,” she said. “One of the benefits is when things go well you can celebrate in a relaxed way with someone you are familiar with.  When things go wrong, if you are having a bad spell, you can support each other.
“If you are in different job situations there is very little you can do if your husband or partner is having a difficult time in their work but because we are in the same company we know the challenges and we can literally do something to help the other. However it is difficult to park it when you walk out of the door at night.

“We try to have at least one of the weekend days off not talking about it,” said Gordon, “but it can be so intense during the week that sometimes one of the weekend days is the only chance we have to talk about moving the business on.”

Lizanne said: “We try to have a debrief on a Friday afternoon but if we have to talk about it outside work we might set aside just a couple of hours on a Saturday morning to thrash things out and then park it until Monday.”

They both feel that by working together they have a lot more control over their lives although they admit that they are perhaps not as good as they should be at ensuring their work/life balance is right – something on which Gordon advises his clients. “Do as I say, not as I do, I tell them,” he said.

They do enjoy regular holidays away from Aberdeen when they can put work behind them and although there may be business talk for the first day or two they then shelve it until they return.

“One of the things we find amusing is that when new staff come along they think because we are  married, share a home and run a business together we share a brain,” said Lizanne.

“If someone says something to me they will assume I will tell Gordon or vice versa and that is quite a subtle thing we have to deal with. Sometimes people assume we carry everything around together.”

They say it is helpful that although they run the same company they operate in different areas and some days seldom see each other during working hours.

Not so Amanda and Steve McCulloch of Thorpe Molloy Recruitment who work in the same office with Amanda as Steve’s boss.

They have been married for four years and Amanda, 33, is Managing Director of the company with  Steve, 32, a Senior Operations Manager.

Amanda started off as a trainee for Thorpe Molloy 10 years ago and remembers first meeting Steve when he came for a job interview.

“My colleague was meant to be interviewing him but she asked me to do it at the last minute so I walked into reception and he thought I was someone else,” she said.

“That was the first time we met. He ended up being appointed and things just progressed from there.

“Our relationship was formed at the company, so we don’t know anything different. It would seem odd not to see each other all day.

“Yes, we are a couple but we don’t let it affect our work and our commitment to our organisation.

“It’s very much I put my suit on and get on with the job in hand. One good thing about working so closely together is we can pre-empt each other. Steve knows what I’m looking for and it makes it a lot easier. We both work in recruitment, so we both understand the demands.”

As Managing Director, Amanda is Steve’s boss but he said: “I do not really see Amanda as a boss, rather she is a colleague I respect and work effectively with. We do not work in a hierarchical organisation so that definitely helps.”

Amanda admits it is not always plain-sailing.

“There are occasionally moments when we are both under pressure there’s a strong temptation to say something you wouldn’t necessarily say to a colleague, but we have become very disciplined.

“There are certain things, like information I have access to which he doesn’t, but I don’t think he resents that. I think he’s really proud of me!”
“Absolutely,” said Steve, “we are a team.  What is that saying? Behind every strong woman is a great man.”

The birth of their son, Will, 18 months ago has meant changes and Steve now works four days a week to ensure a better work/life balance for his family.

“It’s very important for us to have time as Steve and Mandy outside work,” said Amanda.

“We used to be inclined to bring work home but since we have had Will the focus has been about him and that takes you to a different place and you forget about work.“

John and Dionne McLaren have been partners for 23 years and decided to work together when they set up their own business Bear Handling six years ago.

They have six children aged from 21 to eight months and they believe that by working together they have improved their work life balance.

Two of their children, Jay, 21 and Jordyn, 17, work in the family business which has as its “head of security” another family member, Keano the dog.

“It is almost impossible to separate working life and domestic life,” said John.  “I would like to say that when we get home at night we switch off from work and switch on home life but unfortunately it’s not true. I am a bit of a workaholic but we do try to keep weekends free.

“One of the main benefits of a family business is loyalty but you also have understanding.  Sometimes if people have to work late their partners are not very understanding or if they have go overseas it is perceived as more of a leisure trip than a business trip.  However Dionne is inside the company and sees what is going on so understands it is business and not pleasure.

“We have an apartment in Bulgaria where we go to relax because with six of a family arranging other accommodation can be tricky.”

Dionne believes working together has been good for them.
“However there is no escape and it is lots of work and not so much play,” she said. “I think the work problems come into the house but I don’t think the domestic problems come into work because we are so busy – we have no choice.  They have to be left behind.

“When John worked for an employer he was away most of the time and I was bringing the children up myself.  Now we are able to plan our time and John’s trips can be tailored to suit the family and he has a much better relationship with our children.”

So does Dionne tire of constantly seeing her husband whose office is adjacent to hers?

“No, I honestly don’t - albeit there are times I could string him up.  I enjoy working with him.  It really has been beneficial for us.  I can see how it might not work for some people but it certainly does for us.”