Couples' Business

flashysand

All the awful things about the pandemic aside, my husband and I have really enjoyed being at home together. So much so that returning to work has us filled with dread. We've discussed setting up a business together but have no ideas where to start. I have a marketing background, he's hands on and organised. Personally, I'd love to buy to let but funds wont allow that.  I'd love to hear about your experiences and/or suggestions.

Dox

flashysand said:

All the awful things about the pandemic aside, my husband and I have really enjoyed being at home together. So much so that returning to work has us filled with dread. We've discussed setting up a business together but have no ideas where to start. I have a marketing background, he's hands on and organised. Personally, I'd love to buy to let but funds wont allow that.  I'd love to hear about your experiences and/or suggestions.

A few weeks at home together, bouncing a few vague ideas about, isn't any sort of measure of how well you'd cope with so much togetherness(!) long term, and certainly is no basis for setting up in business when your only idea so far is 'buy to let but haven't got the money'. That's primarily an investment option, not a business. It's also a very tough call - I wonder if you realise just how tough?

You need to do a lot of structured research based on your skills, contacts, aspirations and how long your savings will last (minimum of year is no bad idea) if you don't generate any income, or worse generate losses in the early stages. You also need to think about an exit route if you can't make a go of it working for yourselves. 

You don't mention any actual business skills (in the sense of running a business on a day to day basis), so start here: https://www.gov.uk/browse/business 

Plenty of relevant books available, many to download free from your local library. 

One crucial question: do you have the space to work from home, with a large room you can share as a dedicated office? One of the biggest issues to emerge in the last month with so many people working from home is the laptop-on-the-kitchen table/bedroom problem, and the friction is creates.

JReacher1

I’m not sure what you do for a living but I think many office jobs won’t be the same after this. 

One of the most expensive overheads for a company is an office and I think many companies will look at how well their staff have worked remotely and realised that they can downsize their office to just a small hub with a few hot desks and encourage the majority of staff to work from home.  I suspect when the pandemic lifts to be encouraged to spend at least two days a week WFH. 

gettingtheresometime

I work with my husband for a couple of years now and I have to say it sounds like you're in the honeymoon period of working together.
It's been hard on occasions and I've found that those 'guess what happened in work today' have obviously dried up and that it was essential to have time where we weren't together. Also if there's been a disagreement  over whatever, has perhaps taken a longer time to blow over.
Also where do you propose to have business meetings? Do you propose to always go to the client's office? We have an office even though we could work from home but our clients wouldn't be impressed if we had meetings around the dining room table.
How do you propose financing the business/your personal needs whilst you're getting up & running and get that first fee in the bank?

Brynsam

flashysand said:

Personally, I'd love to buy to let but funds wont allow that.  I'd love to hear about your experiences and/or suggestions.

What exactly would you love about buy to let? The periods of anxiety when you haven't got tenants and the mortgage still needs to be paid? The hassle of getting tenants out when they won't leave at the end of their tenancy? Being phoned at midnight because the boiler's broken? Watching your properties plummet in value when the housing market crashes?

In all seriousness, think through what it is that makes you believe you would 'love buy to let'. Do you have experience of buying and selling property? Being a landlord? Restoring and maintaining properties? What do you actually see yourselves doing on a day to day basis - how is this a business rather than a simple investment of funds in a particular sector?

Family businesses are notorious for being difficult to work in and there are good reasons for that. At present, you and your husband have simply had what is effectively an extended holiday, albeit one in somewhat curious circumstances, involving work! It's a nice little pipe dream, but if you want it to become reality, now is as good time as any to do some hard planning, which includes identifying possible business opportunities (have you considered buying into a franchise?) and drawing up a business plan. 

jonnygee2

We've discussed setting up a business together but have no ideas where to start. I have a marketing background, he's hands on and organised.

This isn't much to go on. I guess you could set up a marketing agency? Tough thing to do in this climate, of course. 

Is there anything else at all you can think of? Hobbies, other skills or industries you have experience in?