Thriving in Tandem: The podcast for married entrepreneurs

Imagine returning home after a hectic day at work, eagerly anticipating the warm embrace of your little girl, only to find her turning towards your spouse instead – a moment Tamra Andress vividly describes as her 'Tombstone moment.' It's a heart-wrenching realization that strikes at the core of one's identity. You may have pondered the question: What would my Tombstone say when I'm gone? Typically...

In this episode, we're cutting through the noise and getting real. No matter how successful your business becomes, it won't guarantee happiness. It won't make your spouse love you more, improve your kids' behavior, or earn you genuine admiration. We've seen too many marriages falter under the misconception that achievements lead to happiness. The truth is, happiness is a choice. If you want to cul...

Whether you work with your spouse, are considering working with your spouse, or are saying to yourself "never" this episode is for you. Knowing how to recognize and utilize your spouse's gifts, talents, and abilities will help your business and enrich your marriage.  In this episode, we interview Troy and Shantel Brooks, successful business owners and authors of the book 'Spartners: Discover the V...

Is it just me, or is building a business easier than growing your marriage? Let's put it this way: Are you more inclined to attend a business seminar or a marriage workshop? Would you rather see a marriage counselor or hire a business consultant? For some reason, many of us prefer to work on our business rather than our marriage, so it's no wonder that many married entrepreneurs struggle with work...

What if you achieved your dream of becoming something like a fighter pilot? What boy doesn't? Then you achieve your BHAG of being accepted into Top Gun school. But in an instant the dream turned reality comes crashing down. Not only are you not able to enter Top Gun school training but ultimately, the Navy kicks you out because of your handicap.  What do you do then? Meet this week's guest John Ra...

One of the most popular keys to a successful marriage is "compromise." In our experience that is one of the most destructive methods in a marriage. The word compromise means "accepting a standard lower than is desirable." Is that what you want for your marriage? I would think not but that is how many deal with disagreements.  When we compromise in a disagreement, each side gives up something they...

Who doesn't want to close more sales deals? Without sales, you have no business yet some business owners really struggle with this part. If you only have a small staff most likely you, the business owner, are the chief salesperson. Like many owners, you don't want to come across as salesy so you actually become less effective at it. The question is, how do you close more deals without coming acros...

When growing a business, we can get caught up focusing on the marketing and building systems as the keys to success. But at the end of the day it's people that make it work. So knowing how to communicate and positioning your team in the proper roles can make the difference between average performance and a great one. This episode piggy backs on episode 191 in which we discussed how the use of pers...

Going from owning multiple successful businesses, fancy cars, and homes to living in a van and couch surfing. How would your marriage survive this? Hopefully, you'll never have to find out but you can listen to this week's guests, Tim and Glori Winders, to find out how they did it. The 2008 recession destroyed their real estate business and by 2013 lost the other businesses, filed for bankruptcy,...

They say communication is the foundation of a great marriage. But most people think talking is communicating. It is part of communication but it doesn't necessarily mean you understand each other. Good communication means both parties understand each other and can resolve disagreements without blowing up into major conflict.  This is where so many married couples struggle. Being able to resolve co...

Can a prenuptial agreement strengthen your marriage and prevent a divorce? That's not typically what we think about when we hear prenup. We're just usually thinking of protecting our assets when we do get divorced. But this week's guest, Aaron Thomas, is going to shed some light on the way he helps couples create prenuptial agreements. His process of crafting prenuptial agreements creates transpar...

Marketing success can be elusive for many small business owners. Most rely on word of mouth (which is the best form of marketing) because they haven't had much success doing anything else. Even if your business is doing well from word of mouth, there are some steps you can do to improve that. There is also so much noise out there about what form of marketing is best for you. In my experience, the...

"Doing the right thing is inconvenient." That was a powerful quote from this week's guest Bob Beaudine. Prioritizing your family over your career or business is one of the hardest things to do for high achievers. It is possible to do it successfully but it doesn't come easy. You have to make hard choices that are not convenient.  Bob had one of the top executive search firms for professional sport...

Fewer than 5 percent of businesses earn over $1 million in revenue and only 11% have 20 employees or more. For many entrepreneurs, those are magic numbers to reach so they can experience greater freedom from the business. Reaching those revenue and staff milestones means they have the resources and team to handle business while they go off on a great family vacation for a month.  Why do the majori...

Entrepreneurs have an independent streak for sure. I have it, you have it, we all have it. It's why we can't see ourselves in a 9 to 5 job. It's why we're so successful in what we do. We take the bull by the horn and make it happen.  But independence can have an ugly side to it. It can cause us to become a little arrogant, isolated, and hurt our most important relationships. Meet this week's guest...

Taking a vacation is a good thing. So why is it so hard for the typical entrepreneur to tear themselves away from the day to day grind of building a business to take a break with their family?  We've heard and used these excuses. "I'm too busy to get away." "It's too stressful to take time off. There will be so much work waiting for me when I get back." "I don't think the staff will be able to han...

Imagine the doctor telling you that your spouse has 40 minutes to live. What do you do? How do you feel? How do you cope? Tune in to this week's episode as entrepreneurs Gary and Keely Van Vlack share their story of how close Keely came to dying and how Gary coped.  After Keely miraculously got over the hump and her health started to improve, the reality of life and running multiple businesses kic...

If you're like many business owners, it's been hard to find good employees. It seems like the younger generation doesn't want to work and are lazy. Or at least that's what they say. But think about this, the baby boomers were also considered lazy when they were in their twenties and thirties.  They were the hippies. Love not war.  In other words, the older generation always thinks the younger gene...

What would it be like to go from working 95 hours/week to 0 in an instant? This week's guest Paul Hastings is here to tell us about it. The sudden change wasn't by choice. A tragic health issue forced him to stop cold turkey. In the months of recovery he was able to reconnect with his wife, be present for his young kids, and re-evaluate what was important in life.  Every busy entrepreneur needs to...

According to the 2022 U.S. Census Bureau, a little more than 10% of businesses are run by husband and wife teams. And that number is continuing to grow as more and more couples are realizing they can make more money working together than in separate jobs or businesses. However, working with your spouse is not as romantic as some may think it is. Neither is it the beginning of a disaster for the re...

According to the 2022 U.S. Census Bureau, a little more than 10% of businesses are run by husband and wife teams. And that number is continuing to grow as more and more couples are realizing they can make more money working together than in separate jobs or businesses. However, working with your spouse is not as romantic as some may think it is. Neither is it the beginning of a disaster for the re...

When you start with nothing to starting, building, and selling off multiple businesses to Fortune 500 companies, you've got it made, right? That's not what this week's guest, Aaron Walker experienced. Before he reached the age of 30 he had already sold his first company to a Fortune 500 competitor. Even though he had no intention of selling, they made him an offer he couldn't refuse.  Then tragedy...

The reasons why couples fight over money is due to the different attitudes and habits that were formed growing up. Whatever was modeled to us growing up is what we adopt as an adult. As you're aware, those differences are what causes the conflict.  Savers vs. spenders, investors for going into debt, delayed gratification vs immediate pleasure.  How do you prevent arguments about money? First, have...

As you go through the daily grind of building your business, does it sometime feel like Groundhog Day? Same thing over and over. If you stop and think, do you feel like you and your spouse are growing together or feeling more like roommates? Meet this week's guest, Jerry Dugan. One day as he was building his career, his wife and kids gave him a shot in the arm with one statement and one question....

For some groups of married entrepreneurs, working with your spouse is the greatest thing since sliced bread. For others, it's a disaster. The third group is getting by and the last group doesn't even want to go there. Regardless of which camp you sit in, this episode is dedicated to you. The married entrepreneur who works with your spouse or is wondering whether it's a good idea or not. Working wi...