CoupleCo: Working With Your Spouse For Fun & Profit

So many couples are considering this right now. And this discussion also offers tools for any couple facing normal challenges of business together. So, why launch a business together, and why now? More freedom? More flexibility? Or is it like our own situation, where one gets laid off and the other says, “Let’s do it!” What are bad reasons to do it? And with workplace arguments, who ya gonna complain to? What are the red flags? Should you be in counseling? (No pancake counseling. Real counseling. And what IS pancake counseling, anyway?) And, three useful exercises for any couple in business together.

Back with our favorite expats living the dream, Anne Pound and Paul Speed of Mango Vacation Rentals in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. Last week, we talked about everything from the realities of living the dream of a high-value, low-overhead lifestyle to adapting to the rhythm of life in a place where nobody is ever on your timetable. We continue by covering the craziest thing that has happened to them on the job in Nicaragua (Anne did wonder whether she was going to survive it), and an unusual CoupleCo survival tactic, which involves having a safe word.

Living the tropical dream: Anne Pound and Paul Speed left North America. They moved to a famous expat surfer beach destination of San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua and started a property management company, Mango Vacation Rentals. From the realities of living the low-overhead lifestyle, to adapting to a rhythm of life where nobody is on your timetable, how does this Canadian couple make it work? And what about when your dream job wakes you up at 3am? We answer burning questions, like which socio-economic vacation rental demographic misbehaves the most? You might be surprised. And yes, there are stories about toilet paper before hoarding began. Hear how these city slickers from north of the border cut their daily labor in half and enjoy their lives more.

Colin Ley and Shreya Ley of the law firm LayRoots are a dynamic, energetic pair had a lot to say about branding and marketing. Revealing themselves to their prospect has been an important part of that. In this episode, we hear about a new rule—called The Headphone Rule. They also have an interesting way of coming to terms with the problem of always talking about work: they choose hobbies where talking about work could cause a great deal of physical pain. Colin and Shreya are now living the life they want, and are designing their business around that. And what about having an exit strategy—or a no exit strategy?

This week, we are back in Kamas, everyone’s favorite Utah cow town, to resume our conversation with Tera and Byron Ames of the law firm Ames & Ames. These two are one of the most dynamic couples we’ve spoken to in over 100 episodes. They are delightful, candid, fun, funny and revealing. In this episode, we get some of the most important advice ever for a couple considering being in business together. And we get some of the best and most revealing anecdotes about being a couple on this roller coaster journey of co-entrepreneurism. We get more laughs, a few tears, and even a little profanity...