Sparky's Life
Sparky's Life
EP 24 Balancing & Working with your Partner
Navigating the complexities of working alongside loved ones requires patience, communication, and a willingness to understand one another's strengths and weaknesses. This episode explores the benefits and challenges of couples and family members teaming up in their business adventures, emphasising the importance of balance and supportive relationships.
• Discussing the challenges of working together in a family business
• Exploring the dynamics of personal relationships in work settings
• Highlighting the importance of communication and conflict resolution
• Sharing personal anecdotes from running a family business
• Setting clear roles based on individual strengths
• Celebrating the success stories of other couples in business
• Encouraging support for small family-run businesses
• Engaging the audience with humour and relatability
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Hello everyone, welcome to Sparky's Life. I'm your host, grant Dilko. Today on the show, we'll be talking about working with your partner or family members. I have two jokes of the week and some nice royalty free music to end off the show. So let's get the show started. So let's get the show started.
Speaker 1:Not a lot of people can work with their wives, husbands, partners or family members, especially in a small business owned by the individual or both parties. It takes a special kind of relationship for it to work For one. Both of you have to be willing to work together, as you both will be together most of the time, or mostly all of the time, at home and at work, so you both don't want to get onto each other's nerves, so to speak, or you both need to stay out of each other's way. You both also need to be interested in the business and you both want the business to grow and succeed. This probably won't work for most or majority of you out there, but if you're willing to give it a go, have lots of patience or willing to learn patience, learn by the mistakes made and improve on them and make changes along the way, you're already halfway there. There are a lot of advantages of running a small business together. You'll definitely learn more about your other half. It can help you both grow together and have common interests in the business. You have someone close to you to help you or help together as a team or unit with the running of the business. You don't need to necessarily have the same hobbies or interests outside of work. That's the part that makes you happy and keeps your mental health glowing in a good way. It's also time to have a break from each other so you're not in each other's pockets or way. But if you both enjoy the same interests, that's great, too Good for you.
Speaker 1:For Helen and myself, we have different interests and hobbies outside of work. With Helen, she enjoys walking, mountain bike riding and home fitness workouts. For me, I enjoy going to the gym, mountain bike riding, adventure, motorcycle riding and, most of all, my podcasting show and YouTube channel. Having someone that you trust to help you run the business is priceless. You already know this person, you live with this person. This person loves you and you love this person. Back Makes perfect sense to help each other. That's what life is all about the art of helping each other out, and always remember to be kind to one another. Always put yourself in their shoes and treat each other as equals and as kind-hearted people.
Speaker 1:I have come across people who say they can't or wouldn't work with their other half and they also say, I don't know how you do it? As a joke. I respond back by saying, well, you don't see them. How you do it as a joke. I respond back by saying, well, you don't see them while you're sleeping. That sometimes gets a laugh, but I'm just stating an observation.
Speaker 1:I understand it doesn't always work for some, because you need good communication and understanding of certain situations and how to handle or defuse conflict, and for others, they do not dare the thought to go there. And that's okay. Everyone is different. We are all built from a different mould. If we were all the same, it would be a boring life. We all need to be different, all in our quirky ways and the strange or mysterious habits we choose. That's what makes us tick, and being interesting and creative makes us individuals. Working together does have its ups and down challenges. You both need to work on and through them, one at a time, as they arise. Both can understand and communicate well with each other in all situations.
Speaker 1:From my experience when I started out, I worked by myself. It was hard having to do everything yourself work all day, try to answer the phone calls and ring back customers who left messages, do all the quoting and invoicing of jobs, either on site or when you get home that night, or do them on the weekends. There was a lot to do and it was hard work and the weekends were consumed with work activities such as quoting and invoicing and basically I didn't have a social life. It was all work and, if you let it, it will consume your life. My partner, helen, had her own cleaning company at the time. Helen also worked by herself and sometimes had other contractors on call for the larger jobs, so Helen was having to do it all herself as well. Exactly the same predicament as me.
Speaker 1:I kept asking Helen to work for me or work together in my electrical business, or soon to be my electrical business or soon to be our electrical contracting small business. Helen kept saying one day and one day Helen had enough of cleaning and it's a hard and physical, demanding job cleaning. Helen came to me and said let's give it a go. And we did. We have had some temper tantrums and disagreements over the time, but we don't yell at each other or argue. I think we both have had to change our attitudes towards each other and be more patient and understanding of each other's needs. It has gotten to the point where we both enjoy each other's company and if we are working at different sites during the day, we both enjoy seeing each other at home later that day. Helen has taken over the office duties quoting and invoicing and answering the phone calls which frees me up to be on the tools and get things done and complete jobs. And for the bigger jobs we hire subcontractors to help us both out.
Speaker 1:We know of others that work together in the small business as well. There is another electrical contracting husband and wife team at Port Macquarie that we have known for a while and have become friends. They seem to make it work. Also. They have arguments on site and blow off steam to get it all out of their systems, but it works for them. My cousin and his wife have been working together for years and years. Over that time they have run and operated a sign writing business that they have started from nothing, built it up together, sold and restarted again, and also a real estate business that they have started from nothing. Also built it up together, sold and restarted at different times and now currently they own and operate two businesses together at the same time. You guessed it. One is a sign writing business and the other is a real estate business, so they have a double whammy. Helen and myself are flat out just running one small business. So if my cousin can make it work with running two businesses at the same time, I say good for him, good for the both of them. They have had their ups and downs but managed to still be together and enjoy each other's company. We also know father and son teams in various trades, such as plumbers, electricians and air conditioning technicians. They all have a great sense of humour and make fun of each other on their respective jobs, and it works for them and creates a better bond for their team.
Speaker 1:I believe small businesses in Australia keep the country running. Without us there would be no economy and I would promote and support husband and wife teams the mamas and the papas, the family run businesses to work together or even start their own small business. With us, the small business owners in Australia will keep the country running. Hi there, I'm Grant Doolko. If this is your first time here at Sparky's Life welcome. It's great to have you here. And if you're back here for more, welcome back and thank you for your loyalty and support. If you like what you hear on today's show, make sure you share this podcast with your mates who are electricians or who are involved in the tradie world. I want to reach out and help as many tradies as I can with this podcast. I want to help tradespeople break through to the next level in their career and in their lives.
Speaker 1:And now it's time for the joke of the week. And this week I have two jokes, a bonus for all my listeners. The first joke is from a social media site. When my wife starts a sentence with when you get a chance, just go ahead and start putting your shoes on, because she means now. And for the second joke, this one is from comedian Roger Dangerfield. I haven't spoken to my wife in years. I didn't want to interrupt her. So that's all for now, folks, but before I go, if there is anything you'd like me to talk about on future episodes, maybe want to ask a question or be on the show, you can do this by contacting us on any of our media sites. I'll put the links to these in the show notes and don't forget to follow the show and leave a review. Thanks for listening to Sparky's Life. I'm your host, grant Doolko. Keep safe and catch you on the next one.
Speaker 1:Sweet memories of a town I loved, but all changed when you left. I keep on asking myself in my mind were you the one that got away? Went for the dream, but I got lost. This house I leave is nothing like us. Chased happiness ended up on a one-way street. We're leading nowhere. That's why I leave. Past the creek where we used to swim. Jumped the fence before the summer begins and getting cool in the summer heat, with you, my sweet, sitting in the back of your car, wishing for this road to take us far. Now I've been away too long. We are now at Upper Session Road. Changed when you left? I keep on asking myself in my mind were you the one that died? Oh, sweet memories of a town I loved, but oh, changed when you left. I keep on asking. Changed when you left? I keep on asking myself in my mind were you the one? Were you the one always on my mind? Were you the one always there, always on my mind? You're the one Always there. You're the one that got away.
