For better or worse - A partners perspective on the startup journey

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The startup journey is one that takes many twists and turns. At SpacetoCo, the pathway for our core founding team has seen some incredible, fist pumping wins...and some days when nothing seems to go your way.

Through it all, we've had our family support ready to battle and conquer the startup journey with us. Without them, we wouldn't be able to achieve nearly as much. Whether it's hanging with your kids or calling your partner during the middle of the day for some moral support, it all forms part of building a successful business and being able to ride the wave of small business.

The below was written by Jessica Franco, Daniel Franco's wife, who offers up a unique perspective on being the partner of an entrepreneur.

"Hey guys! My name is Jess, and I’m one of the wives in the #spacetoco team. I thought it might be fun to jump on and do a post about what it’s like being married to an entrepreneur, & offer up some tips/advice I’ve learned along the way to other fellow start-up wives.  

So! You married an entrepreneur. 

You were either the woman who hates mediocrity and traditional jobs, so you picked yourself a partner who is a trail blazer and is running his own company or you accidentally stumbled into this life and you’re wondering why you traded a stable income and holiday pay for the volatile startup world. {Yes that’s me, I’m in the latter group. ‍♀️}

Either way, you’re not alone, even though you may feel that way at times {also me ‍♀️}.

At the beginning of any startup,  your partner will be traveling a lot, in a lot of meetings, and at tons of events in between working 15-20 hour days. We are on year two of of the business and we are still in this stage, and to be honest, I don’t see it changing (or slowing down) any time soon. Sometimes it feels as if we are like ships in the night, always passing each other as one is coming or going. 

What I’ve learned so far is that it’s imperative to find ways of coping with this new lifestyle or you will drive yourself and everyone around you mad. First thing’s first: 

>>>>Find startup friends. You need a group of people who get you and know what you’re going through. This includes fellow start-up wives that understand what start-up life is like and how badly it sucks to go months w/o a pay check, or waiting for investor money to come in to help grow the business. This journey is meant to be shared with others, so pull them close. Listen to them. Learn from them. Empathise with them. Cry and celebrate with them. They, too, have walked through seasons of uncertainty and scarcity, wins and losses, and they each have stories to tell. 

>>>>A whole lotta patience. Sounds painfully obvious, I know, but it’s probably the thing you need most! There will be times when there are no paychecks coming in and you’re hanging on by a thread waiting for deals to come through, or times you’ll be waiting up all night for your partner to return from events. More than likely you’ll be taking on some of the household responsibilities your husband once championed, spending even MORE time with the kids, or running to the shops at 9pm because there is literally no other time in the day. I’ve been through days where I have felt completely maxed out and wondered how much more of this insane pace I can take! At the end of the day though, we can endure much more than we think we can. And for your relationship to stay together, you’ll need to be the strong partner who goes with the flow and maintains a realistic perspective. You’ll need to be your partner’s cheerleader because you may be their only one. 

Here’s the bottom line: Being married to an entrepreneur is just different from being married to someone who has a profession and who is paid every week. E-v-e-r-y  week. Back when you married, you agreed it was for better or worse. When you’re married to an entrepreneur, it might be for MUCH better, or it might be for MUCH worse. It may very well be both. How exciting is that?

Enjoy the ride. You will never be bored."