Thanks to both Jen and Zach for individually and simultaneously suggesting this blog topic! It’s a great one, and one that many CrossFit affiliate owners know firsthand. I’m sure this will spark some fun discussion!
Robb and I first met late in 2003 just prior to him opening CrossFit NorCal. In essence, we began a relationship and a business at the same time! CRAZY! Well, technically he was starting a business and we were starting a relationship. It was his business…I didn’t view myself as having an ownership role for quite awhile. But as his girlfriend I was very entrenched in the process right from the beginning. I’m going to touch on some necessary considerations for folks opening affiliates as partnerships as well as some Pros and Cons to being in bed (literally) with your business partner 
Regardless of whether or not you’re cohabitating, there are inherent challenges to having a business partner(s). A good friend of mine has 5 partners with equal ownership/voice running her affiliate and they struggle to make decisions and slow to implement new ideas. I know of many affiliates where there are 3 and 4 partners. It’s challenging to say the least! Everyone has an opinion on how to drive the bus and where the bus should go…if you all agree then you’re good to go. If you disagree you have some problems.
Now when you are first getting going everything is exciting…and by no means am I trying to bum you out. You are embarking on a new career, you’re doing something you’re passionate about, and low and behold one of your best buddies wants to do it with you! Great! Maybe.
There are a number of reasons business partnerships get strained, the primary one being differing expectations. If you are opening a new affiliate with a partner, especially if it’s a friend, save yourselves some headache (and your relationship) and set clear expectations from the start.
Here are the biggies to consider:
- What will each persons role in the business be? Will one of you be the trainer and the other maintain the website and the books? If both of you are training how will the other roles be divided? How many hours will each of you be putting in? Will you share in the cleaning of the toilets and mopping of the floors?
- Are you both direct communicators? If someone isn’t pulling their weight will you feel comfortable discussing this?
- What are each persons expectations on how the business will perform? This one is important because one person might expect an unrealistic return after 3 months of operating…having a plan and being on the same page is important here.
- Will you use business profits to purchase more equipment and reinvest in the business or does one partner expect to see those profits in his paycheck?
- How are you going to make decisions? What if you disagree? Which one of you will get their way? (Correct answer: the woman )
- What if one partner wants out? How will you handle the division of the assets you both purchased? What about future profits of the business? What about business debt if any?
Having had my boyfriend, now husband, as a partner as well as Greg Everett now of Catalyst Athletics as a partner I have a list Pros and Cons, specifically with regard to running a business with your significant other. Let’s begin with the Pros:
Pros
- You get to be creative with your best friend and you get to spend a lot of time with the person you love.
- You each have different strengths and weaknesses and they compliment each other (hopefully). Robb has always been the better communicator, connecter, people person and is our resident smart guy. I am more of the creative idea person and dig numbers and spreadsheets. When Greg Everett was a partner he was our follow through guy (Robb and I are slowly improving our follow through skills.)
- You have someone to share the excitement and the fears that come with running a business.
- You get the opportunity to really learn what each of you is made of. Getting a business off the ground is no joke. Lots of work and follow through and a fair amount of stress. If you can make it through the ups and downs of running a business there’s a pretty good chance you can make your marriage successful.
- At various points in your experience it’s inevitable that you will get overwhelmed and wonder what you’re up to and question if you’re on the right path. Fortunately it seems that if I’m overwhelmed Robb is robust and vice versa. It helps to have a person to lean on and pull you away from the edge if you’re teetering.
Cons
- Your relationship can be consumed by your business. You are always thinking and talking about it. Almost everything you do revolves around it. I know it drives Robb nuts when I’ll remember something about the business right as we get into bed. As a business owner of any flavor you don’t really have the off switch that you have as an employee. You don’t just clock out and head home. There is always something whirling around in your brain that you have to do or can’t forget!
- You’re glued to the hip. This can be both good and bad. Good on days when you are communicating well and super shitty on days when you’re not. Believe it or not, spending some time away from your significant other is a good thing
- You must accept the fact that you are not always going to agree. Sometimes you will have to acquiesce and let the other person try their idea. If it doesn’t work you can always say “I told you so.”
- It’s easier to get frustrated, annoyed and be “snarky” with someone you love. If your partner is not your spouse and is purely a business relationship you will most certainly be more professional than you will with your significant other.
- If you are a female and have two male business partners you must expect to be constantly teased, ridiculed and picked on. Also accept that there is no escape from Family Guy jokes
Please share your own insights and experiences in the comments!
I’m in the initial stages of setting up a new affiliate, My partner and I are trying to be sure we talk as much over as possible before, sooner rather than later. I printed this out and we’re going through it. Thank You
Nicki,
Great blog post! My boyfriend, Sean, and I have just affiliated (not linked to CFHQ yet) as CrossFit CowTown in Calgary, AB. We both met you and Robb in Chicago at the Cert. I will definately be going over some of these points with him.
I read your Performance Menu Issue on the Norcal On-Ramp Curriculum, which was so helpful. Right now I am training people out of my garage until I move to Calgary with Sean. I have a 6AM morning Boot Camp that went from 1 person last month (my first month of training) to 10 people this month. Do you mind if I use some of your curriculum for parts of my Boot Camp? I like how the movements build on each other and how everything is laid out so clearly. I’ll change certain elements to make it friendly to my 2-car garage gym. Maybe add in some crazy beare crawls in the warm-up.
Do you have any advice for packing so many people into 1 hour in a 2-car garage? I may open a 7AM Boot Camp class, but for this week we will only have the 6AM.
Hi Dani
Please feel free to use and implement the On Ramp curriculum! That’s why it’s there
As for packing 10 folks in a garage…you’ll just need to get creative! Pair people up and run them in 2 different heats with one person counting for the other. 5 people moving simultaneously in a small space is easier than 10.
BTW, I love the name CrossFit Cow Town!
Nicki
Hey Nicki,
Thanks for the awesome post! Tons of info in there to help budding partnerships – both personal AND professional!
All of your points are dead on and each should be weighed thoroughly when discussing the partnership. I just wish we had taken care of these things when we first started instead of a year later!
Great topic Nicki! My husband and I opened our personal training studio together when we were engaged and then affiliated it right around the same time we got married. Before we got into the fitness industry, he was running a restaurant with a staff of over 150 and I worked as a wholesaler in the investment industry. He’s great at coordinating, phoning people, fixing things, and generally getting stuff done. My background with numbers and sales means all the accounting, legal, and marketing stuff falls on my shoulders. We divide things into “blue chores” (for the boy) and “pink chores” (for the girl). It has actually worked out really really well!
We are both so passionate about what we do that running this business together brings a lot of happiness and fulfillment to our lives vs our previous careers. The bonus is that we get to share it and experience it together! It certainly has its stressful moments though and I can’t imagine doing this with anyone other than him
Great post Nicki! I am pretty jealous of you and the other CF couples I know who own a CF together. I have a partner in business, but I feel that my boyfriend actually cares more about the success of my gym and puts in at least as much work as my partner does. I actually think, for me, it’d be easier to have him as my partner. I am pretty shy at communicating, but not with him! Plus, I am always right in that relationship
And, in particular, if you own a business with a spouse, there’s not likely to be any argument about who gets what money….because it all goes to the same place. Food for thought…
Nicki, awesome post. You hit the nail on the head. Can’t wait to see you and Robb in the ATL this November. The hunt for bacon begins!
Thanks Charles! You know I’m always game for finding the best bacon:)
I was laughing as I read this post and was going “yup, uhh huhh, us too!” My boyfriend who had been a CrossFitter for 4 years got me into CrossFit last summer, and of course I fell in love with it. Our local globo gym wasn’t allowing us to do the CF WODS and it became frustrating, so we decided to open our own CF gym. However, I told him no, I won’t open a business with a boyfriend. Well, he wanted that gym… and by that Christmas, I had a ring on my finger! In March of 2009 we were married, and we had our first official workout in our new affiliated gym in April.
Working together is incredible! We are not business people, he’s a firefighter, and I’m a nurse, so together we have learned all the legalities of owning a business. And it has definitely had its ups and downs….but I think that not having the business background has kept us true to CrossFit, and loyal to our clients. Exactly what we wanted; our clients are awesome. This is a family we are building! And at the end of the day when he sweeps, and I follow him with the mop, we look around our gym and just smile and always say “This is OURS, WE did this…” and we are so proud!
A couple of thoughts on this post.
1. As I was reading the pros and cons I was laughing out loud because of how much this resembles mine and Santos’ experience. I work full time at another job and then when I come home there is our business to talk about and work on.
2. I would also emphasis how IMPORTANT communication and commitment to the project of Crossfit ownership BOTH partners must have. I know that this was a struggle for Santos in another business venture as well as deciding before you even start the business what things will look like if one partner decides to leave.
3. I have a question. For small affiliates what was the process that you and Rob went through with bringing on trainers outside of yourselves?
Hi Megan! Q#3 is a great topic for another post! We are heading to Aromas to take our Affiliate team to the games, but I will get that one rolling! Thanks for commenting!