Let's Make Money, Honey

The Couple's Guide to Starting a Service Business

2015 INDIES Finalist
Finalist, Business & Economics (Adult Nonfiction)

This is a concise and well-written guide to starting a business with a romantic partner.

When it comes to forming a business, mixing honey (your spouse or partner) and money (your livelihood) can be volatile. Barry Silverstein and Sharon Wood worked together before they started dating, so they knew what they were getting into when they started a dog-grooming business together as a transition to retirement.

Let’s Make Money, Honey: The Couple’s Guide to Starting a Service Business is almost a biography of that business and how the couple made decisions regarding the type of business they would have, dividing responsibilities, and ultimately selling the business a few years later. The book offers many details that are specific to the business they opened, but it’s also a concise and well-written guide to starting a business with a romantic partner—or really any partner. It doesn’t shy away from talking about the potential pitfalls of such a partnership.

The authors advise putting a lot of thought into the structure of the business and the strengths and weaknesses of each partner, as well as the division of duties so that each person is clear on what he or she needs to focus on. This is great advice that will get prospective business owners thinking about what’s really best for their business, if they have all the skills they need, and where potential areas of conflict may arise so they can be addressed at the beginning.

Worksheets at the back of the book allow couples to evaluate themselves, their skills and weaknesses, and what kind of personality they both have so they can go into the business understanding how the other person works.

The advice to be mindful of both the money and the honey is important, and it should help people looking to start a business together to read this thoughtful and encouraging book.

Reviewed by Sarah White

Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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