Should You Open A Ketamine Clinic With Your Significant Other?
You love your significant other, but should you open a ketamine infusion clinic with them? We know first hand what it’s like to work with your partner in life and business, as we have opened our own ketamine clinic together. In this blog, we will discuss a few pros and cons of working with your significant other based on our personal experience.
Pro: You can work anytime and anywhere together!
Want to take your family to the beach for a week? Sure no problem. No need to let your business partner know you’ll be out of town because...well they’re coming with you! You can discuss staff applications over dinner, or brainstorm ideas over coffee in your kitchen. No need to shoot an email to your partner, because well they are right there next to you catching up on Netflix with you. For us, we love to brainstorm as we walk our dog in the evening or during a swim in a pool. The creative juices can always be flowing!
Con: You end up talking about the clinic all the time.
There is no sugar coating this. Because your business partner is in the same house as you, you can be working and talking about the clinic late at night and on the weekends. This is the dark side of the previous “pro.” If you don’t set boundaries, you can be talking about work all day and all night. Your business essentially becomes your baby, which can complicate an already strained relationship. To minimize this “con,” set “business boundaries” such as agreeing on a time when you will stop talking about work or designate the bedroom as a business-free zone. We’ll be honest with you, this is something we struggle with. Luckily, we find it fulfilling and fun to improve our business, but...oh boy...there are days we are so tired of just talking about work. We have to make a conscious effort to talk about our outside interests. Be better than us, set boundaries and be intentional!
Pro: How you resolve conflicts (or make up) will be reflected on how you do so in your business.
You will argue, there is no doubt about it. You will argue about important things as well as silly things. We argued about the type of lightbulb to have in the bathroom for heaven's sake! But (we hope) you will know how to apologize and make up. Here is the thing, how you do anything is how you do most things. Arguing about where to send your kids to school, the new paint color for the kitchen, and deciding on your clinic name is no different. Expect to not meet eye to eye. Having differing openings and perspectives is actually a good thing. If you have a strong and solid personal relationship, you can weather the storms of your relationship and business.
Con: You sometimes forget your partner’s role in the business
Sometimes you may introduce an idea but your partner will veto the idea and then accept the same idea from someone else! You learned some new marketing concept or read up on a new great website for recruiting and hiring but your significant other isn’t interested, dismisses it, or shuts it down. Only to have them share later the same idea brought up by a friend and they urge you to do it. Frustrating? Yes! Something we’ve done to each other? Yes! This is just one example of where you can lose perspective when working with your significant other. You are used to them having certain roles and tasks. Our brain gets lazy and screens out information that doesn’t fit with your perception of your partner. If you are unwilling to be open to the new ideas or roles that your partner takes on, then working with them on your clinic is not the way to go. However if you are willing to try, and actively seek out each other’s perspectives or ideas then go for it!
Pro: You get to create something together.
Before starting our ketamine clinic, we basically only spent time on weekends together. Sam worked nights and I worked days. We never saw each other. If you are like us (like to keep busy, think it’s fun to build and create businesses, etc) then having a shared project is amazing! Yes we argue and get on each other’s nerves sometimes, but we are doing something together. If your significant other is a physician or even not, we bet you don’t see them as much as you would like. Working together, sharing ideas, hopes and dreams can definitely solidify a relationship. When you first start out, your clinic is your baby. Having your partner in life become your partner in business can make all the difference when you are up late at night worrying or troubleshooting.
Con: If the clinic fails, you BOTH fail.
Could you fail at opening a ketamine clinic? Yes, of course. So many things can go against you. We’ve seen clinics come and go due to poor timing, the pandemic, and simply losing the steam to run their own business. Running your own business and clinic is not easy and is not for the lazy. Having both earners in a household working on the same project has their risks especially if you fail! But honestly this isn’t really a “con.” Being lean in starting your clinic, having a runway and savings, not completely quitting either of your jobs are ways to minimize the risk of failure.
Pro: You REALLY know your partner
You know the quirks of your partner, and hopefully you know how to best work collaboratively with them. Perhaps as partners in life, your skills complement each other. The same can happen with your business! If your relationship and partnership is strong, then extending it into the business realm is very doable and can be enjoyable. You understand what pushes their button and you also know how to best make up. Working or partnering with a non-significant other, you will be starting your work relationship anew. Simply put, there is less time in getting to know your “work-spouse” when that person is your real spouse!
Con: You Don’t Have Your Own Space
We love hanging out with our partners, but let’s face it, sometimes we need our own space. When you start a ketamine clinic with your significant other, you’ll be with each other all the time. From the moment you wake up to the moment that you finish work, you and your partner will be breathing on each other’s necks (figuratively, of course) 24/7. This may definitely seem like a good thing, but it can get a bit overwhelming at times! You need to learn to understand and tolerate your partner on a whole new level.
We love having a business together but it really isn’t for everyone. If both of you find it fun to be entrepreneurial and complement each other’s complementing skills (plus have a practice of complimenting each other :) ) then we say “go for it!” However, sometimes skills and interests in a personal partnership don’t translate well to a business one. Only you know your relationship best to predict if this is a good idea.
We hope this was helpful if not at least entertaining! Is there a pro or con we are missing? We’d love to hear what you think!
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Being able to create and run something together with your partner in life may seem exciting, but it has both its upsides and downsides. Read our blog post to learn about our experiences when it comes to starting a ketamine clinic together as a couple.
