Partnership at work
CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN
 
Couples in business together have their share of sweet rewards and unique challenges
February 13, 2007
 
Love and chocolates may go together. But love and business, well they don't mix as naturally as Cupid would like.
 
That's why couples in business together have to work extra hard sometimes to keep business and marriage from becoming a volatile mix.
 
Maureen and Frank Borzacchiello, who together own Creative Display Solutions, a 6-year-old Lynbrook company that specializes in custom graphics and displays, said their business union has survived because they recognize each other's strengths and often agree to disagree.
 
"It's stressful, and sometimes we think we are crazy for this [being in business]," Maureen Borzacchiello said. "But we wanted to basically bring along a company the way we wanted to do it."
 
Couples should enter into a business partnership fully aware of its consequences, experts advise.
 
"When it's good, you have a good coalition and good teamwork," said Phillip Colon, a psychologist and vice president of Optimal Resolutions, a Manhasset company that counsels family businesses.
 
On the other hand, "When they have disagreements, it is often taken personally, and when they go home it is not forgotten about," he said.
 
Harvy Simkovits, president of Business Wisdom, a Lexington, Mass., company that advises small businesses, said that while married couples in business have natural advantages like loyalty, they have to consider their distinctive disadvantages as well.
 
"It's hard to fire each other," he said. "And it's hard to give honest feedback."
 
These are issues faced by many companies because 80 percent to 90percent of the country's 5.9 million businesses are family-owned, according to the Family Firm Institute in Boston.
 
The Borzacchiellos believe that playing to their strengths helps to head off conflict. And their differing strength is reflected even in their titles. Maureen, 38, is the president and chief executive, which underscores her many years of experience in the display business before she started her company in 2001.
 
Frank, also 38, who joined the company in 2004, is the chief operating officer, which reflects his extensive experience in the construction and mortgage industries. The company has done work for JetBlue and for Open for American Express, a small-business program.
 
So when a business disagreement develops, "ultimately, the person with more experience wins, and the other person will back down," Maureen Borzacchiello said.
 
They also credit their stable working relationship to avoiding arguments in front of their five employees.
 
Maureen said the couple use phone messages to resolve arguments during business hours or, said Frank, "E-mail in large letters."
 
Unlike some couples, they consider being able to talk business at home an advantage.
 
"It gives you time to look at your game plan," Frank Borzacchiello said.
 
But downtime is something they plan to work on this summer, when they hope to take off for afternoons at the beach with their 4-year-old son.
 
"Otherwise it would be total burnout," Frank Borzacchiello said.
 
Downtime also is important for Abby and Fred Dress, who own Smith & Dress Marketing Communications, a Huntington company whose specialties include onboard airline advertising, billboards and imprinted catalogs. The company has done work for Northwest Airlines.
 
Getting the all-important downtime means they sometimes let some calls and e-mails go, particularly after hours.
 
"If you don't tune out, you lose your creative edge," said Abby Dress, the company's chief executive and founder. "You can't work 24/7 and be fresh."
 
Their biggest advantage is that they often can get their point across in only a few words.
 
"Often we can have a one-word discussion, and Fred [the company president] will know exactly what I am talking about," she said.
 
One big inconvenience: surprising each other on special days like Valentine's Day. "I have a lot of trouble buying presents for Fred," Abby Dress said. "I can't send them to the office."
 
Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.