Not Without My Spouse

Behind every successful man, there's always a woman. And who would know this
better than these few men who owe their success in the challenging solution
providing business to their better halves.

Traditionally, this business domain has always been considered as being a
male-dominated one. Understanding the technology, providing the latest solution
to the end customers, meeting vendors, generating value to client and managing
the flow of funds are considered as the competent skills of men.

However, breaking the traditional norms, the wives of many solutions
providers have taken a step ahead and established niche in their husband's
business. The wives' league is not only managing the back office operations but
they also take care of the front fort of the business by meeting clients and
taking managerial decisions.

For spouses, running the same business makes more sense as they know each
other, they trust each other and have the common goal of bringing profitability
for the company. They act as complimentary skills and add on benefits to the
company by sharing their specialized knowledge.

But every coin has two sides. When spouses run a business together, they
conceive the partnership with the optimistic belief that their union will create
a congenial environment to work and grow. However, there are many different
facets which one should take care of while they are in the same business. They
should learn to put a line between their business and leisure, between their
home affairs and business matters and should realize the importance of giving
space to each other during working hours.

Here's looking at what makes these couple tick and what ticks them off.

Diamond Infotech, Kolkata

Manoj Rathi

Value My Wife Adds To Business: She is an asset to the company and adds
value to it. My wife is single handedly managing altogether a different
distribution unit of Dell, which is a

big profit churning part of the company. She is like an extended support which
is safe and secure at any point in time.

Word Of Caution: Husbands and wives who are running a business should
have well defined responsibilities. There should be no clash of job roles and
they should also distinguish their personal and professional tasks.

Down Memory Lane: There has been nothing as a turning point but the
entire journey with her has been a memorable experience.

Shraddha Rathi

Takes Care Of: I-Serve Solutions & Services, a part of Diamond Infotech.
This unit is the distribution cell for Dell laptops in West Bengal.

Values Of Spouses Working Together: It is always a good experience
working with your own family member. If you have a family member in the company,
you can always share your problems and discuss various issues. They can provide
good support to each other if one of them is traveling. Another benefit of
working with spouse is that you get the liberty to learn new things and even if
something goes wrong, you know that there is someone to handle the situation.

Demerit: One tends to discuss business issues everywhere. At times it
happens that we always talk about official matters even after office hours. The
point of discussion gets concentrated at one point.

Emotional Front: There is no emotional conflict as such. Till the time
you give space to each other and segregate the office and home tasks, there are
minimal chances of emotional conflicts. In fact, there is an enjoyment in
working with your husband. You know the level of stress the other person is
going through and you can handle the situation accordingly.

PC Solutions, New Delhi

DevendrA Taneja

Value My Wife Adds To Business: Association of wife with the company
contributes more to human values than number game. IT is a segment which is run
by a pool of human resources and it becomes very mechanical. She creates an
environment that is more lively and inspires the manpower to perform their best.

Word Of Caution: One should not always think that spouses working together
would create conflict. However, one should clearly define their role and
understand their responsibility so that there is no does overlapping of work.

Down Memory Lane: We started our business in 1987 after I left Wipro. We had
just got married and stating a new venture without any financial support from
the family was a huge step. We had started everything from scratch and our first
investment in the business was Rs 1 lakh. It was a big risk and together we
turned it into a successful drive.

Punita Taneja

Takes Care Of: Corporate and internal training and communication, human
resource training, soft skill training, planning and organizing events for PC
Solutions.

Values Of Spouses Working Together: One knows each other so well that you
know the requirements of the other person. While working together you see a side
of man, his brain work, intelligence and his hardships which one can never see
otherwise. You know the strengths and weaknesses.

Demerit: At times one does not get any break from each other and start
seeking independence. At times husband gets so involved in the business that the
domain of wife gets less attention when required. One need to create distance
and develop his or her own skills in order to avoid too much interference.

Emotional Front: You need to be cautious when working together. One
should maintain a gap in the working hour and the area of operation should be
different so that both can enjoy their individual expertise in their work,
without much interference.

EssenVision Software, Mumbai

Nityanand Shetty

Value My Wife Adds To Business: I started my company in 1995 along with
my wife and a peon. As we evolved we segregated our responsibilities. She takes
care of the administration and finance whereas I look after the sales. We have
an intellectual thought process that helps us gel.

Word Of Caution: Normally it is said that finance is a man's domain but
since my wife is good in managing the flow of funds I did not mind taking a step
back and she came forward and took charge. One should recognize each other's
strong points. If your wife is a part of the business, the male tendency to
dominate should cease.

Down Memory Lane: We knew each other since our college days. We were
great friends and decided to start a business. In 1995, we launched the company
and a year later we got married. After a mind boggling session in a restaurant
in Colaba, Mumbai, we decided to name the company Essen, taking the initials of
our names, N and S.

Seema Shetty

Takes Care of: Human Resources, Finance and Administration Values of
Spouses Working Together: We are very like minded and have a similar thought
process, which helps in running a successful business together. It elevates
perfection. There needs to be the same level of understanding that can help
complimenting each other in all walks of life. One knows the level of stress
that the person goes through and in the evening when we are back from work, we
know how to take care of the situation.

Demerit: When a decision is taken by the spouses, it may be limited to a
certain level and there is no space for a third perspective, which could have
been there if you are working with someone else. Demerit occurs when your
mentality does not match.

Emotional Front: One should not get into the same business unless you
have like minded passion and targets. Since we are very good friends we have
developed a kind of relation where we do not carry any emotional issues to work.
We may fight at home but the moment we are in office, we are professional.

Peacon Technology, Kolkata

Mahesh Shah

Value My Wife Adds To Business: Nobody can be as trustworthy as your own
family member. She has built a confidence in our company, which is very
important. Whenever I am traveling or I am outstation, she confidently takes
over the role and and provides full support.

Word Of Caution: Your wife comes to know of your actual income and her
shopping list may go high, depending on the profit!

Down Memory Lane: In 2002, there was a chaotic situation our company. We
had Wipro as our client for 15 years and the company was loosing confidence.
During that period my wife was of great support in building the competence of
the company.

Saroj Shah

Takes Care Of: Service department, managing the engineers Values Of
Spouses Working Together: If there is a crisis at home, one has the flexibility
to work from home. You can manage the priorities of your home and office
according to the situation. You don't have a lot of boundaries.

Demerit: There is no disadvantage of working with your husband. The
working environment could be same anywhere but here you get a lot of
flexibility.

Emotional Front: We were clear from the beginning that we would not
interfere much in each other's work and we should give space to each other.
There should not be much nose-poking in each other's tasks.

Pranaav Tele-Ventures, Chennai

S Mahendran

Value My Wife Adds To Business: She is very aggressive in carrying out her
tasks in the business. She is very active in keeping track of the market. She is
of great support in planning things at work and she acts much more than a wife
in a business relationship. If there is a tense situation, she take care of it.

Word Of Caution: Once you are in business, you should treat each other as
business partners and not with emotional relations.

Down Memory Lane: When we started in March 2006, we had the opportunity
to close the first project worth Rs 30 lakh. Though that was the first business
deal, but she helped a lot in completing the transaction and making it
successful.

Priya Mahendran

Takes Care Of: Finance Values Of Spouses Working Together: You get the
space to discuss anything and can share a lot. One does not have to hesitate to
speak out and you work for the benefit of your own company. There is a sense of
deep attachment with the work and it creates mutual benefits. You know the
expectation level of each other and you understand your duty. This helps in
higher productivity.

Demerit: You tend to always think and talk about the business, when at
home or outside. The center of the discussion always revolves around business.
Also, if the husband is your boss, you cannot complain about him to anybody
else!

Emotional Front: One should not take official matters home and make sure
that there is no ego clash. We do not interfere in each other's specialized area
and zone of work. This helps in executing our work independently.

Jain Peripherals, Gurgaon

Manish Jain

Value My Wife Adds to Business: She contributes a lot in the office and
her presence makes a great difference. In an office environment having her makes
it easy to discuss any issue and I know I can trust her. She puts full
concentration into whatever she does and is currently managing important
operations of my business.

Word Of Caution: When husband and wife work together, the disadvantage is
the distance from children. Both the parents get so involved in the work that it
becomes difficult to spend the entire day with kids.

Down Memory Lane: In 2002, I had a very bad accident and had to take bed
rest for five months. That was the time when my wife joined my business. Though
she was new to the business, she took up all the responsibilities and executed
her tasks very well.

Manisha Jain

Takes Care Of: Sale, purchase, HR, finance and marketing Values Of Spouses
Working Together: The biggest advantage is that your husband is your boss and
when you make a mistake it is better to get scolded at by him rather than
anybody else. You don't feel very bad when there are difficult situations. There
is an understanding between spouses. You know each other very well and it is
easy to take a decision as you are available for each other anytime of the day.

Demerit: There is no disadvantage as such but there are certain
limitations. For example, the expectation level is very high as you are from the
family, and one has to perform to their best all the time.

Emotional Front: We do not drag any emotional issues into office because
the moment we enter the office, we get so absorbed in the work that we hardly
get time to think on those lines. We keep the home and office issues separate
and this ensures that any emotional conflict is kept at bay.

Secant Technology, Ludhiana

Paramjit Singh Juneja

Value My Wife Adds To Business: My wife is the more sincere and loyal
business partner. In our case, we both are engineers. Our venture is actually
headed by my wife. She is the MD of Litratim Microspecialities, the parent
company of Secant Technologies. I do not have to bother about the functions
headed by her. There is total peace of mind for the functions managed by her.
Professionally and emotionally she is a value add.

Word Of Caution: She can at times be interfering. Sometimes jealous or
ego clashes can come in between. But if the functions are properly divided and
both are understanding, the strategy of husband and wife working together has
more pros than cons.

Down Memory Lane: We got engaged while we were still in engineering
college and were married shortly after graduation. During the period when she
was managing the home front, she once answered a call fro my customer in my
absence and the customer took her to be the PRO of our company. She was able to
close the deal without any knowledge of the business and since then have been
working together

Reema Juneja

Takes Care of: I entered my husband's business two and a half years after
the company was started in 1989. I take care of the training division of the
employees as well as the corporate customers. I also hold the torch of finance
and marketing department.

Values Of Spouses Working Together: You work as a team and have a common goal,
which adds up the performance. There is a sense of natural loyalty which is not
there when you are working with any other employer. We knew each other since
college days so we are always comfortable in sharing our minds and thoughts.

Demerit: Well, you never get a free hand and all the decisions have to be
agreed upon mutually. One cannot take an individual decision.

Emotional Front: One should not carry personal grudges to the working
space. Issues of home should not be discussed in office and vice-a-versa.
Normally, women have to contribute more as they have to take care of the home
front also, but there should be no ego clashes.

Balaji Solutions, Kolkata

Rajendra Seksaria

Value My Wife Adds To Business: I travel a lot for my business. At times,
for 17 days in a month I am out of office. In such situations my wife plays a
very important role in handling the operations at office. She keeps an eye on
all the activities and takes care of the administration and management. Since
our entire system is based on ERP solution, she manages the work from home also.

Word Of Caution: The balance between the division of role between husband
and wife should be justified. There should a professional approach during
working hours. At home, business issues should not be discussed and there should
be a clear line between the home jobs and office duties.

Down Memory Lane: Around two and half years back when I started traveling
extensively across the country and abroad, I felt the need for a trustworthy and
responsible person who could take care of the office tasks in my absence. In
that situation, my wife was of great help as she confidently entered into my
business and took up the job.

Sangeeta Seksaria

Takes Care Of: Human resources, cash management system, administration
Values Of Spouses Working Together: There is flexibility in the working space.
If for some reason I am not able to go to office, I can work from home. Also
there is a sense that you own the company along with your husband so you take
your work seriously.

Demerit: Till now I have not come across any disadvantage while working
with my husband. One thing that can be seen as a demerit is that if a woman
wants to do something on her own, which is not dependent on her husband, that
can become quite difficult.

Emotional Front: Though we never drag homes issues to office or
vice-a-versa but sometimes if my husband scolds me for some mistake in front of
the office staff, I feel bad.

Amrita Tejasvi

(amritat@cybermedia.co.in)