Infallible Time Management Strategies for Co-Owners
Running a business solo carries a lot of pressure. In fact, many solopreneurs likely wish they could have a partner to help out! Yet, those who have launched companies with a co-owner know that it’s not that simple. After all, you might have different work ethics, values, beliefs, or schedules. Every decision must go through an extra person, rather than a solopreneur pulling the trigger when it feels right.
In some cases, half the work can feel like double the headache.
But with the right boundaries and systems in place, co-owners can work together without conflict or confusion. Two heads are better than one — and that’s not just an adage, it’s the truth when those two people are collaborating seamlessly.
If you need to optimize the working relationship with your co-owner (or if you’re on the hunt for someone to share the weight), follow these tips to ensure a happy partnership for both parties.
Define job roles and responsibilities.
Entering a business partnership without defined roles can lead to wasted resources. If you and your co-owner don’t assign responsibilities, work will inevitably fall through the cracks. Other tasks may be done twice, squandering your time and energy.
Sit down with your partner and outline descriptions and key responsibilities for each of your roles. While you do this, review and update employees’ job descriptions as needed to ensure nothing goes untouched. Working through this exercise together will mitigate the need for the constant back-and-forth, allowing for more efficiency across the team.
Protect your calendars.
When two people run a business, their schedules likely won’t line up for every meeting or project. Shared calendars are a must, allowing you to send calendar invites and reminders for every little thing. We also love using Calendly to block off shared time together without needing to discuss it each week.
With that said, separate schedules are essential for co-owners! Outside of the office, you are both human beings with personal lives that may interfere from time to time. If one person has children and the other has a part-time job, that needs to fit into the schedule. Or perhaps one is a morning person and the other is an evening person – make it work!
You must each commit to respecting the others’ home life and schedule, as well as the times they are most energized for work. There may be some hard conversations to get to that point, but it’s wholly achievable as long as there is transparency and compassion.
Keep tabs on the other’s workload.
While you should control your own schedule, it’s good practice to stay on top of what each of you is working on at any given time. Create a running to-do list that outlines tasks needing attention, waiting on outside resolution, or getting resolved. A robust task management system like Monday or ClickUp is great for this! Then, schedule brief weekly downloads to review the to-do list and bring up any issues that need a discussion.
If you notice that one person is seemingly more busy than usual, take that as a sign to revisit the roles you’ve outlined for yourselves. Consider whether it’s simply a busy season or a result of an imbalance in the workload. If it’s just a seasonal thing, pitch in and help! But if it’s an issue of unbalanced expectations, it’s time to readdress job roles.
At the end of the day, co-owners aren’t just overseeing a business — they are also managing a partnership. While it is professional in nature, a successful relationship requires empathy and acceptance that personal life circumstances can change the way business is done. In some cases, this can be reflected in a W-2 change; but in others, it’s simply a matter of being gracious and supporting your partner through a transition.
Hustle + Gather is a training and consulting firm that is on a mission to inspire others to take big leaps, dream big dreams, and create amazing teams that grow profits and an enjoyable (but productive) culture within business. They specialize in the hospitality industry and have coached and trained businesses to increase their profitability while creating a kick ass team along the way.
