She's the Boss - A Husband Struggles in a Woman Owned Business Startup

Politicians clamor about how they need to support small businesses. Minorities and Women businesses need to get a fair share etc. etc. As the breadwinner of the household for the past 15 years, I find myself struggling with which way to go... Back to work? or Put my time into helping my wife sell goods with an e-commerce business?

A little Background

I spent 20 years in IT in support of a huge school district, I had worked my way all the way to IT advisor to the Chief Facilities Management officer and the Director of Transportation, but I left after getting aggravated from the seeming folly of overspending and mismanagement. The reason I bring this up is that I KNOW first hand how government bodies spend money and just how much, it is what sparked the conversation with my wife about starting her own business and selling goods to them.

My wife is a A+++ personality, strong independent and without a doubt has strong convictions in her beliefs. She has a clear strong voice and was a DJ for a number of years. She is also amazing at selling goods or putting together events. We have had many struggles in our marriage over the years... over control.

So when we decided she should be president/ceo of the business, I could see her eyes light up. I worried a little but kept it to myself. I would be the technical guy for the business. It seemed logical to put both our talents to work this way. So let's give it a go...

The Startup..

Soon we were discussing business names and what we would sell and how to go about it. Communication is the key... And this is where we continue to run into difficulties. Our limited budget.... to me means... limited time. As I work through the complexities and expenses of Order management, inventory control, suppliers, and Search engine optimization, trying to convey these complex issues to her takes patience on both our parts and sometimes that is in short supply especially given the pressure of time.

Supply and Demand

Recently we found an All-in-one package for drop-shipping that seemed to have a good portion of what we needed. I thought GREAT! This will save a ton of time! We would have our SUPPLIER! I signed us up and told her about it...

Thus began our argument over an email address. (laughs) They gave us a generic email address and had our domain pointed at them. ONE email address and they would not add another because that was their policy. Now when you get into online merchant accounts, inventory control, order management and all that stuff that goes with e-commerce it can get complicated...AND EXPENSIVE. I wanted to get us up and running as fast as possible.

Growling in frustration... "Look Honey.. I mean Mrs President... What possible difference does an email account name make?"

My mind rolls over the thousands of options, the tight budget, and impossible time constraints. I wonder how I can somehow convey this to her in a way she can understand. Finally she goes with it and says "Fine but if it changes you're buying my new business cards" It's not the cost... it's that I could see the complexity and she could not. This was the simple solution. I was right... I was sure of it.

Two days later as I search through the thousands of inventory items I realize a few things about the ALL-in-ONE supplier.