“1969, what is marriage really like? I am about to walk down that path and I need a married person’s insight.”
It’s like running a corporation. A business venture. You have to go into it knowing that it could fail or it could succeed beyond your wildest dreams and make you rich.
The company is only as strong as it’s employees. When they lose focus on the big picture…..problems arise. The only way to solve the problems are to sit down, have each side air out their differences and resolve the issues through negotiations. The parties will need to compromise when necessary, admit when they are wrong or recognize when the other employee has a better plan and accept it.
Things can run smoothly but you always have to deal with outside forces that can threaten to halt production. It could come from family, friends, job, stress, kids, money…..you have to be ready to face these issues as a united team. Always keeping problems out in the open and discussing them with the team. Celebrating successes and learning from failures. Never being defeated because one idea didn’t work. Moving forward always and getting excited and motivated by the next idea.
If the employees don’t share the vision, believe in the vision and work together…..the endeavor will fail.
If the employees start discussing their business with outside forces or competitors……it opens themselves up for takeovers, leaves their company vulnerable.
Some businesses will get rich. Some will barely make ends meet. Some will never make a dime. The money does not measure success. The sense of accomplishment will come from the daily struggle…..the love of what you do, working together day in and day out.
If you’re really blessed, you will raise others to one day follow in your footsteps with a sound business acumen and a plan that you taught them. They will have all of the knowledge to go forth and start their own companies and be successful in their own right.
Good luck on starting your company!
(c) nineteen69.wordpress.com
I’ve never been married but this was a good metaphor…I actually Got It! Nice to know that when I do start my company I have some wise consultants around me
Excellent metaphor! So much better than a freakin’ car!
Roycee…always!
Erica B…yeah the car thing was killing me.
This is WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!
This was a great analogy, it appeals to my business sensibilities.
Very good metaphor!! Way to break it down!!!
I have never thought about it in this way. Great breakdown, Nineteen! (Cute title.
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Hopefully one day I”ll be able to put this to use! At least I understood it!
That’s a start!
yay!!!!!!!!! i love good married folk!!!!!!!!!!!
Most businesses fail within the first 5 years and I think the reason for that is because everybody has their own “idea” of how they want to run the business and there’s no “one” view. So my advice would be:
*Don’t compare your business to others. They make apples. Yours makes oranges.
*Invest in your 401K. The future is important.
*Don’t make any major business decisions without consulting the board of directors.
*Talk.
-Fresh “Buffet”
Listen to Fresh ladies…..he knows.
Wonderful post….. I’ll have to keep it handy when my time comes…..
You my dear are wise. Great post.
Yep. This needs a TM (Trademark) on it. Love it because it’s a great metaphor and truthful representation. And you didn’t even “go there” with all of the mergers that can potentially ruin a marriage. Neffi from Keisha Cole’s The Way It Is mentioned the fact that her own marriage had a ‘merger’ and it opened up her house/spouse to other unhealthy ventures. They invited another person into their marital relationship (i.e. Threesome). This unfortunately didn’t include JTWROS (joint tenancy with right of survivorship). *Flexing my real estate learned-ness*
Great post-like advice!
Well said and I agree, put a TM on this “ret-now”
I completely agree and I will add that the business partners should have a mission statement and I am not talking about just the marriage *sat-fi-kit* either!
A true mission statement that must be reviewed every few years for updates, changes, review and so on. You know like an annual review type of thing.;)
I honestly LOVED this post. This needs to go throughout the blog land for real! I’m serious!
p.s. LOL at—This unfortunately didn’t include JTWROS (joint tenancy with right of survivorship). *Flexing my real estate learned-ness*
Nineteen69, put a stamp on this, it definitely has my seal of approval!!!! you have broken marriage down so eloquently with those memorable metaphors!!!
and alwaysfunkyfresh, glad to hear a married man give some solid advice and in *favor* of how to maintain a successful marriage!
Wow! Great post! You put into words what I’ve been trying to convey to my cousin. With your permission, I’d like to share a link to this post with her.
wonderful post – i totally agree with you and will co-sign with others that it was a good metaphor.
fresh you are dead right!
love from Kenya!
I love this.. like Roycee I’m glad I have wise consultants around me.. and I am glad they are both male and female!!!
Good ish Sixty and Fresh!!!
copy & paste and send to friends
Thanks folks. I am glad you liked it and thanks to Fresh and Pro for the addendums…LOL
Gurl that was so on point!
Thanks for the advice!
Too lazy to read the comments. This is EXACTLY what I was taught and witnessed with my parents for a long time. The minute they started NOT working as a team, all hell broke loose. When I have used this business analogy on my blog and in real life, people told me I was wrong because it left no room for love. I, unmarried, think that if more people thought about marriage as a merger they would make better choices about who they married and stay married more. Most unmarried folks don’t wanna talk about that. All they care about is LOVE–which is great and all. But if the OPERATIONS department sucks, all the love in the world won’t stop the ship from sinking.
Hostess….exactly. I didn’t know all ofthis when I first got married either. I was one of the “love will conquer all” folks. You better believe that I have since taken some training courses, worked on my economic skills, and got a few mentors…..and now, the company is getting off the ground. It takes work….like….well, WORK. LOL
Happy Holidays!!!
I came back to read this again!
Glad to see the TM on it. Can we cut and paste to everyone in our address books now?
Yup
All of that!!! I’m taking the ring back!!! Shyt the wedding is hard enough..lol
o wow. i love the way you put that. i’m saving that for future reference (not to mention, sending it to Monsieur N!)
I wish that a lot of these youngsters would realize or know this, the sad thing is that they DON’T know this. It really is hard work.