3 Crucial Conversations to Have With Your Partner Before Quitting Your Job

Starting a business or making your side hustle your full-time gig is a big step. 

The same goes for switching professions or going back to school at a time in life that’s considered “late.” 

Oftentimes these transitions impact your financial situation and, hence, your relationship.

When you’ve got a partner, taking the leap can be a little more challenging. 

Alignment is important for a successful transition. Managing your new situation will be hard enough. You don’t want to have to manage your partner, too.

Now’s the time to have some frank conversations. If you haven’t discussed the topics below, it’s not too late.

3 must-have conversations with your partner before transitioning: 

#1 - Discuss finances.

Whether you share financial responsibilities and accounts or you’ve got your own money saved up and will be able to support your portion of the bills, have the conversation. 

It doesn’t matter if you can cover your half of the bills. This journey will impact your partner. 

If you don’t have a savings, we’ll get to that too. 

You want your partner to be excited and not concerned about finances, so communicate to head off apprehension. 

Consider these questions:

> How much money do I have saved to cover potential business expenses for a startup and for my portion of mutual household expenses? 

Share your budget or business plan with your partner. If you don’t have these, consider drafting the documents together. 

Get your partner involved so s/he can feel like part of the process. 

> If you don’t have money saved, how do you plan to contribute to the household expenses? How much time are we allowing the business to take off? What happens if after “X” period of time, money runs out?

> Are sacrifices needed during this time, e.g. not eating out as much, no vacay, downsizing to one car, taking on other gigs to bring in some income?

If your partner is on board and able to cover the majority of your expenses as you transition, that’s huge! But you’ve still got to communicate with her or him to ensure you are aligned. 

Having buy-in is critical. Otherwise, it’s easy for resentment to set in at some point. Starting a business or transitioning jobs is a serious financial and time commitment.

Make sure you:

> Communicate often about progress.

> Share wins and frustrations.

> Be honest if it’s going to take longer than anticipated to generate income.  

> Let her or him know if your expenses are going to be more than expected.

> Understand expectations from your partner when it comes to time and money.

It can be anxiety provoking for a partner when there’s a lack of clarity on how your business will impact the home, particularly if s/he has issues related to money and security, or money and providing, or fear associated with what s/he may perceive as risk-taking. 

You should both be honest with your fears and concerns.

#2 - Communicate anticipated time commitment.

Starting a business is time consuming. Plan in advance how you’ll remain connected. 

You can: 

> Dedicate a day or time period for your partner to ensure you connect.

> Decide together on a period of time you’ll be out of pocket to work.

> Ask for support and figure out how responsibilities are going to be handled if you’re going to have less time. 

You may have less time to pick up kids, plan events, hang out with friends or contribute to chores. Talk about this before things move into a state of disarray.

#3 - Speak up about support. 

Really think about how you can best be supported during your transition. What do you need? Ask for it in advance. And ask your partner what s/he will need during this transition. 

As examples, you may need:

> Encouragement, particularly if you become discouraged or frustrated

> Financial support, or

> Technical or logistical support

Starting a business is exciting. It’s even better when you’ve got someone by your side cheering you on.

If you’re in need of a deeper dive as you think about your transition from your job, schedule a virtual 45-minute breakthrough call.  

Or, share this with someone who needs it.