FEATURE STORY

Working Couples
Not just business as usual for spouses in business together
By Greta Sharp
DBJ Contributing Writer

It’s been a long day at work. You had words with a co-worker about scheduling, budgeting and inventory. All you want to do is go home for a quiet evening. You put the key in the lock, open the door, and there’s that same co-worker, sitting on your living room couch.
That’s everyday life for couples who work together, building businesses and building families. They see the same face in a staff meeting as they do across the dinner table. It adds a new dimension to the term ‘working relationship’ and gives a different understanding to the often-asked phrase, “How was your day, dear?”
Jo Ann and Vic Ware opened the Catfish Warehouse Restaurant in Tunica in August of last year. The couple has recently celebrated 20 years of marriage. And working together, Vic says, makes it feel like 40 years.
“She lets me off more than I let her off,” says Vic, explaining that there are times when both need to be at the restaurant, while at other times only one of them needs to be there. “We alternate time off to keep us from killing each other at the same time,” he says. “Somebody has to take care of the other stuff. I play golf and go turkey hunting. She goes home and takes care of the house and pays all the bills.”
Learning to work with each other’s business styles was another exercise in patience as Jo Ann describes herself as disorganized and Vic as completely organized with everything in its particular place. “He’s learned if I say I’m going to take care of it, I will,” Jo Ann says. “We really can depend on each other. We have the same goal, even if we’re not doing something the way the other would do it.”
Both appreciate the others efforts. “You’re both working for the same thing,” says Jo Ann. “It was a new business for us. We have the same goal in mind. We may disagree sometimes, but we’re working toward the same objective in the end.”
That sentiment is echoed by Linda and Terry Dulaney of Dulaney Seed Company in Clarksdale. “We’re both on the same track as far as our careers and the goals of the company,” says Linda. “We have the same mission.” Confidence and trust in the work your spouse does is one of the benefits of working together, says Terry. “We have the same goal – to do it right the first time,” he says.
Even though the couple works in a small building, they aren’t constantly bumping into one another by virtue of the fact that they are focused on different tasks. As the business has grown, explains Terry, so have Linda’s accounting responsibilities. Over the years, her job has expanded to envelop projects that Terry might have once worked on, but now free him up to focus on other areas.
And Linda knows what Terry considers important. “I know I can interrupt him and when not to, even if he’s in a meeting. I know what calls can wait. I am the ultimate screener,” she says.
Working together also helps them understand the other’s schedule. But, like other couples working together, sometimes the line between work and home life blurs. “After supper I’ll say, ‘Let’s go back down to the office and take care of this matter.’ We do it together and get it done,” says Terry. But, working so closely also dictates some space. For Terry its hunting; Linda enjoys traveling with girlfriends, but both enjoy traveling together, as well as Mississippi State sports.
Another couple who enjoys working toward the common goal of continually improving and developing their business is Dr. Derek Miles and his wife Heather, who own Bolivar Urology Clinic in Cleveland.
“She’s the brains of the operation,” says Derek of Heather’s essential position in their venture. “We work together very well. We have such a trusting relationship that when it comes to the billing, coding, collections, human resources and things, I leave it up to her. That’s one of the keys why we are successful.”
“I do everything here – other than being the surgeon!” says Heather with a laugh. “I do all of the human resources, all of the payroll, the bookkeeping, the taxes, the insurance filing, putting payments in, accounting – everything.”
After Derek finished his residency at University Medical Center in Jackson in 2002, the twosome decided to come to Bolivar County and open their own practice, and their business has been in full-swing for six years.
“We came to this large area that’s never had a full-time urology specialist and started a practice from scratch. Heather took on the role of office manager. She’s gotten so good at it that she does contract work for the hospital and starting up other new practitioners that come in. She also does consulting for professional urologic organizations that have some questions about starting up practices and maintaining medical records. She’s really taken the ball and run with it which makes my job so much easier,” says Derek.
Even though they work in the same office, their jobs are very different and they work in separate areas.
“With as many things as she has to do, obviously I see her throughout a full clinic day, but I’m so busy seeing patients and in and out of exam rooms and she’s busy doing her thing, but we do still try and eat lunch together most days,” Derek explains.
“It’s wonderful. I think you don’t really know what to anticipate in situations like this, but the bottom line is that for us it’s worked out perfectly,” adds Heather.
“We’re best friends and we both have our own rules, so it’s not like we’re stepping all over each other. He’s very busy, I’m very busy. And, to be honest, nobody looks after your business like your own family,” she continues. “Most people wouldn’t even think of it because they can’t imagine being with somebody all the time, but I think in the right relationship, it’s perfect.”
Sheila and Steve Clark of Clark Jewelry in Cleveland find working together a pleasure as well, though they acknowledge that it’s important for each person to have his or her own workspace.
“I had my reservations about being together 24-7 and it was probably more difficult in our old store because it was very, very small and we were in a teeny tiny office together. In our current location, the shop is large enough that he has his office and I have mine, so we’re really not in each other’s space a whole lot. It’s really been great,” comments Sheila. “Both of us know what’s going on and we can talk about it and work everything out. To me, it’s really easier than if I were working for somebody else.”
Steve was in the insurance business, but had always been involved in diamond wholesaling, which led the two to pursue opening their own jewelry store.
“We decided to buy a local jewelry store and it just kind of mushroomed into us both working here!” says Sheila. “He is the jeweler and does all the jewelry-buying, appraisals and that part of it. I do the accessories, tabletops and everything else. He does most of the accounting work. Well actually, he does the accounts payable and I do accounts receivable!”
One of the drawbacks of working with your spouse is that the work day never really ends, says Kelly and Jamie Kornegay of Turnrow Book Co. in Greenwood. For Jamie, that’s both a pro and con. “If you get a great idea in the middle of the night, you want to share it. But at the same time, (you ask yourself) ‘can we ever leave work’? It makes us analytical about business. We’re always thinking about it. Always hashing it out. There’s plenty to talk about. We’re never at a loss.” Kelly agrees. “It’s a continual discussion no matter where we are,” she says.
It helps to have a pleasant working environment. Kelly calls Jamie the funniest person she knows. “And he can’t get onto me (at work) because he’ll pay for it later,” she laughs.
But in the bigger picture, they focus on their accomplishments and the future. “With two small children, it’s nice that we can relate to what the bigger things are in life and prioritize accordingly,” says Kelly. “And it’s nice to feel like we’re building something together: a family, a life, a business.”
Ann and James Ceranti, who work together and own several car dealerships in Greenville, make sure to keep work at work and peace at home.
“When we go home, we do not discuss business. It doesn’t matter if we disagreed and got mad at each other and all that. Business is business. Home is home. Your home is your safe haven and your peace. If you bring business home everyday, you’ll never get any peace. That, I think, is one of the key things that makes our situation work,” Ann explains, noting that working together is both extremely rewarding and challenging. “You can’t go home and gripe about your boss to anybody or your co-workers. You can’t go home and get anything off your chest!”
Though James was in the car business long before Ann entered the arena, now that they work together she feels that they have better communication and understanding.
“I think we appreciate each other very much. I appreciate what he does and I understand what his work is like much more so than I would if I didn’t work in this business.”
While James sells vehicles and serves as the front man of their three dealerships - James Ceranti Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, James Ceranti Nissan and the new James Ceranti Kia - Ann is behind the scenes working on a little bit of everything, she says.
“My position is general flunky! I say that very jokingly, but it is pretty much very true. I came in to do some accounting work and still mostly what I do is accounting, but I’m also the de facto tech person and I basically count the beans in the bank.”
When they first started working together, the pair took an office compatibility test offered by Chrysler.
“The man who administered it was able to observe us for a while and said, ‘You’re not going to believe it, but you two are going to be really compatible.’ We looked at each other and thought, ‘No way,’ because when we did projects at home, we usually clashed – we both like things done our own way! But, he said, ‘No. In a work environment, I think you will do really well.’ And, sure enough, our working styles mesh well. We got lucky on that,” says Ann.
Molly and Bill McNair worked side by side at Gilbert’s Lumber and Home Center in Yazoo City from 1973 until 1991 when she opened Gilbert’s Gourmet and Gifts inside the lumberyard.
“It’s been so long since I’ve worked anywhere else,” says Molly. “I can’t imagine working without him. We are married and that comes before anything else, but when you leave for work, you put yourself into ‘work’ mode. When you come home you change back into ‘home’ mode. Otherwise you end up having no personal life. To protect our relationship and our relationship with our daughter and two precious granddaughters, we have carved out time that the family is the center of our attention. I think the older you become the more you realize how very important this is.”
While she says that working with her husband doesn’t have many drawbacks, there does seem to be a small difference in the way they both intend on spending money. “When we need to purchase product for the store, and as with a home budget you have X number of dollars to spend, it can get pretty tense and sometimes comical. During Christmas when the UPS truck is coming in multiple times a day bringing everything you can imagine for the gift shop, Bill has learned that it will usually end up alright.”
Bill explains that while he and Molly may work together, they don’t always see each other. “She’s going in one direction, I’m going in another,” he says. “We’re in the same building, but we’re not rubbing elbows.” Still, both say they work well together. “There are days that we barely see each other and come home at night and discuss our day like any other couple,” Molly says. “As in any relationship, when there are things we don’t agree on we have to sit down and work through it.”
Both Bill and Molly play to their specific skills in the workplace. “I’m a people person while Bill is a number cruncher,” explains Molly. “That’s where we complement each other. I’m the accelerator and Bill is the brake. Without his knowledge in this area I would have been out of business along time ago. He has spent most of the last 17 years trying to keep me out of trouble and I think I’ve finally gotten it that our small business in Yazoo City can’t have the same inventory as our Madison and Jackson counterparts.”
Cooperation and understanding is key to working with a spouse. “We’ve been married 40 years and working together for 35. We’re a team at work and at home,” says Bill. “If you’ve got a partner that you enjoy being with, it’s fun to work with her. It’s been an enjoyable experience for me. If I did anything right in my life, it was marrying Molly.” DBJ



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