Community husbands and wives
are business teams
It may sound too good to be true, but Ralph and Maxine Gould say that although they have been married for 41 years, business partners for 24 years and that they “do everything together,” they are “best friends.”
“We have an unusual relationship,” Maxine said during a recent interview. “We truly enjoy each other’s company.”
Maxine and Ralph own R & M Gould Jewelers located in Mequon, and they are just one of several couples who co-own and co-manage local businesses. They bought the business in 1978 from Ralph’s father, who opened shop in 1927.
There are certain advantages that come along with working with your spouse, according to Ralph: “In this [jewelry] business, you have to be able to trust the other person.”
This isn’t a problem for the couple, who agreed when Maxine said, “We’re in tune to each other. We think the same way.”
And they manage to share most aspects of the business. But, Maxine said, “He isn’t a typist.”
Other couples split their responsibilities differently.
Marlynn Brick, who along with her husband Mark, owns B & E General Contractors, said that they “take care of totally different entities” within the firm: Marlynn focuses on advertising and personnel while Mark focuses on the construction aspects of the business.
Marlynn told the Chronicle, “We’re a partnership.” “The success is in the way we communicate,” said Mark.
Goldi and Mark Miller also work together. As owners of Goldi’s in Shorewood, as well as The Bead Shop, the couple is “pretty collaborative,” but Goldi said she works slightly more on the creative side, while Mark works with the finances.
‘ 50/50 marriage’
For the Bricks, working together evolved from changing life situations. Mark had been working in the construction field for years before the couple married in 1985.
Marlynn, who worked as a dental hygienist, said that, as newlyweds, the couple had no debt, and “the opportunity rose [for Mark] to try and strike out on his own.”
Marlynn was able to provide the income through the startup of B & E General Contractors, but with the birth of the couple’s two daughters, Marlynn quit her job as a dental hygienist, and she eventually began working with Mark full time.
Working as a husband and wife team, said Marlynn, allows them to “keep close tabs on situations.”
“We work on a check and balance system,” she said. If a task needs to be completed, “we make sure it gets done.”
The Millers agree. “We have a 50/50 marriage,” Goldi said, as she described how the couple travels together and splits tasks between them.
Goldi said that the couple “fell into” their first shop, a tiny shoe store located off of State Street in Madison.
Goldi and Mark first met in college as students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Mark was originally from New Jersey, and although he was attending UW-Madison, his parents wanted him to attend Rutgers University instead. After he had gone home because his parents no longer planned to fund his education in Madison, Goldi said, “I knew I wanted him back.”
In order to make that happen, Goldi told her future husband that she would find him a job. When she couldn’t seem to find him one, she decided to make one for him herself.
Goldi, who majored in retail at Madison, opened her first store in 1972.
Since then, the couple’s business has grown steadily. In addition to Goldi’s, the couple also owns the neighboring store, The Bead Shop, which sells bead and craft kits that are manufactured and designed by Goldi and Mark.
Goldi says that with the success of their business, the couple “has lots to talk about.
We’re so busy with both businesses.” Between frequent business trips, Goldi says that it is a “vacation just to be home.”
Always together
Although all three of these couples own businesses in different fields, they all seemed to agree on one challenge: that sometimes it can be hard to not talk about work.
“It’s very hard to turn it off at times,” Marlynn said. “You see, hear, or read something that triggers something about an issue from work.”
Goldi agreed. It can be difficult to “dismiss the business,” she said. But sometimes, the couple has to say, “OK, stop. We have to have regular time.”
When not working, all three couples enjoy spending time together doing other activities. Marlynn and Mark like to “play tennis or play with the kids.” Ralph and Maxine love to “be with their friends, family, and grandchildren.”
Whatever the task may be, “we’re always together,” said Goldi. Ralph and Maxine echoed that sentiment: “We’re basically together 24 hours a day.”
Loading ...