Sofa so good – Senga and Chris Kean .
For richer , for poorer
Bonkers ? Brave ? Chris and Senga Kean , of Sunderland marketing agency dodio , think it takes a special sort of couple to go into business with each other …
PICTURES : David Wood
Hi , I ’ m Chris and I ’ ve been successfully running a marketing agency alongside my wife Senga since 2015 . Generally , when we explain that we ’ re in business together , it elicits the same sort of responses : “ Oh , there ’ s NO WAY I could work with my partner ,” “ Are you mad ?”, “ How do you cope ?” and so on .
So why , then , do we keep meeting couples who are – or who are planning on going into business together ?
Well for us , dodio was the realisation of a shared dream . We each had a passion – a common vision and a belief that we could build a business that would allow us to apply our skills to support clients we ’ d enjoy working with , and to deliver projects we ’ d be proud of .
There were early upsides : an easy commute , shared holidays , an understanding of each other ' s work challenges , working towards the same professional goals , spending a lot of time together . There were also immediate challenges - legally , structurally , finding a work-life balance , learning to leave the morning domestic at home , spending a lot of time together .
We ’ re very different people with opposite dominant sides to our brains . Senga is methodical , organised and values planning , forecasting and extrapolating information from analytical data . I am creative , disorganised and spontaneous with a “ let ’ s vibe it ” attitude to most things . It ’ s the perfect mix . I ’ ll think up a big picture idea , Senga will apply sound logic and a cohesive plan .
Sure , we ’ ll always have differences of opinion . For instance , I ’ ll soon be sending Senga a draft of this article and you can bet your life it ’ s coming back littered with notes
and the occasional “ Chris , you can ’ t say that ”. I ’ ll attempt to stick to my guns , make my arguments , perhaps winning 35 % of them , and eventually we ’ ll find a middle ground that ' s the best of both of us – and isn ’ t that part of what makes a successful partnership anyway ?
Has working together lived up to expectations ? Well , neither of us have any regrets and we ’ re still enjoying the ride . One thing ’ s for certain , we ’ ve learnt a hell of a lot and I think we have something to offer others in a similar situation .
We love meeting other couples in business . Like kindred spirits , we often recognise similar values , ethos and gallows humour in them and that can ’ t fail but build an immediate rapport . Each conversation with these guys is enlightening – we always learn something and hopefully occasionally we give something too .
But there ’ s no dedicated support for couples in business ( illustrated by our relationship with our long-suffering business coach and part-time marriage counsellor , Matt Somers ), and whether it comes from a genuine place of wanting to meet and support like-minded couples , or is a thinly veiled cry for help from one half of a partnership that ’ s reached their wits ’ end , Senga identified this and Rock Hoppers was
Mobile – Rock Hoppers take the leap together
conceived .
Named after the hardy , mated for life , obstacle-climbing penguin species , Rock Hoppers will endeavour to develop an inclusive colony of like-minded couples who ’ ve taken the leap into business together , or are considering it .
We ’ ll be huddling together to offer ( and accept !) support and advice in person and online , with a mix of fun , informal networking events , podcasts and social occasions .
So if you ’ re working with your partner , or just dreaming about the day and are wondering “ waddle we do next ?”, we ’ d love to hear from you .
Visit therockhoppers . co . uk
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