Are you considering going into business with a loved one? This can be dicey—especially when your business partner is your spouse or someone you’re in a long-term relationship with.
I’ll be honest: I once worked with my then-husband, and it was not a good situation. That doesn’t mean working with a spouse can’t succeed. It just means it shouldn’t be entered into lightly—or romantically.
Thankfully, for Patrick and Shelley Preslar, entrepreneurship has never been just about making a living; it’s about building something lasting together.
Married for 31 years, the couple has collaborated on business endeavors before, supporting one another through career changes, family milestones, and professional reinventions. Now, they’ve formalized their partnership in a new way— as owners of The Triton Team, a Pillar To Post home inspection franchise serving communities across central and eastern North Carolina.
Couples going into business together may sound like a classic “mom-and-pop” story, but the numbers show it’s a meaningful slice of the small business economy.
According to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Annual Business Survey data, 10% of U.S. small businesses in 2021 were jointly owned and equally operated by spouses, while another 11% were jointly owned but primarily operated by one spouse. In the same dataset, 27% of small employer firms were family-owned, placing spouse-led businesses squarely within the backbone of the small business landscape.
In other words, Patrick and Shelley aren’t alone—but they’re also not following the most common blueprint. They’ve chosen an “all-in-together” model that only about one in 10 small businesses share. But research suggests that when it works, it can work very well.
A peer-reviewed study of rural U.S. businesses found that spouses often self-select to work together, partly because of relationship satisfaction. When that satisfaction is high, these copreneurial businesses are more likely to post higher profits than comparable firms run by non-spouse partners.
The nuance matters. The advantage isn’t that marriage magically makes a business better—it’s that strong relationships, paired with complementary skills and clear roles, can create real business advantages.
That complementary dynamic is exactly what Patrick and Shelley believe they bring to their home inspection franchise.
Patrick has a seasoned background in residential contracting, real estate, and home inspections—experience rooted in how homes function, how they fail, and what buyers and sellers need to know to make confident decisions. More recently, he sharpened his people skills in talent acquisition, where understanding motivations and building trust are essential.
Shelley’s career path is different—but equally powerful. A service-disabled veteran who served in both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps, she also has nearly three decades of experience in the Life Sciences industry. Her work includes building regulatory-compliant consulting operations, demanding rigorous standards, disciplined processes, and an unwavering commitment to doing things the right way.
Together, they describe their partnership in values-first terms: integrity, courage, accountability—and yes, enjoyment.
“We chose Pillar To Post because of its cutting-edge technology, unwavering customer commitment, and outstanding reputation in the home inspection industry,” Patrick says. “We’re committed to building a successful business that reflects our core values—serving with integrity, leading with courage, owning our actions, and above all, having fun along the way.”
The Preslars launched at a moment of notable change in their region. As the Life Sciences sector continues to expand across North Carolina’s Triangle area, new jobs are driving new moves—and new moves drive home purchases. “With the influx of new jobs and residents, we are excited to bring our skills together to enhance homeownership experiences in our community,” Shelley says.
If you’re thinking of going into business with your spouse, the takeaway isn’t that love alone makes it work. It’s that clarity does. Clear roles. Clear expectations. And clear boundaries between work life and personal life. Couples who succeed tend to decide—early on—who is responsible for what, how decisions are made, and how disagreements will be handled before pressure enters the picture.
Just as important is recognizing that you don’t need to do everything together. Many successful spouse-led businesses allow each partner to operate in their own lane, bringing complementary strengths to the enterprise while protecting the relationship itself. The goal isn’t to merge identities—it’s to build something sustainable without putting the marriage at risk.
For Patrick and Shelley, this isn’t just a new business—it’s a long-view decision.
They describe the career shift as part of a plan to create a legacy for their children, while building something together that reflects who they are: two people with different professional histories, shared values, and decades of experience navigating life as a team.
And if the data is any indication, their odds improve not simply because they’re spouses, but because they’re spouses who have already proven they can collaborate, communicate, and commit for the long haul.
Rieva Lesonsky is the founder of Small Business Currents, a content company focusing on small businesses and entrepreneurship. You can find her on Twitter @Rieva, Bluesky @Rieva.bsky.social, and LinkedIn. Or email her at Rieva@SmallBusinessCurrents.com.
