When Husband and Wife Run the Business Together By Kelly Picunas
In 1970, Ed and Barbara Lighthall
turned a parcel of land they owned and used as a dairy farm into their dream
business. The land, which is located next to the Little Salmon River in Mexico,
has been the site of countless hours of hard work for them for the last 30-plus
years.
Their unique dynamic of being a married couple running a small business, in
this case a campground, has had ups and downs, disagreements and harmony and
financial hardships and surpluses.
After they turned their land into a campground, they named it Flatrock
Resort. It was renamed in 1995 when the Lighthalls joined a franchise called
Yogi Bear's Jellystone Camp Resorts, which turned out to be a very lucrative
business move, according to the couple.
Barbara says the couple has been so successful in their 51 years of
marriage and many years as joint business owners because they have never lost
their enthusiasm. Both truly enjoy one another and their work. The Lighthalls
don't take one another for granted or think of the campground as just a job.
They treat every day of working there enthusiastically, they say.
"The purchase of the franchise brought a whole new enthusiasm for us,"
Barbara says.
Now named Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park, the business has grown to have 125
campsites, six trailer rental units and nine cabins. The park also has a store,
a snack bar, a game room, pavilion, pool, miniature golf course and more.
There are some hardships that come with running a business together. During
the summer months it is very hard for the Lighthalls to get away from the
business to see family members, but they came up with a simple way to fix that.
During the off-season they spend lots of time with their family and friends to
make up for being absent during their busy season.
"I think because it's such a small business that it's run better this way,"
Ed says.
The Port Lodge in Pulaski is also a husband and wife-run small business.
In July 2001 Nancy Farrell and her husband, Keith Stoddard, bought the lodge.
Both came from corporate backgrounds with very busy and hectic schedules but
longed to be together more with their young daughter, then 4 years of age.
Keith handles the day-to-day work of running the business while Nancy runs
the marketing and advertising spectrum of the lodge mostly. Nancy also
telecommutes as the vice president of Bank of America out of Charlotte, North
Carolina, on top of the co-running the lodge.
"I really enjoy it," Nancy says, "I love the whole family perspective it
brings."
The family part of this dynamic has suffered a little bit because the family
lives within the lodge and are "on-call" 24 hours a day.
"It's hard to build in family time because of the business," Nancy says.
"Although we're home together much more often, it's hard to get away at the
same time."
The bottom line for the couple is that they enjoy running the lodge and like
spending time together, even if it's at work.
"I think in the long run it's probably easier for us because 99 percent of
the time the right hand knows what the left hand does because we are right next
to each other," Keith says.
Kristi and Greg Gehrig run two small businesses together, K&G Lodge Twin
Pines Cabins and K&G Fishing Charters of Oswego. The couple has been married
for 21 years in April and joint business owners for 17. They have grown over
the years from a small charter boat in 1986 to four larger, more equipped
vessels and from a few suites in the early 1990s to a total of 20 rental units
that have been newly remodeled to include fireplaces in 2004.
"Our theory behind this whole thing is service to the public," Kristi says.
The business offers full kitchens within the rental units, discounts to seven
restaurants in the area, fishing license issuing and of course lodging and
charter fishing trips.
After almost two decades of working together, the couple has adapted to and
thrived in their unique situation. They are not together 24 hours a day, but
their goals and dreams are the same.
"I think because of the nature of our business it's totally different that
retail or manufacturing businesses or that sort of thing," Greg says. "We're
not penned up in one building so it makes it an easier working relationship."
Greg handles all of the fishing charters while Kristi handles a lot of the
reservations and happenings in the lodge during the daytime for nine months out
of the year. During January, February and March the couple travels to six
sporting shows along the east coast of America to promote their business and
tourism for the area.
Another adaptation has been making time for their family life with their
17-year old son and 10-year-old daughter. The family can't sit down to a
normal family dinner or lazy Sunday afternoon since their home is connected to
the lodge and they have customers requesting attention at all hours of the day.
Despite that they have learned to make sure they get away from the business
once in a while as a family.
"It's something we work very hard to make sure we do," Greg says, "We've made
it a point to take family vacations."
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