Pictured above: Gideon Maas and Beulah Maas 

Gideon Maas (Director of the Institute of Applied Entrepreneurship) and Beulah Maas (Lecturer, Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University) are experienced co-preneurs (couples in business) in their own right. 

Prior to joining Coventry University they were the owners of their own business for more than ten years and involved in various international entrepreneurial and family business projects.

Gideon and Beulah will share their knowledge and experience as co-preneurs at the annual Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship conference in London during the first week of November.

According to Gideon, a husband-and-wife team is more than often the basis from which a family business is created. There are various trends supporting the formation of co-preneurial businesses, such as technology, allowing the fast growth of home-based businesses. 

With the phenomenal growth in co-preneurial businesses, their role is becoming even more important not just in terms of social harmony, but in the growth of businesses that play a critical role in the UK's socio- economic progress, especially during this economic recovery phase. 

Gideon also highlighted that if there are not specific rules according to which co-preneurs operate, this relationship will probably fail. These rules should be specific to the couple and can include a number of options of which knowledge about the other person's profile and communication style are of the most important. 

Gideon Maas said: "Being married for many years does not necessarily guarantee that you will really know how your partner will behave in a business environment, though you will understand a lot more about his or her behaviour if you use the Myers Briggs Type Indicator*." 

Other important factors include: agreeing on a challenging and realistic vision for your business, balance the time spent on business and family matters, do not avoid the arguments and disagreements that occur in all families but make sure to manage these correctly, and agree on how family and business finances will be managed. This includes how to fund activities, how profits should be distributed and what salaries should be paid.

The Institute of Applied Entrepreneurship also started with a family business initiative at Coventry University and will focus on family business governance and re-introducing an entrepreneurial flair into family businesses. 

*The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions.

For more information about Coventry University, please visit their website here: www.coventry.ac.uk