Seven Relationship Savers From Happily Married Entrepreneurs

Business ownership and healthy relationships often seem to exist on a permanent collision course. “When you work for yourself, so much is on you,” says Nikki Levy, who last year left her role as head of scripted content at DreamWorksTV to start the podcast Don’t Tell My Mother, where she now logs 50-hour weeks hosting, producing, and booking celebrities—a group known for vague communications and flakiness. “When I’m working too much, I’m not really pleasant to be around,” Levy says. “And that’s a lot on a partner.”

Entrepreneurs say the job inevitably becomes the third member of the relationship. “We’re giving everything to the businesses, not each other,” says community manager onboarding coach Cena Martin, 30, whose husband also owns a small business. “One of us is always going one way, thinking about a client or project.” Needless to say, movie night disappears—along with intimacy. We asked three happily married entrepreneurs how they keep their relationships as healthy as their business. Here are their tips: