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How My Wife and I Work Together Without Losing Our Minds (Or Our Marriage)

From “I do” to “Let’s do this!”

Stephen Mostrom
The Startup
5 min readJan 18, 2025

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Our “professional” look, courtesy of Allison Tyler Jones Photography.

It’s always the same scenario.

I meet someone. The topic of work comes up. Then, I casually mention that my wife and I run a content writing agency together.

“No way!” they say, eyes widening to the size of grapefruits. “How do you keep from killing each other?

The first time someone asked this question, I laughed. The second time, I came up with a witty reply. The third time, I started thinking deeply about our work routines and communication patterns.

How do we work together?

And if I wanted to help a friend launch a business with their significant other, what tips and tricks would I share?

Now, almost eight years into our Damn Smart Marketing experiment — and 18 months into co-running it 24/7 — I’ve got a few answers.

Here they are.

1. Love your differences (really!)

My wife and I are like peanut butter and jelly.

I’m the peanut butter. Reserved, reliable, and a little sticky when I get too deep into my thoughts. She’s the jelly. Bright, flavorful, and always the one bringing sweetness to…

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Stephen Mostrom
Stephen Mostrom

Written by Stephen Mostrom

Grow your career 1% daily | Proven development playbooks + cutting-edge learning and productivity science | Professor | MBA + JD | developdaily.substack.com

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