Would going into business with your spouse be a match made in heaven or a nightmare in the making?

I have worked with my husband for more than five years, and being partners in business and life has brought us closer together and made our business more successful.

Unfortunately, not everyone has a happy ending and having their spouse involved in business can create problems.

Before you ask your spouse to partner with you, be sure to answer these five questions.

1. Is your spouse qualified for the position?

Be clear on what role your spouse will play in the company and if he or she is experienced for the job. Don’t create a special role that isn’t necessary just to have your spouse involved in the business.

Sometimes the spouse is overqualified for a role, which ultimately will make him or her feel resentful. If he or she is under-qualified and overpaid, it could create problems with other members of your team who may be paid less and have to pick up the slack for an incompetent person.

Clearly define the position.You should draft employment agreements with job responsibilities so each partner knows their defined role.

2. Do you have good communication with your spouse?

If your marriage is not built upon trust and healthy communication, having your spouse in your business will only make things worse. Marital issues played out in the work environment destroy morale and become a distraction to other employees. Team members may be forced to pick sides, and everyone in the company could be pulled into the drama.

Keep it professional. Make an agreement not to talk about your personal life during business hours to keep it separate from the day-to-day of the business. Any personal issues such as child care, in-law drama or household duties should be handled before or after work hours.

3. Are you inviting your spouse into your business to save the marriage?

Being an entrepreneur pulls you away from your family and friends, especially in the start-up stages. Time away from someone you love can be hard on both parties.

If you feel that you and your spouse are drifting apart because of work, the last thing you want to do is have him or her work with you to repair the damage. You may end up making the relationship worse, and the business will suffer as well from the disruption this can cause.

Focus on your marriage first before you enter into a partnership. Seek a counselor or coach to help you work out your personal issues. Then, if you can get on the right track with your relationship, you can explore involving the business.

4. Do you enjoy spending a lot of time together?

Some business partners rarely see each other, so this may not apply to your business. In our business, we spend most of our time together, except when we are working with clients independently. Fortunately for us, we enjoy each other and get along well no matter how much time we spend together.

Run a pilot test. Before you make the leap into partnership, have your spouse do a small project. Some couples romanticize about working together until they actually do. By exploring a test run, you can see how each of you feel, and then you can decide if you want to make it a longer commitment.

5. Do you have the same success mindset?

Even if you don’t partner with your spouse, having a similar success mindset will be important for any marriage. If one person is working hard to succeed and the other person does not feel motivated about the vision, it will affect your revenue. If one person believes in investing in certain parts of the business, while the other is worried about every little expense, there will be conflicts.

One of the best investments we made in the beginning was to be on the same page with our success mindset. We read the same books, listened to the same lectures and learned from the same mentors. We also had honest discussions to iron out the differences in opinion on how we define success. When we made business decisions, we were both on board and focused with the same mindset to reach our goals.

Whether you want to bring on a spouse or any family member, think of your business as a living organism that is affected by any foreign intruder. Sometimes the intruder brings wonderful gifts, and other times you may be inviting in a Trojan Horse that can take it all down.

Debra Maldonado is the CEO and

co-founder of Creative Mind Media.