7 Tips for Dating an Entrepreneur

When dating an entrepreneur, here’s what to know in the midst of the chaos to develop and maintain a meaningful partnership

The grind. The hustle. Elevate or die.

When you’re dating an entrepreneur, these are the phrases and ideologies that are never far from their lips, and that passion, zeal, and dedication can be incredibly attractive.

With the stakes always seeming so high, trying to date an entrepreneur can seem like an uphill battle against a cunning enemy, known commonly as “success.”

So, when you’re taking the plunge with the lovely, tenacious partner that you can’t get enough of, there are some things to know to set you both up for success down the road.

Here are 7 Tips to Know While Dating an Entrepreneur

1. Long Hours Are the Norm, Not the Exception

“Regular business hours” are not really part of the equation. Inspiration can strike at any moment, and that moment must be seized. This is true of the post-5 o’clock hours and bleeds over into weekends, as well. There’s typically no weekend, because, frankly, for an entrepreneur, the work never ends. Adjusting this expectation about timing is key for mutual understanding.

2. Expect the Unexpected

Clients can put in late requests for revisions. Sites can crash. Bugs can clog up the new app release. And of course, none of these happen at a convenient time. Date nights, weekend plans, and beach vacations are all the prime times for things to go haywire. So, rather than being shocked when things go south, mentally and emotionally preparing by expecting the unexpected can help when adversity inevitably hits.

3. Make Sure You Can Entertain Yourself

With plans that can get changed, pushed, or canceled, it’s important that you can entertain yourself when you’ve got an unexpected chunk of time to yourself. To take this one step further, planning and scheduling intentional time for self-care can make you a better you, which is vital for any relationship – you can’t pour from an empty cup. Make sure you are taking care of yourself and you’ll be fresh and agile in the context of your relationship, as well as all aspects of your life.

4. Avoid Comparison Despair

Dating an entrepreneur is not a textbook romance. The process is just different than most couples, and the driven nature of an entrepreneur means there’s a host of quirks that come with the territory. Rather than watching other couples and envying them for their relationships, take a look inside, ask what you truly value, and take the action that you can take to transform your own relationship. It can be a despairing place when you’re constantly comparing what others have and what you do not have, so avoid this comparison despair by being honest with yourself and your partner about what you’d actually love in your relationship.

5. Find a Community for You and Your Partner

Life wasn’t meant to be lived alone, and a strong community is the best reminder of this. Whether it’s making friends with your partner’s business associates, colleagues, and their spouses or finding local meet-ups for like-minded people, knowing that you’re not alone in the common struggles you’re going through can bring such a healthy perspective to overwhelming, and isolating seasons of life. This acts as a pressure release in a relationship so that frustrations, vent sessions, and just “letting it out” don’t all fall on your partner.

6. look for Common Ground

Whether you like it or not, you’re going to hear a lot about business, entrepreneurship, leadership, and innovation from your partner. Best-case scenario, you eat up the information and enjoy the audiobooks, podcasts, TED talks, and interviews just as much as they do. If you’re not into all that, however, you may dread car rides and hang time around the house with the Bluetooth speaker piping in that latest podcast guest throughout your space. A compromise may be in order if there’s a show or personality that you both relate to and enjoy listening to. And if that doesn’t cut it, there are always noise-canceling headphones just an Amazon Prime away.

7. If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them

Maybe it’s time for you to start up your own venture. If one hectic schedule seems daunting on its own, maybe two could actually be a blessing, leading to a deeper understanding of what you’re each going through. It would take work, but the nuances of what you’re each going through would be understood on a fundamental level. And what’s a thriving relationship without commitment and dedication from both partners, anyway? If you can’t beat them, join the hustle.

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