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December 27, 2002/Tevet 22 5763, Vol. 55, No. 18
'Married after 5'
Living and working together has pros, cons
MAX HIGGINS
Special to Jewish News
If you had the chance to work with your spouse, would you?
It would certainly mean seeing a lot more of each other. It would also mean trusting your partner with your family's livelihood. If the business were to fail, there wouldn't be another salary to fall back on. These stresses and many more could definitely test a relationship.
To help answer this question, we sought out some people who have taken the plunge together in both marriage and business. Their stories follow, and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.
Valerie and Martin Fishgold
Investment advisers
Marty and Valerie Fishgold are high-energy people. Talking to either of them is like walking into a tornado, as their rapid-fire thoughts and humor spin you away to wherever they're going next.
Marty and Valerie own Fishgold Financial Services, a registered investment advisory firm they have built together over the past 22 years.
Valerie describes their business relationship as being "like two doctors who are in practice together." They are both Certified Financial Planners, and both have their own clients, though they tend to each other's from time to time.
"We can pinch-hit for each other," says Valerie.
Still, there is some division of labor within the business. Valerie says one benefit to working together is that "it gives us the freedom to do what we like best. ... He is a phenomenal individual in front of groups of people. I like to do more analytical work."
Valerie grew up in Dearborn, Mich., and graduated from the University of Michigan. She holds a Master of Science in financial planning. Marty was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. A natural entertainer, he served in the U.S. Army Band, and today plays clarinet in a Klezmer group.
In the business, Valerie does most of the research and development, working on computer models and formulas. Marty handles most of the public speaking and client meetings. He is often away from the office, which Valerie says prevents one potential problem of working with a spouse.
"People ask, 'How can you stand to see the same person at work all day and then at home at night?' But I don't see him enough at the office for it to be an issue, and I don't think it would be anyway."
Indeed, the couple had to be interviewed separately on two consecutive days, in between driving to meetings and tending to one of their three children who was home sick.
Both Marty and Valerie agree on the benefits of working together. "You trust - implicitly - the other person," says Marty. "You feel comfortable with them there. And you get to share the rewards. For instance, we've been invited to meetings together all over the world."
But when you work together and it's your own business, how do you stop talking shop and just be a husband and wife?
"We're married after 5, but before 5 we're business professionals," says Valerie.
"You learn to leave the business on the doorstep," Marty adds. "You don't want to get into a fight over business."
Besides, says Valerie, "we don't have time for that. There's so much wonderful richness in life."
Julie and Dan Witenstein
Gymnastics and dance trainers
Step in the front door of Arizona Sunrays on a weekday evening, and you step into a world of children tumbling, flipping, pirouetting and flying in all directions. This must be where the playground goes after school. All at once it's chaos and grace in motion, and standing serenely in the middle of it are Julie and Dan Witenstein.
The former college gymnast and former actress have been running this dance and gymnastics center in North Phoenix for 12 years. Originally from Silver Springs, Md., they moved west in stages. First, Dan came to ASU as a member of the men's gymnastics team. Later, after returning home and marrying Julie, the two of them relocated to the Valley for good.
In 1990, while Dan was working as a coach at Arizona Sunrays and Julie was acting full time with Childsplay Theatre, an irresistible opportunity presented itself, allowing them to purchase the gym.
"The business was in trouble and we turned it around," says Dan. "We made major improvements to the facility, the philosophy, marketing and staffing."
"We really wanted to treat it like a business and have the customer come first," says Julie. "We made the gymnastics and dance curriculum more progressive and offered programs geared toward the whole family."
Inside the hangar-sized gymnastics room, the walls are crowded with banners representing victories at state, national and international competitions. About 10 percent of their students are involved in the organization USA Gymnastics. "It's where Olympians come from," Dan explains.
The Witensteins' roles in their business have changed over the years. When they first took it over, Julie was acting full-time. She cut back her hours and managed to juggle both careers for a number of years, even after giving birth to their first child. The big change, though, came a few years later with a new addition to the family.
"Having twins is what cut back on my acting and put me more toward the business," Julie explains.
Julie grew more into managing and marketing the business. She launched new programs, such as summer dance camp and Kindergym. Dan used to travel extensively overseas with their teams, but now stays closer to home.
Julie points out one paradox of owning a family business. "One good thing is we share the same stresses, and one bad thing is we share the same stresses. ... When one of us comes home with a problem, we have no choice but to help each other through it, because in the end it affects us all."
Dan adds, "We can count on each other. I don't know what the downside is."
These days Dan is coaching less and taking over more of the administrative aspects of the gym. That's because a year ago the couple acquired a second business. The Drawing Board, located next to the gym is, as Julie puts it, "a full-service family art studio where parents and kids can drop in to work on projects."
Both the gym and the art studio host children's birthday parties on weekends. "Now," says Julie, "we're in competition with ourselves."
Jill and George Garcia
Restaurateurs
Things have a way of happening in their own sweet time for Jill and George Garcia. They first met as kids working for Jack Grodzinsky, founder of Miracle Mile Delicatessen in Phoenix. Jill was the boss' daughter, placing the little parsley on each plate, as George tells the story. He was 15 and new on the job.
"My dad adored George from day one. When he dropped that gallon of fruit punch on the floor," Jill laughs.
"He was supposed to fire me," George smiles. "He didn't."
But it would be another 12 years before Jill and George became husband and wife. "You don't marry the boss' daughter," George explains. "Talk about tough - Jewish, Mexican..."
All in due time. It was those 12 years later, while George was working for a floor covering company and Jill had settled into the family business, that the two met up again and started dating. They saw each other every day, and a year later they were married.
George didn't return to Miracle Mile right away.
"I was hesitant to come in," he says. "I didn't want to ruin what we had."
A few years after their wedding, George was helping at the deli evenings and weekends, while still working days in the floor covering business. It was a friend who helped change his mind. He pointed out that George already knew the deli business. And someday down the line, they would need Jill and him to step up.
Ten years later that's exactly what happened. The manager at their Chris-Town location couldn't continue working. Jill's father asked George to take over.
Over the next 10 years the business grew. George and Jill ran the Chris-Town store, then opened a new one at the Colonnade on Camelback, and most recently another at Arrowhead Towne Center in Glendale. Through it all, they have remained strong partners at work and at home.
"We have a lot of fun," says George. "We get along well. We're like best friends."
"I'm like a worker bee," says Jill. "I'd rather work than manage. So if I see something that needs to be addressed, I'll tell George and he'll take care of it... He's an incredible problem solver. I think 'Wow, I couldn't have handled that.' "
"That's what makes a team," George adds. "Balancing each other's strengths and weaknesses."
George had promised Jill that the Colonnade would be their last location, but then an opportunity fell into their lap, and even she couldn't say no. The new store on Coronado Island (San Diego) opens in mid-April, three blocks down from the Hotel Del Coronado, and across the street from the beach. And they have parking for 20 cars, something unheard of on the little island.
In true style for Jill and George, this has been a long time coming. As Jill tells it, they were walking around Coronado one day 10 years ago. As they passed by a bank, George stopped, turned to her and said 'wouldn't this be a great location?' A decade later, they are opening a store on that very spot.
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