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Working Together Without Killing Your Marriage: Entrepreneurship After 50

By Lee Watts

Nov 17, 2025

Most couples can't survive working together. Business stress exposes every personality flaw, magnifies communication gaps, and turns minor disagreements into relationship-ending battles. Money pressure creates resentment. Different work styles breed contempt. Shared space eliminates personal boundaries. Yet Herbert and Cheritha Doucet not only survived launching La Joie Catering together, they thrived while celebrating 26 years of marriage.

The Doucet's represent something rare in entrepreneurship circles. They started their catering business later in life after raising children, maintaining separate careers, and building decades of relationship foundation. Herbert brings professional barber experience while Cheritha balances a full-time corporate job with business ownership. Together, they navigate weekend events, client demands, creative differences, and the daily grind of building something meaningful without sacrificing what matters most.

In this episode of Love Lately, host Lee Rogers sits down with the founders of La Joie Catering to expose the real secrets behind successful marriage entrepreneurship. Their conversation reveals practical strategies any couple can apply whether starting businesses, managing side hustles, or simply supporting each other's ambitions without destroying their relationship.

Like Each Other Beyond Just Loving  

The foundation supporting working together successfully starts with genuine friendship transcending romantic feelings. Herbert states it simply: "You have to like each other. Love is one thing, but working together, you have to like each other really." This distinction separates couples who build businesses successfully from those whose partnerships crumble under entrepreneurship pressure.

Romantic love gets you through wedding vows and honeymoon phases. Liking your spouse gets you through stressful deadlines, financial setbacks, creative disagreements, and exhausting event days requiring teamwork. When business challenges hit, friendship matters more than passion. Couples who only love each other romantically without enjoying each other's company daily struggle when forced into constant proximity.

The Doucet's discovered this truth through decades together starting at age 19. They've weathered different life seasons, career changes, parenting stress, and personal growth that transformed them individually. Through everything, they maintained genuine appreciation for who each person is at their core. Herbert explains: "You got to know the soul of that individual because those are the things that really don't change. Your goals and ambitions change, but your heart and soul, the core person, that don't change."

Choosing partners based solely on external factors like income, appearance, or ambition guarantees disappointment when circumstances inevitably shift. Building relationships on character compatibility and genuine friendship creates foundations surviving life's transformations. Ask yourself honestly: Do I actually like spending time with this person beyond physical attraction or shared goals?

Never Dim Your Partner's Shine  

Secure partnership requires celebrating each other's success instead of competing for dominance. Herbert addresses this directly when discussing supporting Cheritha's entrepreneurial dreams: "I understand the power of a woman and how powerful a woman is. Some women for so long feel like they have to be underneath the thumb or in the control space of a man and not shine who they are. I never saw it like that. I fully was always aware of that and always try to get her to shine through."

This perspective separates healthy partnerships from toxic relationships disguised as marriage. Insecure partners feel threatened when their spouse succeeds, makes more money, gains recognition, or develops skills surpassing their own. They subtly undermine ambitions, dismiss accomplishments, or create guilt around pursuing dreams. Secure partners amplify talents, celebrate wins, and actively push their spouse toward greatness.

Cheritha mentions women holding back because they don't want to outshine husbands or create income imbalances. These fears stem from cultural conditioning teaching women to stay small for male comfort. Herbert's rejection of this dynamic enabled their business success and relationship longevity. He never viewed her success as threatening his masculinity or diminishing his value.

For men reading this: your security determines whether your wife thrives or shrinks. For women: if your partner can't celebrate your shine without feeling diminished, reconsider the relationship foundation. Marriage entrepreneurship exposes these dynamics quickly. Better to address them before launching businesses together.

Play Strengths Not Weaknesses  

Successful business partnerships assign roles based on natural talents instead of gender expectations or ego. Cheritha explains their division: "I'm the creative visionary that says 'Okay, this is the color concept, these are the colors we're going to roll with.' That's his role, you know. We understand each other's strengths and each other's weaknesses."

She hates cleaning. He handles breakdown and equipment management. She excels at creative vision and aesthetic decisions. He manages technical execution and client interaction. Neither forces the other into roles misaligned with abilities just to prove points or maintain control. They strategically deploy talents where each person adds maximum value.

This requires honest self-assessment and humble acknowledgment of limitations. Many couples struggle here because admitting weakness feels vulnerable. Pride demands appearing capable of everything. Reality proves otherwise. The Doucet's identified strengths and weaknesses through decades together, applying marriage lessons learned to business collaboration.

Key role division strategies include:

  1. List each person's natural talents honestly

  2. Identify tasks each person genuinely hates doing

  3. Assign roles based on energy rather than obligation

  4. Avoid forcing equal participation in every aspect

  5. Respect expertise without micromanaging execution

  6. Communicate clearly about role expectations regularly

Fighting over weaknesses wastes energy that could build businesses. Accept what you hate, acknowledge what your partner excels at, and distribute responsibilities accordingly.

Pattern Life Off One Income  

Financial stress destroys more marriages than infidelity. Entrepreneurship adds income volatility, amplifying money anxiety. Cheritha shares their strategy: "We pattern our life off one income. If we have a car loan or whatever, it's based off of the one income. So if something were to happen, it would still be okay."

This approach provides psychological safety supporting entrepreneurship risk. Basing all expenses on guaranteed income protects against business fluctuations and unpredictable revenue months. Two-income dependence creates stress when entrepreneurship struggles hit or clients cancel or seasonal slowdowns occur.

Herbert's barber business provides primary income stability while Cheritha's corporate job adds security. Their catering business grows without pressure to replace immediately either income source. This removes desperation forcing bad client decisions, over commitment, or relationship sacrifice for money.

Conservative spending feels restrictive but prevents resentment during slow seasons. Build life around guaranteed income only. Treat entrepreneurship revenue as a bonus for accelerating savings, funding experiences, or growing business rather than covering basic expenses. This mindset shift reduces financial arguments and supports taking calculated risks.

Set Boundaries Protect Marriage  

Advance calendar planning protects relationships from business takeover. Herbert explains: "We view our yearly calendar ahead of time. We know we're not doing nothing in certain months. We're not doing certain days, certain weeks. No matter what it is, we know that's going to be our time of the year for us."

Blocking specific months, weeks, and days for marriage before opportunities arise prevents over commitment. Saying no to potential income feels hard but saves relationships from slow erosion. The Doucet's admit the hardest part involves disappointing potential clients by setting boundaries around availability.

Cheritha adds: "We had the luxury of being able to say no. If it's a moment where we feel overwhelmed or we really need to take some time for just us, we're able to say no." This luxury exists because they maintain separate income sources funding basic life. Without that foundation, boundary-setting becomes significantly harder.

Boundaries also extend to energy management and self-awareness. Cheritha knows she needs a minimum five hours sleep to function well. Rather than forcing herself to match Herbert's ability to function on two hours, she goes to bed when her body requires rest. She explains: "I know myself and my frustration and how I will be if I don't get enough hours of sleep. So it's better for me to be in bed."

Know yourself honestly. Communicate limits clearly. Honor personal needs that serve relationship quality. Pushing past limitations to prove something creates miserable partners destroying what you're trying to build together.

Start Business Any Age  

Age never disqualifies entrepreneurship dreams when energy and inspiration exist. Lee asks whether they ever feel like the ship has passed for starting businesses together. Herbert responds: "I don't think so. It all depends on where you're at in life. As long as you want to inspire somebody else to do something, you could do it at any age."

The Doucet's launched La Joie Catering after their children grew and life circumstances shifted into a new season. They didn't wait for retirement or perfect conditions. They started when passion aligned with capacity and necessity didn't force poor decisions. Starting businesses later in life often succeeds more because children are grown, wisdom is deeper, and patience comes easier.

Herbert adds: "I want to be an inspiration to somebody. So I take that very seriously. So I'm going to conduct myself in a certain way. I'm going to treat my wife in a certain way." Their business becomes more than income. It demonstrates what's possible when couples support each other's dreams regardless of age.

Ready to build something meaningful with your spouse without destroying your relationship? Listen to the complete Love Lately podcast episode featuring Herbert and Cheritha Doucet for detailed strategies turning entrepreneurship stress into partnership opportunities.

Marriage and business success aren't mutually exclusive. They require intentional effort, clear communication, genuine friendship, and willingness to ride waves together through high and low seasons. The Doucet's prove it's possible at any age.

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