A relatively new small business phenomenon is taking place in America: More Boomer couples are starting businesses together. They may do it because they’ve lost or left their jobs. Or maybe they want to pursue an encore career as a couple.

But co-owning a business raises a key question: Will it help or hurt your relationship with your spouse?

We put it to the test: My wife Sharon and I started a small service business in our mid-50s, ran it together for over six years, and then sold it. We used the business as a pre-retirement transition from full-time professional careers.

Living and working together as a couple can be intense and, at times, overwhelming. As we learned even before we owned a business, working together blends a couple’s personal lives with their careers, and it’s very difficult to maintain separation between these two aspects of life.

How did it all work out for us? You can read about our experience in an article I wrote for the website of the National Association of Baby Boomer Women.