For Better or for Worse Starting a business with your better half isn't like buying a couch together. Before you hang your shingle, make sure you've both got what it takes.

She shouts out the answers to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?; he changes the channel to the World's Strongest Man competition. She wants an SUV; he bought himself a truck. She's wrapped in terrycloth before her morning cup of coffee; he goes jogging at 5 a.m. Her politics stink; he leaves the toilet seat up. Ever wish you could fire your spouse?

Well, you can, if you go into business together. Of course, it's probably not a good idea to start a joint venture together if you can't even reconcile things like who takes the trash out on Wednesday mornings. But if you and your significant other have a strong relationship, you might be able to make it work at the office, too. "In our case, the relationship has benefited from the business," says Robert Cota, 43, co-founder of Spykiss.com Inc., a Los Angeles-based developer of a peer-to-peer technology for the entertainment industry. "The relationship and the business have evolved in a parallel line. Both of us are creative, and we have the same goals. That's why we're together as a couple and why we went into business together."

According to Cota's partner, co-founder Kandice Cline, 29, the business also benefits from the relationship. "Being in the relationship first helps us keep perspective," she says. "We're working all the time, but because we enjoy being around each other, we can put more energy into the business without having it feel like work."