We're married and run separate businesses. We have weekly meetings, communicate often, and protect date nights.

Vic and Darnah Thompson share their tips for other entrepreneurial couples.

Jordan Vonderhaar for BI

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Darnah and Vic Thompson, a married couple who are both entrepreneurs living in Texas. The following has been edited for length and clarity.Darnah: My business is Books & Brand, a publishing agency specializing in nonfiction books. I have a background in business management and operations, but after being laid off from my job in the publishing space, I stumbled into starting my agency.Vic: I've been in real estate since 2017. I started off flipping properties in Georgia and South Carolina, and now I run a real estate business, doing single-family residential. I also run a marketing company, as I'm trying to really develop my online brand and social leads.It's nice to speak the language of entrepreneurshipDarnah: It was interesting and definitely new for me, getting into a relationship with another entrepreneur. It's nice to have a mutual understanding of the grit it takes.It's nice that when one of us is having a hard day or season, we understand how to lift each other up and don't let each other quit.It's also fun because we have different strengths that we lean into. I'm more creative and visionary, and Vic is more numbers-focused and data-driven. We can see each other's blind spots and support each other in a way that a lot of people don't have access to.We have build-seasons and steady-seasonsVic: The balance of work and our relationship is an ongoing conversation. If you prioritize your business over your relationship, your relationship will suffer. Being able to call that behavior out and have really good, safe communication allows us to recalibrate.