Working with your partner – a bed of roses?

On this Valentine’s Day, we talk to one couple who have been running their creative agency together for 10 years.

Jo and Darren Scott started working together in April 2001, they went on their first date four months later and got married in 2004. The couple now own Truth, a creative agency which employs 20 staff in Manchester, and have two children, Dylan (8) and Cooper (3).

The decision to join forces in business paid off for Jo (managing partner) and Darren (creative partner); the £1.5m turnover agency has just celebrated its 10th birthday and its client portfolio includes Wyevale Garden Centre, PZ Cussons and Newcastle University London.

Jo (38) explains how they live and work together – and stay happily married: “I’ve been trying to get sacked for years” she laughs. “Joking aside, once I had worked with Darren, I didn’t want to work with anyone else.

“We were working together in a large global agency. I had been there for about four months when we went on our first date. We kept it a secret for about six months not wanting to look unprofessional.

“Darren’s strategic thinking and creative brilliance never falters. I haven’t worked with anyone else who can drive creativity in the way that he does and still think strategically. It’s impossible not to be slightly in awe of his talent, but it was his passion for what he does that really stood out and attracted me to him. I think that’s why we still make it work – I am equally as passionate, so we understand and complement each other perfectly in that way.

“It was a big move for Darren to go from a big agency environment to set Truth up, but it was a decision I wholeheartedly supported. He has created a boutique agency with strong principles and to this day we remain true to who we are.

“Living and working together side by side can be testing at times – we may disagree about something in work and it’s hard to separate the two, but we try not to think too much about it. At the end of the day, running a business can be stressful and it’s hard not to take our work home, but we’re immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together at work and we have two beautiful children who we hope will be proud of us too.

“I know a lot of people who met their partner in work – two of our former employees met at Truth and are now married and living in Australia together. Our two other managing partners on the PR side of the business also met their husbands through work.

“A lot of people ask us how we cope spending so much time together, but it does have its benefits. We understand each other’s work and personal commitments and appreciate what each other are going through. In many ways, we work better because we work together.

“It would be amazing if Darren could just figure out how to turn the washing machine on, but we can’t have everything.”