ABSTRACT
During 2008 my husband and I had numerous decisions to make with regard to our future. As owners of a residential real estate brokerage, the bulk of our conversations centered on financial decisions that would not only affect me as the qualifying broker but also the associate brokers working in our office. My husband’s position as a lieutenant for our city fire department provided our family with the consistent financial support needed to cover household overhead, but little was left to supplement a second income when commissions ceased. Needless to say, I worked hard to avoid business discussions with my husband during that time as I knew that we would eventually need to consider merging our boutique brokerage with another larger brokerage or entertain closing our doors.
