When you’re running a business with a partner, solving disagreements can be particularly vexing. But when you’re married and running a company, it’s even more challenging. After all, it makes it difficult to go home, decompress and complain to your husband or wife about your business partner. And your business partner may not feel he or she can vent either.

Still, there’s no doubt some couples thrive as married entrepreneurs. Many entrepreneurial couples say running a company together can create a tight bond. At The Entrepreneur’s Source, our coaches have helped many of these couples uncover the possibilities, options and dreams associated with owning a business together.

At the same time, there are obviously some couples who shouldn’t run a business together — and maybe shouldn’t even be married (but we won’t get into that). Running a business with your spouse certainly isn’t for everyone.

But if you think it is for you and your better half, consider buying and running a franchise together versus starting a business from scratch. We’re not just saying that because franchises are our specialty. We really do believe that while some types of businesses can break a couple’s bond, a franchise can strengthen it. Here’s why.

A franchise reduces the financial stress of starting a business.

Buying a franchise is expensive, exciting and, sure, scary. But at least your startup costs are in writing. You know what you’re going to spend and what you will get for your money, and you know that you’re buying into a proven business model.

If you and your spouse are starting, say, your own online T-shirt store or opening your own new restaurant, you don’t have reams of data and company history to reference, where you can feel confident that your money is going to lead to a successful business. And you may not even know how much you’re going to spend. You might imagine that you’ll need $100,000 to open your first restaurant when really, you should budget half a million.

It’s easy to imagine that at some point, if you hit a rough patch and the customers aren’t showing up, one spouse may become very nervous that you’re both throwing money away.