The couple and one full-time staffer work out of a dedicated space in their house. Like most people who work from home, the lines can get blurred. While Patrick and Emma were on a conference call with a client one day, Patrick was also doing laundry. The noise made it hard for Emma to hear, and she shifted momentarily from business-speak to couple-speak. Later they found out that, though initially surprised, the client had a good laugh when she realized their relationship went far beyond business.

Why does their coupling of business and marriage work so well? "Lack of ego" and "We're both committed to it," she says. "We're making of our life what we really want."

Says Patrick: "There's a great satisfaction in accomplishing things together."

TILL THE COWS COME HOME
Muscling 1,000-pound Jersey cows were never part of Leslie Kurtz's plan. "I never imagined myself a dairyman's wife," says Leslie, 41. But she met Howard "Bubba" Kurtz 22 years ago, and her plan changed.

The couple married 19 years ago and, in 1990, started Kurtz and Sons dairy farm in Live Oak, Florida. Leslie focused on raising their three kids - now 13 to 18 - but when economic factors forced them to lay off their help in 2003, Leslie changed her plans again by taking an active role in the business. "We pretty much pitch in and get everything done together," says Bubba, 41. They also help bolster each other when business gets tough. "When one feels like quitting, you lift each other up," says Leslie. "You take turns as to who is the bummed-out one."

Between milking 73 cows and selling nearly 4,600 gallons of milk per month through a variety of outlets - including the commodity market, local retailers, and farmers' markets - they certainly stay busy. The commodity market product is trucked off the farm; the rest they bottle themselves with machinery they recently installed. They even sell some on the farm through the honor system: People can pull up, get milk, and leave the money in a box.