Built Not Born Podcast · 11 April 2025
It's Time to Get to Know the Real Chris & Helen Butler
A more personal episode with Chris and Helen Butler on working together as a married couple, business myths, productivity, disagreements, individual strengths and the lessons they have learned along the way.
Episode guide
About this episode
With a growing number of new listeners discovering the podcast, Chris and Helen use this episode to answer a selection of personal and business questions and give a clearer picture of who they are away from the usual topic-led conversations. The result covers why they went into business together, the reality of working with a spouse, the different strengths they bring to their companies and some of the habits that shape the way they work.
Helen explains that the move into business came after losing some of the passion for her previous career as a fashion designer. What began as personalised products on the side developed into a more business-to-business opportunity, combining Helen's clothing and customer experience with Chris's commercial and operational strengths. They were attracted by the idea of greater flexibility, but both now recognise that building a business often demands far more time and energy than expected.
That leads into one of the main themes of the episode: the myths surrounding business ownership. Chris argues that building a company is usually harder and slower than people imagine, while Helen talks about the value of friends and customers taking the time to support a growing business. They also reflect on one of their earliest major orders, secured just before the COVID lockdown, and how quickly the excitement of winning the work was replaced by the pressure of delivering it.
The questions also reveal the differences in how Chris and Helen operate. Chris describes himself as a perfectionist who wants a service properly prepared before taking money from a customer. He also explains his productivity system, which starts with getting tasks out of his head and onto a list, identifying the genuinely business-critical work, keeping daily expectations realistic and tackling the most important work early in the day when his concentration is strongest.
On the more personal side, Chris talks about his love of Disney in Orlando and a longer-term ambition to be able to spend extended periods somewhere like Orlando later in life. He also reflects on being told by a teacher at secondary school that he would amount to nothing, something he believes may have become a subconscious source of determination. Helen admits she is the messier of the two and the pair trade stories about the habits and characteristics that can irritate each other.
The most practical part of the conversation is their discussion about disagreements. In the early years, working together created frequent tension because their responsibilities overlapped. Over time, they have become much clearer about who owns what. Helen focuses heavily on customer-facing work, while Chris takes responsibility for much of the behind-the-scenes strategy, team, systems, processes and financial work. They try to trust each other to make decisions inside those roles rather than repeatedly second-guessing them.
They also make a point of having regular weekly meetings to review what is happening in the business and where support is needed. For Chris and Helen, working with a spouse has brought additional pressure, but it has also forced them to become better at communicating, separating responsibilities and moving on after disagreements. Their wider aim with the podcast remains the same: to show the less polished reality of building a business and share lessons that may help somebody else make better decisions.
Key takeaways
What you'll learn
- Starting a business for greater flexibility can mean having less freedom while the business is still being built.
- Chris and Helen have reduced conflict by separating responsibilities around their individual strengths and keeping day-to-day crossover to a minimum.
- Trust, communication and the ability to move on from smaller disagreements are central to making a husband-and-wife business partnership work.
- Chris uses written task lists, realistic daily priorities and his most productive morning hours to focus on business-critical work.
- Both Chris and Helen recognise that they could have celebrated important business wins more before immediately moving on to the next challenge.
- Working together has put pressure on their personal relationship at times, but clearer roles and regular weekly meetings have helped them work more effectively as a team.
Questions from this episode
Frequently asked questions
Why did Chris and Helen Butler start working together in business?
Helen had lost some of the passion for her previous fashion design role and wanted more flexibility. A side project selling personalised products began to grow, and Chris suggested focusing on business-to-business workwear, bringing together Helen's clothing and customer experience with Chris's business and operational strengths.
What do Chris and Helen think is the biggest myth about running a business?
They believe people often underestimate how difficult and time-consuming it is. Chris says it normally takes more effort and longer than expected, while Helen points out that the flexibility people imagine can be hard to achieve when the business still depends heavily on its owners.
How do Chris and Helen handle disagreements when they work together?
They have reduced day-to-day conflict by separating their responsibilities more clearly, trusting each other to make decisions within those roles and trying not to let smaller disagreements carry over into home life. They also use regular meetings to review the business and support each other.
How do Chris and Helen divide their roles in the business?
Helen concentrates mainly on customer-facing sales and account relationships. Chris handles much of the work behind the scenes, including business strategy, team matters, systems, processes and accounting. They say keeping unnecessary crossover to a minimum has helped them work together more effectively.
What productivity system does Chris Butler use?
Chris writes down his tasks, identifies the most business-critical priority, adds a realistic number of smaller jobs and completes the most important work early in the day when he feels most productive. He also tries not to delay tasks that still need to be done.