A business and personal balance between Mars and Venus

Men may be from Mars and women may be from Venus, but apparently they can share office space.

David and Deborah Weir, owners of Mars and Venus Counseling Centers of Tampa, have spent the past seven years in marriage and in business, counseling other husbands and wives. Sometimes they counsel other couples together.

How do they ensure that their own personal and office space doesn't get too close for comfort?

"Understanding and respecting our differences" is the key, says David Weir, 61. "You have to be committed to not getting your own way. It really doesn't matter if the arena is called home or business. In a committed relationship, you have to have complete respect for the other person."

The Weirs run one of 55 Mars & Venus counseling centers from New Jersey to Argentina. The counselors at these licensed operations have been trained by Dr. John Gray, author of the 1992 best seller Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, which offers theories on the different perspectives of men and women. The counselors must be relicensed by Gray's Mars Venus Institute in Los Angeles each year.

Deborah Weir started out as an occupational therapist, and runs a wilderness survival course for women alongside the counseling practice.

David has an MBA and spent more than 25 years at the helm of businesses ranging from coal mining to consulting on mergers and acquistions.

Not that they claim a perfect personal track record. David had two divorces; Deborah, one. They met when they were in the master's of counseling program at the University of South Florida in 1989.

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