DR. WALLACE: I'm a female college student who is outgoing and quite enthusiastic about many things. I'm enthusiastic about life, the potential we all have, and the opportunities that lie in front of us all. I'm often impulsive but in a good way, as I'm willing to try or do almost anything as long as the right circumstances exist that are safe, empowering and look to be fun or interesting.

My boyfriend tends to be much more quiet, pensive and pragmatic to a fault! He tends to plan everything in advance, and he measures costs and benefits of doing almost anything — even if the cost is only "opportunity cost," as he puts it, meaning any time we spend doing one thing means we can't spend that time doing something else!

We're starting to get quite serious and are deeply in love, but sometimes I wonder if our personality differences could truly be our strength, as I often think they are, but other times, I wonder if our differences may someday drive us apart. Can personalities like the ones we each have potentially mesh for a lifetime? — We're Strong Together but Opposites, via email

WE'RE STRONG BUT OPPOSITES: Opposite personalities can absolutely successfully mesh well over the long run! In fact, studies have shown that not only do opposites attract, but in many cases, they thrive well together, especially during long-term relationships.

For you at this point, I have a suggestion you may want to consider. Have a discussion with your boyfriend and intentionally marvel out loud at how awesome you think he is and how much the two of you have opposite styles when it comes to several aspects of life, particularly the ones you've outlined in your letter.

From there, perhaps agree in advance to go on alternating outings where each one of you takes the lead but intentionally leans into the other person's style to temper your normal tendencies at least 20% to 25% in an effort to provide some reasonable compromise. You may be surprised at the results, as ongoing, two-way compromise may not be seen as negative but rather as a tremendous positive as each of you stick to your existing personality types but do so with a broad willingness to be reasonably flexible along the edges of the style you each prefer.

WE DISAGREE ON HOW TO REINVEST OUR BUSINESS PROFITS

DR. WALLACE: My best friend and I are first-year college students, and we run a small business together out of our dorm room. We are the type of girls who see opportunities and then immediately think of how we can put things into motion to take advantage of them so they can be profitable to us.

We agree on just about everything, but recently she has been wanting to buy some equipment and software that she feels will greatly enhance the flow and time commitment we must utilize for our business. On the other hand, I feel we should be using any extra money to put into our inventory. After all, inventory is the limiting factor of what we can sell!

Since we both believe our particular perspectives are correct, how can we make a decision as to which one of them we should implement first? — We Need to Agree on a Plan, via email

WE NEED TO AGREE ON A PLAN: I can see both sides of the debate, but only the two of you know the specifics of what your numbers look like and how things currently stand.

Therefore, my suggestion is to identify a specific dollar amount of how much capital you have to put to work with either of these options in the near future. Then take half that total and divide it in two. Use one quarter to increase your inventory, and use the other quarter to implement the productivity enhancement of the business overall as the two of you best see how to do that.

Monitor those results, then continue with what happens to be working best as you progress and move forward. Also, regarding inventory, remember that if you know the lead time necessary to acquire new goods, you can also adjust your shipping or delivery times so that you don't lose new sales that may require incremental items in stock. The key to small business is learning as you go, doing more of what works and less of what doesn't. Keep working hard, and I wish you both the best of success.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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