As Colleen and Stephen Waguespack sat down to share their story to Business Report, it was evident they had much more in common than their ambition. Colleen owns Colleen Waguespack Interiors, a high-end residential and commercial interior design company. She is also the owner and creative director of Fig & Dove, a home accessories product line. Stephen is president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for legal reform and senior vice president of federation, state and local advocacy. As leaders in different industries, the Waguespacks have been the backbone and sounding board for each other as they’ve taken bold professional risks and grown their family. The couple live by their motto, “If it’s important to you, it’s important to us.” This mindset has supported them through major milestones—when Stephen pursued law school, when Colleen left her job to start her own interior design company and when Stephen ran for governor of Louisiana. Their journey together began during their senior year at LSU. Colleen was in a sorority and Stephen in a fraternity, leading them to share some of the same friends. They went on their first date—to DiGiulio Brothers Italian Cafe—on Stephen’s 21st birthday. “We weren’t looking for commitment at that time,” Stephen says. “We were looking to go away and find our paths elsewhere. Then by the time the dessert came, we ditched that plan altogether and said, ‘wherever we go in life from here, we will be together.’” Read the full story from this month’s issue of Business Report, and send comments to [email protected].