Getting Support at Home For Your Home Based Business
I remember when I first started a business at home, I had no idea how much support I would need. Thankfully I had a very supportive husband who was willing to do whatever it took to help me, so that I could work on building my business.
When women email me, or post that their husbands won’t support and sometimes even go the extreme of making fun of them my heart just breaks. I’ve been working at home well over 20 years now and I almost never meet a woman who is able to build and then maintain a home business with an unsupportive spouse.
Often times, a spouse will become supportive as the business grows and begins producing income, but support is needed to get to this point.
Seek a friend or someone else in the business that can support you. You are going to need someone to run ideas by. You are going to need someone to share the small successes with. You are going to need someone to babysit during those times that you just can not complete a project without some childcare help. And you’re going to need someone to support you during those rough times. There is no business around that does not have rough spots from time to time.
While my husband was an incredible support, I have also had some amazing friends over the years. At one time, a friend of mine went walking around the college campuses with me helping me put up fliers in the areas approved by student relations. Another time, I had a friend who helped me put fliers out in various neighborhoods. We pushed the kids in strollers, walked, talked and put fliers up.
At this point I should tell you that if you are fortunate like I was to have a supportive spouse, tell him. Thank him. Let him know how much you appreciate the support and let him know how happy you are.
If you don’t have the support, by all means sit down with your spouse and explain what you need, how you feel about the opportunity of starting a business and how you feel when he teases you or belittles your efforts. Sometimes a plan is also helpful. I know I have very often started something, been very excited and then 2 months later the excitement is gone and I’m no longer interested. If you have a plan it can be much easier to show your spouse how exactly you plan to build this business over the next year.
If you do not have support from your spouse and a heart to heart talk was not helpful, then seek support elsewhere, from friends or maybe other family members. If your spouse is not supportive of your business, don’t talk about it in front of him. This will only add to your frustration. If you know someone does not agree with you politically, religiously or on a parenting issue, you tend to stay away from those topics. I suggest the same for your business. If your spouse is not supportive, does not agree with your choice to run a business, then make a choice to not talk business with him. Instead talk about your business with other people, people that do support you.
When you experience a success, contact those who do support you. When have an idea and just can’t sleep until you try this idea out, contact those who share your enthusiasm and will encourage you to try out this new idea. Talk to those who will empathize if an idea does not work and will encourage you to try something else. You can get support for your home business; it just might not be from your spouse.
Audrey :)
http://mytupperware.com/audreyoka
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3 comments:
Thanks for stopping by BabyBlogAddict.com. I'm glad you found us through MommyFest.
I also just launched my own home based business too. It's Jackaroos Boutique, custom clothing and gifts for babies and children. I'd love for you to check it out when you get a chance.
Audrey,
It’s so wonderful to see that you had a strong support system as you built your business from the ground up. It sounds like your husband is a real stand-up guy! Going out on walks together and posting fliers is such a great idea, and a nice way to both relax and promote. I also agree completely that starting a home based business takes planning, at least enough to hold you over for a year. If it ends up being a task you’re not interested in, it could ultimately be wasted time! You have to be passionate about what you do, and work as hard and efficiently as you possibly can. One of the best means, in my opinion, is utilizing the internet. There’s a completely open market full of potential consumers, and plenty of opportunities beyond just selling your product from home. Networking is key as well! Well, for all of these, I’ve been using a great new service from Microsoft called Office Live Small Business. Essentially, it’s a one-stop shop, with everything you could possibly need to start your online business, and maintain it in an organized and efficient manner. It comes included with a great e-mail platform for newsletter submissions, and you can even see who’s read your messages! Also, with no web experience needed, you can create a fabulous website, fully customized to fit your personality and your product. It’s really awesome; I recommend you check it out.
You can read more about OLSB at http://smallbusiness.officelive.com
Now, in my opinion, image is a huge part of the jump from startup entrepreneur to successful business owner. That’s why Microsoft not only hosts everything on your site for free, you even get a fully customized “.com” web address to add to the overall professionalism of your online presence. Please, give it a shot and if you or any of your readers have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at k-rosenberg@live.com. I work with Microsoft, and I’m always around! Again Audrey, thank you for posting a wonderful blog entry! I hope to hear from you soon.
Best,
Kimberly
Hey, Audrey!
This was so true and hit so close to home. My husband gives me his support only if it isn't interferring with his time at home. He travels a lot with his job. It's hard to balance sometimes and to get him to see that what I'm doing is important to me, so I expect the same moral support I've given him all these years.
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