BECAUSE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS ISN’T A HOBBY

If you want to be successful in your work-from-home business, you must get your partner on board with your ideas and expectations ASAP.

I’ve shared my personal experience with owning a business and the disappointment I felt when my husband didn't fully support me, and now it’s time to give you some ways to help your S.O. back your business or idea (and help you achieve your goals).

1) DO THE GROUNDWORK—WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

If you tell your partner, you have a great idea for the backyard patio, and you’re pretty sure it will increase your home’s resale value, but you didn’t back up your claim. Instead, you dove in and peppered them with your design plans and landscape suggestions.

Would your partner jump in and expand the plan with you? Call up the back to see what interest rates are on a second mortgage?

Probably not. And it’s not because he doesn’t think your idea is valid. It’s because you didn’t give evidence to back up your claim.

THEY NEED PROOF.

They want to know WHY something is happening and HOW it’s going to work. Just like knowing the details of a new patio plan (cost, return on investment, design, etc.…), knowing your business venture's details will help them understand it.

I highly recommend doing what I failed to do with my first business: research BEFORE you throw your neatly stenciled “open for business” sign in the window -- and most definitely before you share your discovery with your partner.

Generally, men tend to make decisions based on facts and logic rather than gut or intuition, so try to speak his language if you want his support.

How do you do that? Start by backing up your desires with details. It’ll show how serious you are about this new business and thwart the “it’s just another hobby” mindset. 

2) BE CLEAR ABOUT WHY YOU’RE DOING THIS

Pulling a page out of my small business coaching book, knowing why you’re doing something is the key to success -- both emotional and monetary. If you’re new to the concept of “why,” I urge you to check out Simon Sinek. A former business coach introduced me to Simon’s work a decade ago and it forever changed the way I interact with the world.

GRAB A PEN AND ASK YOURSELF WHY?

Why do you want to start this business?
Why is it important?
Why are you the right person for the job?

Knowing these answers will help you communicate the importance of the business to your spouse AND help clarify how you fit with your business.

And, as a glittery bonus, you can use the “why game” with your kids. Start asking yourself why you’re feeling/responding/acting a certain way before you respond. The next time sweet little Aiden decides the dining room wall needs is a handcrafted etching of Dora the Explorer (naturally this will need to be done in sharpie because that’s the mark of a true artist), slow down and ask “why did this happen?” and “why am I so upset?”

It’s alarming (in the best way possible!) how quickly you can turn a potentially bad situation around.

Asking myself “why” has helped me tap into my kids’ motivations and reactions. We all breathe a little easier knowing we’re trying to understand one another. We talk very candidly about events -- “this is why I don’t want you to walk down the street without me.” Or, the internal dialog that starts with me asking myself, “Why am I so upset that they decided to use my eyeliner as chalk?” 

New to the power of why or want to dive a little deeper? Message me.

3) IF YOU CREATE THIS DREAMY BUSINESS, WHAT WILL YOU BECOME (HOW WILL IT CHANGE YOU)?

This is an extension of the “why” exercise. It’s beyond helpful to take a peek into your crystal ball (you have one, right?) and look at what life is like a year or two down the road. Not the life you’re currently living, but the one that you want to live.

GET HIPPY WITH IT AND VISUALIZE YOUR FUTURE.

What does it look like?
How have you changed?
How much of your change is due to owning your own business?
What has running a business from home done for your self-esteem? For your family?
How has your business changed you?

Once you see how your business will change you for the better, it will fuel your fire and propel you forward.

Knowing the answers to the questions I've laid out will give you the confidence to talk about your dreams with your spouse and, more importantly, help you carry on with your plans with or without outside approval.

If you’re having trouble with any or all of these tips, please join me on Instagram or check out my coaching. I’m here to help you find a business that makes your heart happy and to help you integrate it into your family life. Because you CAN do this

P.S. Doing this work will also help you talk to other family members about your dream business… even the most critical of relatives (yea, I’m talking about you, Aunt Peg!) can’t help but be swayed by reason AND passion!