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main Snippets for Success area
SUPPORT FOR YOUR BUSINESS...STARTING AT
HOME
As things have been a bit crazy around our house since starting a home
based business, I have been thinking how lucky and blessed that I am to
have a husband who is supportive in my business endeavors. I hear time and time again from
women, that their spouses are not only unsupportive, but in fact they tease, taunt and try
to make their wives feel like they are
silly to even attempt a business. My heart goes out to these women, and
it saddens me to hear stories like this. It is difficult to pursue a dream
when the person who is to be your closest friend and supporter acts just
the opposite. I sometimes wonder why some spouses act this way, but
will never fully understand. I can only assume a variety of reasons:
jealousy, fear of change, feelings of neglect.
If you have a supportive spouse - be thankful and grateful and let them
know you appreciate them. Many times my husband will help make it
possible for me to have an uninterrupted work slot. He either leaves
with our son to go on an outing or they play together in another area of
the house. There have also been many times where he has put his own side business plans
(he has a handy man business on the side) on hold if he knows I have a deadline to meet.
If you have a spouse who is less than enthusiastic about your business,
sit down and have a heart to heart talk when it is just the two of you.
Tell him how you feel and what you see happening. Find out why he feels
or acts the way he does and tell him what you need from him. If he is
not willing to work with you on this and be a supporter of you and your
business, but at the same time tells you to do what you want with having
your own business, it is time to find a friend to be your supporter.
Running a business while having a home and children to tend to is hard without the help
and encouragement of someone close. If you can't get that from your spouse, then seek out
a close friend. She can be used as a sounding board, a cheerleader, and even as a
baby-sitter at times when you need to focus on your business. Once your success begins to
grow, that spouse of yours may see you in a new light and come on board as an avid
supporter.
Don't give up your dreams and what you see as an opportunity for success, simply because
your spouse is not living up to your expectations in regards to your business. Try to find
the alternatives that can make it work for you.
WHEN TO SAY
"WHEN"
Do you know when to say "when"?
Not to stereotype our gender, but it does seem that we have a problem with being able to
say "no" to the requests for our time, services and money. When friends
and colleagues come to us for our expertise in what we do, we gladly give away our
knowledge and insight. Many times though, this can lead into also using our skills
and services and pretty soon you find that what you typically get paid for from your
clients, you are now using up much of your time doing freebies for those close to you.
Don't get be wrong, I am not suggesting that we
never offer our help and services, but you need to know where to draw the line. We all are
trying to create an income for ourselves and that is not going to be possible if you spend
most of your time giving away your services. I mention services here because this is where
I see this happening most. (Those who sell products have also had many people approach
them wanting a discount on the products which cuts into what their income could be.) But
because when people give away their services for free - this cuts into their time for when
they could be either doing work for paying customers or actively pursuing some new
customers.
This is something that I have struggled with all my life. I tend to be the type that loves
to give and has a hard time receiving. And I hope I never change in that aspect. But over
the last year I have been needing to change in the way I think and feel when I do need to
say no to someone. I have had to do this because I no longer have the luxury of a steady
guaranteed income that came from my job with the phone company. Now I really
"need" to create a new steady income. I still feel very guilty at times when
saying no. But I have found there are times that literally well over half the time I spent
each week "working", I am giving my services away. Again - nothing wrong with
helping others and contributing our time and talents to others is something we all should
do. And many times this is a good way to build alliances or barter for other
products/services that you need. But you need to get to the point where you put a limit on
the time you can spend doing this. If we all had the steady income that we are hoping and
many times needing to bring in, then we wouldn't need to worry about any amount of time
and energy spent on this.
Does this mean you shouldn't help others or offer freebies - absolutely not. But it does
mean learning to prioritize and coming to the realization that you cannot do everything
for everybody and grant every request coming your way.
So, know when to say "when" and try not to feel guilty about setting boundaries
and limitations for yourself and your business.
Cyndi Webb shares these
tidbits of experience with us that she has written and gathered over time. She makes her
home in Minnesota with her son Jesse, and her husband Gary. Cyndi is the Founder and
President of Moms Network ( http://www.momsnetwork.com
), an organization for Moms at Home in Business. She also owns a web design
and web hosting business, T C Connect ( http://www.tcconnect.com
)
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