Many people dream of leaving their job and starting a business. You have to take into consideration the strain of building an online business on your relationships otherwise further down the line they can bite you in the backside! Most people daydream about being their own boss, and in truth there’s never been a better time than now to create a business doing what you love and making money from it online and offline.
To me every successful entrepreneur has to find a way to turn their talents, knowledge and passion into products or services that earn them revenue and respect.
But the respect and support of your loved one is the most essential thing behind every entrepreneurs success story. Your loved one has to be fully behind what it is you do, backing you on the way.
It’s important to understand that you can’t create your entrepreneurs dream alone. You need a support system in order to succeed. Those you care about have to support you on the journey, be your strength when times are hard, encourage you when things seem difficult.
When you’re excited about your business, putting so much into it, your loved ones can either lift you up or suck the wind right out of your sails. The fact is, you need and want your loved ones’ support, after all everything you’re doing is for them just as much as it is for you. Every entrepreneur I know is motivated by a desire to make a better life for themselves and their family.
There is no getting away from the fact that the entrepreneurs journey is a hard one. You have to put in an unbelievable amount of time and make a lot of sacrifices. I’d hate to think the number of hours I’ve spent over the years locked away in my study while my family were left to do stuff without me. I wonder to this day if they realise how hard that was for me, how much effort it took to keep committed to building what I was with my business, and doing it more for them even than for myself.
It’s also a big strain on your love one. While you are putting all your efforts into creating this new business they’re having to work to put food on the table, pay the bills, basically keeping everything going. You do lean on them in a big way, they are sometimes left to feel that they’re carrying the can. It’s important that we don’t forget the part they play and show them our true appreciation, because without them, would we be able to spend the time building this business of our dreams? It would be a lot harder, if not impossible.
Of course being an entrepreneur has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and I get to reap the rewards sharing them with those I love. So no matter how hard the journey, ultimately you get to enjoy freedom and being paid for doing the things you really love to do. But these rewards only come after you put in several years of hard time. You have to persist, ride the waves seeing things through to the end.
I read these words a while back which sum up this perfectly:
“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” ~ unknown
Beginning a new entrepreneurial venture means giving up your time now in order to have more time later. There is no nine to five working schedule. When you’re not in the office, you’re still working even when you’re at home. When you’re out with your family, you’re on your phone responding to texts or reading your emails, never letting yourself truly get away from your business. While the family is chilled out in front of the telly watching the X-Factor you’re on your laptop working, or sitting at the dining room table crafting something up for your business. This puts pressure on everyone around you.
Entrepreneurs especially at the beginning are always feel intense pressure, and stress is very common. When you are stressed the best thing in the world is knowing that someone loves you, supports you and believes in you. It is very uplifting to you. It gives you the confidence to keep going.
It is important to support your loved one’s and be a rock for them to lean on. Supporting a loved one through the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial journey is tough at times. It can be tiring, emotionally draining and sometimes incredibly frustrating. But it is for both of you. This is where the true connection occurs and allows us to take our relationships to new heights.
Here are a few suggestions to help you through.
- Involve them from the Start. Provide them with an overview of your business plan, and discuss all your ideas, and show them why you believe so strongly that you will succeed.
- Keep them informed. Let them be involved. Share your successes as well as your failures. Don’t let the only thing you ever talk about be your business, but you must involve them and keep them updated with all the progress you’re making.
- Let them be your advisors. Have no doubts that your loved one at times can see things clearer than you can. There will be times when they can provide you with a fresh approach to a problem, or offer you a really great idea. Let them know they’re important to you.
- Listen to their worries. At times your partner is going to have concerns, particularly I’m sure when it comes to money. If they feel that you’re listening to them, taking their opinions into consideration, reassuring them as you go along, they will continue showing their support to you and faith in what you’re doing.
- Always make family time. Set aside a time when business is off-limits commit to being fully present with your loved ones, and protect this completely because life without your special bond makes the rest so pointless.
- Expect a difficult journey. Don’t start up expecting this all to be easy. Expect tough periods, for obstacles to come your way, and maybe expect that you may have to tighten your belt. Work things through together and make sure you both know what you’re letting yourself in for.
- Show appreciation for their contribution. Never let a day go by without you turning around to your loved one and saying thank you for believing in me, for being there for me, for just being you. It’s amazing what a little gratitude does for a relationship.
Never forget together you can make everything work, and every entrepreneur needs their loved one next to them, by their side to make them great.
We all need someone to believe in us.
