As a mom and an
entrepreneur, one of the biggest hurdles I have had to overcome (and am still
battling every now and again) was to get my husband to not only be on the same
page as me, but to support my entrepreneurial dreams with his whole heart.In order to reach a fulfilling level of
success in my business and personal life, it is important to me that my husband
and children all understand and appreciate what I do, why I do it and why it
benefits the people I serve.However, what I learned is that getting my spouse to support my dreams
had more to do with me than him.
My husband is a great guy
and has been an entrepreneur himself for many years, but on some levels, I
think he expected me to stay home and focus on the family just like his mom
did.Being a stay at home mom
simply wasn’t in the cards for me, not because my mom wasn’t a career maven or
because I don’t love my kids more than anything else in the world, she was and
I do!But because I have found my
life purpose and I believe that my children benefit from seeing their mother follow
her dreams.
I know what you may be
thinking… “This chick has everything figured out, so why is she writing about needing
support?”Well, I have to tell you
for a long time, my husband thought he was supporting me, but he was still
coming home from working all day at his company, frustrated that he was the
only one who was significantly contributing financially and to him, it seemed
like all I was doing was spending the money that he earned to try to run a
company that he didn’t understand.On top of that, sometimes it just takes time before your business starts
to turn a profit.My husband’s
business turned a profit immediately of course.
His business was buying and
selling used networking gear.Supply
was low and demand was high when he and his business partner launched the
company.He knew that if he bought
a router for a certain amount, he could flip it for a 20% or more gain.The margins were high and the business
didn’t require a ton of manpower to run. It is a simple business model, buy one thing and sell it for
more to turn a profit.What I was
selling was my intellectual property.People buy things from people they know, like and trust, so I needed to
build my reputation before the profits would come rolling in.
With my business, I was
selling $20 DVDs and speaking for very little money leading child safety
workshops.With that business
model, he was right.I would never
be contributing significantly to the family bank account unless I got on Oprah
or the Today Show and even then it wasn’t a guarantee.I was just covering my own costs and
paying someone else to help me manage my kids and the house.The numbers weren’t adding up and I
could see that.So, I had to
readjust my business model to create wealth, which was exactly what my husband
needed to see to put his faith in my entrepreneurial dreams.
If you have a partner who
isn’t giving you 100% of the support that you need to pursue your dreams, here
are 3 things you can do to help earn their faith in you and your vision:
1.Create a 1-page document that details who you are, what
you do, why you are the best person to do this work and how it will benefit
your clients.First, outline your top 5 personal
values, strengths and weaknesses and how these apply to your business.Next, explain the type of work that you
want to do and why it is important to you.Last, explain how your products or services will benefit the
clients who use them and what you envision your ultimate vision to entail.Be clear about if you want to sell the
business in a few years for a hefty number or keep it going indefinitely as an
income source.Finally, laminate
or frame this document and place it in your workspace after explaining it to
your partner!
2.Spreadsheets are your friend when it comes to numbers peeps like my husband!In truth, spreadsheets are extremely
important not just to give others a glimpse into your financial reality, but
for you to run your business with a clear picture of the money that goes out
every month, how much comes in and your projections of these figures in the
future.
Design
this spreadsheet to reflects your monthly revenue, expenses and goals so you
have a system to keep track of where you are, where you have been and where you
are going with your company’s finances.Update this sheet every month and reevaluate it monthly with your
bookkeeper and twice annually with your CPA.You also want to give your partner a clear idea about when
he or she will see a return on the investment into the business and when you
will start generating monthly revenue.
3.If you want support, you need to be supportive.Period.You can’t expect
what you don’t give yourself.It’s
time to open the lines of communication not just with your partner, but with
your entire family about what their goals and dreams are and how you can
support each other in your efforts to achieve success.Make a concerted effort to sit down at
the beginning of every week as a family and talk about where you are on your
journey and what needs to happen to get you where you want to go.
These tips are not only
important in helping you to gain the support of your loved ones, they are just
as essential for your own confidence and understanding about you, your
business, your finances and your vision. By having a firm grasp on the whole picture of why you are doing the
work you are doing and how you will monetize that dream, you will be
able to make the best choices to get you where you want to go faster,
with a higher level of fulfillment and with enough support to move
mountains. Believe in yourself and everyone else will have no choice
but to believe in you too!
Bio:
Britt Michaelian, M.A. is an exhibiting artist, an award-winning
filmmaker, a bestselling author and a serial entrepreneur dedicated to helping
moms find and follow their life purpose.To sign up for the free Work Smart Mompreneurs newsletter and get a free
Productivity Powerhouse ebook go to http://WorkSmartMompreneurs.com
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