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 wonʼt support and sometimes
even go the extreme of making fun of them my heart just breaks. Iʼve 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 youʼre 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 donʼt 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 Iʼm 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, donʼt 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 canʼt 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.

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Audrey Okaneko has been working at home since 1983. She can be reached at
audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.recipe-barn.com