First Step Marketing

Do the people in your life think you have gone absolutely bonkers because you want to start your own business?

Good! Not only does it mean they’re probably a little bit jealous of you, but it will also add some fuel to your fire and keep you plugging away at your business. Here’s a little secret: Many of history’s most famous entrepreneurs have kept their businesses going because their number one concern was to prove some naysayer wrong.

With that said, you should also understand that even though your family and friends may whole-heartedly support your efforts in the beginning, the stresses, long hours, and hard work required to start a business may make them—and you— second-guess and doubt your intentions and abilities later on.

Even though you may develop your business plan down to the tiniest detail, it’s impossible to predict what your fledgling company will require of you. This unpredictability may make you a bit insecure at times, but be forewarned that it may turn your largest support group—your friends and family—against you when they think you do not have much time for them anymore.

In the best of all worlds your partner is also an entrepreneur, or has started a business in the past and is familiar with the ups and downs of running a business. Not only can he help you learn what to expect, but he is also apt to be more tolerant of your time commitments than a partner who has never started a business. This kind of understanding will undoubtedly become more common as more and more spouses become entrepreneurs.

In the meantime, the best thing to do is to sit down with your family, friends, and other people with whom you regularly spend time and spell out your expectations of how life will change for you— and them—once your business gets under way. Talk about your hopes and fears, and then ask them about their concerns. Develop plans together along with ways to handle the difficult situations that may come up. Try to plan a non-business family event once a week where everyone gets together and absolutely no business is discussed. Also make it clear that anyone can bring up new problems and concerns at any time, but that they all should also understand that starting and running a business is an all-consuming passion.

If you’re working out of your home, you’ll need to draw up specific times and areas in the house that are reserved for family use only, with others set aside for business purposes only. The best solution to this problem is to keep regular business hours and to have a separate office where you can close the door at the end of the day, and turn the ringer off the phone so you won’t be tempted to answer it after hours.

If you show your family that you’re supportive of their needs while also being devoted to the business, a balance between work and leisure activities can be achieved.

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Running a Business, how your family and friends expect?

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 18th, 2008 at 3:59 am and is filed under Business Plans, Startup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.