When I told my family that I was starting my own business, there were some dire predictions. I think one of the nicest was the suggestion that I stock up on ramen ahead of time, just in case. And this was from a family where only one of my relatives — an aunt — was working for an employer. My family is all entrepreneurs.
Getting the Family on Your Side
While you don’t necessarily need your family’s support to start a business, it’s nice to have them on your side. It took me more than two years to convince my family that I probably wouldn’t starve without an employer. It didn’t matter how much I was earning each month (although plenty of relatives would ask, suggesting that I should never count on getting such a good month again).
Despite my family’s feelings about the likelihood of my success, they were generally supportive. My dad sat me down and gave me the benefit of his many years in business, as did my grandfather. I got a few connections for clients — although I’m still not sure if most of my family actually understands what I do, aside from banging on a computer keyboard all day. I even got some hand-me-down furniture. All in all, my family did their best to make sure that my business was a success.
Getting family on your side is a very different matter, though, depending on the family you belong to. With my family, it was a matter of discussing the pros and cons, being willing to consider potential problems and generally showing that I wasn’t a starry-eyed idealist. In other families, though, showing your passion may be a necessity for winning them over.
Convincing Your Family You’ve Succeeded
There will always be a few relatives who don’t think that my successes so far actually mean that I have a thriving business. I’ve come to the conclusion that their opinions are lost causes. But I’ve slowly shown my family that I am doing well. For some, that was landing a name-brand client. For others, it was seeing my name in print in a big name publication.
But the big difference seemed to be the fact that I’ve just kept on working, pushing through — the longer the I’ve stuck with the business, the more that folks have taken me seriously as a business owner. Sticking with it has convinced them that I’ve made the right choice, at least for me.
If you commit yourself to your business, more often than not, other people will come to understand that you’re in things for the long haul. It’s not a sure bet — there are always some people who are bent on being negative. But as you achieve milestones, you’ll find that folks will realize the importance of your business to you. They’ll come to see your business as the right choice for you.
Image by Flickr user knmurphy
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Tags: entrepreneur, family
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