Do you have your family support in your SFI business? Families and businesses have often been treated as naturally separate institutions. I believe that they are inextricably intertwined and that entrepreneurship would benefit from a family embeddedness perspective.
Importance of your family embracing your SFI business:
- Positive and full support of your family would motivate you to always give your best in promoting your SFI business.
Have a family action plan with family members who are interested in contributing to your SFI business. Having your family members contributing to the business will help you not to lose track and keep you focused on your activities. It is important to give your family members, roles and responsibilities that they really enjoy doing, and you really have to play on everybody’s strengths, and to use your own strengths to the best of your abilities.
- If you have a really good organizer in your family, they could do your financial planning or keeping the books to contribute, or if they are good at filing maybe just tidying up and help to keep your office in order.
- In terms of time management, if everybody in your family understands what you are doing, and how important it is to the future of your family, then it is going to be a lot easier to schedule time. It is important for you to keep your SFI business time separate from family time.
What you can do if your family don’t embrace your SFI business?
- Generally entrepreneurs may face a common situation where families are not supportive. This can have a negative side effect in the development and growth of your SFI business and overall on your entrepreneurial aspirations.
- To get you started how to deal in this kind of situation; here are important questions to ask yourself:
1. What is your family’s real reason for not supporting you?
2. Are they unclear about what you’re doing?
3. Have they failed at an entrepreneurial attempt themselves or do they know of others who have?
4. Do they doubt your ability, due to age, lack of experience, or preconceived notions about what they think you can or can’t do?
- Put aside your own feelings for a moment and look at your situation objectively. Once you understand the underlying reasons, face the pessimists directly with a loving confrontation or a plea for understanding.
- Once you understand your family’s motivations, the next thing to do is launch your own family PR campaign. Anyone who has ever been in this horrible situation knows how difficult these circumstances can be.
Here are suggestions to help you overcome any bad family vibes that you may be receiving:
- Tell your success stories, E365 champion, Leadership Challenge winnings, etc. Share SFI/TC facts and figures. Display your E365 champion plaque somewhere visible to everyone in the house.
- Let them feel your enthusiasm and see how your SFI business makes you happy and that you look forward in doing your SFI business each day. Seeing you happy and actively pursuing goals will usually make any parent/family happy.
- Discuss your endeavor with friends of your family who understand business, have children who are not enterprising, or just simply like you. Once they show interest and understanding for you and your SFI business venture, mention that you wish your family felt the same way. (This works with relatives too.) They’ll feel so badly for you that they might just take up the issue with your family themselves.
Let other people put a little pressure on your family to cut you some slack and show you the respect you deserve for what you are doing. Unfortunately, friends or respected peers are often more likely to recognize your achievements publicly than your family is. Despite how close you might be, it’s not uncommon for people to need outside opinions to really open up their perspective – particularly about their own children.
- Be sure to avoid neglecting family responsibilities because of your SFI business, whether they involve family gatherings or doing the dishes. Be your own person, your own boss – but do your best to show your family that they still hold an important place in your life.
- Collect a few stories about people like you who became great successful entrepreneurs. Know the stories well of one of the entrepreneurial giants, particularly the vital facts: How old he/she was when he/she started, his/her experience, his/her family’s support (or lack of), his/her resources, and current success markers (sales, employees, clients, etc.).
- Show to your family that you have researched your SFI business and have a clear understanding of your options, environment, and chances of success. If you are uncertain about your chances, be honest with them and tell them that despite your own doubts you feel that the experience will be well worth any potential failure. After all, the best way entrepreneurs learn about business is by being in business.
Conclusion:
Evaluate the pluses and minuses of having your own SFI business, write a business plan, and then reach out to your spouse/family to get his/her/their feedback. Your spouse’s/family’s support can mean the difference between success and failure . . . not only in your business, but also in your life.
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