Launching a new business can be a lonely journey and if you have a lack of support in your household, it can feel even lonelier. I’ve seen a greater number of brand new small business owners, who feel as though they are all on their own, even though they have a family and are in partnered relationship. Even if you are not presently in a personal partnership you may feel the need to seek relationship support from close friends and family members. In either case you may be been surprised by what appears to be the lack of unconditional support.
The key to a successful startup may be in lining up your support and solidifying a structure of support before your small business launch. It’s challenging enough to fight the many battles of entrepreneurship. Thus it can be completely draining to come home to your sanctuary and have to further defend your business to those who care about you.
If you need relationship help now, you’ll still need it while building your business but then there will even more pressure on all fronts. Everyone is familiar with a couple that tried to solve their relationship problems by having a baby. Did it work for the couple you knew? No? Then why would birthing a new business improve your relationships?
If you have weak personal relationships that drain your energy, then your focus will be lacking. Without a strong focus, your decision-making, personal productivity and inspired actions will all suffer.
What can you do? Talk about the challenges pre-startup and ask for the support of those who love you. Be very specific in asking for that support by making agreements.
Relationships are built on agreements kept.
For an agreement to be kept it must serve all parties, be clear understood by all and be written down for clarity.
If you don’t have strong spousal support or unconditional support in your close relationships, you first need to understand them from their perspective.
When a life partner cautiously advises you not to venture out on your own, they are not questioning your ability or resolve to succeed.
They are only speaking from the perspective of their own fears.
They could fear having less time with you. Your initiative could be forcing them to face their own fears of success, of failure or of never being authentically fulfilled in their work. And of course they could be thinking about having less money and how that affects the household budget.
Good personal relationships are essential to making good business decisions. If you are fighting battles both at home and in the marketplace, you will lose on both fronts.
If you’re considering starting a small business, first repair or end non-supportive relationships.
Make agreements that serve you both and honor them.
Contact StartUp Coach Tom Volkar to make the successful leap to the freedom of self-employment. Go to http://CoreU.com or his blog http://www.delightfulwork.com/ for a FREE Email Course Project Blast Off. The world awaits your unique business and Tom is inspired to guide you to a successful launch.
