Does Your Family View Your Business With Skepticism?

Welcome Moms! Please register as a user and feel free to submit your posts and comments often! We are link friendly and super excited about what you have to say!

This article is written by Guest Blogger Pat Fenner of Network From Home.

OK, maybe I’m writing this for a select few of us. Maybe there are only 1 or 2 out there whose
husband responded with “That’s nice, dear” or “Just don’t get too carried away with it”, when you told them you wanted to start a home-business. Or whose teens smirked and giggled when you told them you would be using the internet. Maybe this will only appeal to the few who have to work in the basement while hubby’s at work for the day, or who can’t celebrate any milestones with them because their business hasn’t “proven itself” yet.

But I don’t think so.

More and more as I talk to women in the home-business world, these are the stories I hear. I know they’re real, because I speak from experience as well (but, no, I’m not in the basement…). Now, I could take a bitter and hurtful tone with this piece; go on a diatribe against men and superiority complexes and not being taken seriously and the like; whine and moan and complain.

But I won’t.

I’d rather take the higher ground: turn things around…learn lessons…provide a solution!

So what I want to offer to you today is a positive spin on your experience (now stay with me, here) – how can you make the best of this situation?

1) Offer a degree of education or involvement. Show your family your business plan; ask for feedback on an article you’ve written; casually talk about a webinar you’ve recently heard. Be sensitive to their body language and facial expressions ~ you know when you’ve gone too far!

2) Avoid the topic, if necessary, until you do achieve a measure of success. The definition of success varies for everyone ~ include that as part of your business plan. Keep in mind that it will change as you and your business grows and develops.

3) Don’t live in denial: admit it hurts and then get over it! OK, so they weren’t too receptive ~ are you crazy about their plans all the time? Just get back to work and don’t wallow in self-pity. That alone is enough to kill any momentum you’re able to build ~ and cause you and your business to crash and burn.

4) Develop a tough skin. Remember “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger”! Being in business will bring you in front of a lot of rejection. In fact, the bigger you build ~ the more rejection you will have had to overcome.

5) In the meantime, find someone else with whom you can share your frustrations and celebrate your successes! Early every morning I walk with a good friend of mine who, coincidentally, started a local business around the same time I began network marketing. Our pursuits may vary, but we can definitely empathize with each other’s highs and lows!

Keep this in mind: your family knows you better than anyone, and for the longest time. Change is hard for everybody. While you’re growing and learning by leaps and bounds, they have to deal with it as well, so don’t be too hard on them. Be patient, persevere, pray for them and you.

You also might want to read this short article I wrote as an encouragement (mostly to myself at the time!) about “keeping on” while building your home-business (at least look at the sweet video clip). In time, they’ll come around ~ and be able to celebrate your success together with you!

About the Author: Pat Fenner is a veteran homeschooler of 14 years. Her passion is to help homeschoolers ~ and other at-home moms ~ tap into their unique interests and abilities to develop a viable home business. Using Web 2.0 and the principles of attraction marketing, she coaches small business owners on free and low-cost ways to get their message out without breaking their budget! Visit her blog: and sign up for her Learning and Earning at Home! newsletter. You can also follow her on twitter.