If You Are Planning to Start a New Business Make Sure That Your Spouse Supports the Idea

If you are planning to start a new business from scratch, purchase an existing business, or buying into a franchise concept, it is extremely important that you have the full support of your spouse (if you're not married this could also be a long-term relationship). Maintaining a happy marriage is difficult, to say the least. The added pressure of becoming an entrepreneur can certainly strain things at home. A majority of small business owners feel the overwhelming pressures and demands of starting a new venture, and the results of this can certainly wreak havoc on a marriage. 

If you are planning to purchase a new business it is incredibly important to make sure that your spouse supports the idea. The following information will provide you with a few methods that will help accomplish this. 

Always Be Honest And Upfront

While you may be tempted to keep things to yourself in fear of your spouse’s disapproval, it only escalates the situation when they eventually find out what you are up to. You should never think that you are protecting your partner by attempting to avoid conflict. The moment you do this, you are setting your marriage up for failure. A far better approach is to inform them about your goals. It is important to make your spouse fully understand that becoming your own boss is incredibly important to you and that you plan to accomplish it by a specific time frame. 

Always phrase it in a manner that does not sound like you are providing your spouse with an ultimatum. You should always come across as a caring partner instead. That means you need to be honest and open about your own feelings without hurting your spouse’s feelings. In essence, you need to create a line of communications with your partner. It will give you a better opportunity to understand your spouse and express yourself at the same time. 

If Your Spouse Does Not Initially Support You Take Another Approach

Starting a new business venture can be a scary concept for your spouse. They may be worried about how you are going to pay the bills during the start-up phase, or the fact that you will be spending significantly more time working on the business. That being stated, chances are high that your spouse will not be as enthusiastic about the new business as you are when you present it to him or her. If you end up in a disagreement, or there are hard feelings you need to keep in mind that this is your dream, but it is not necessarily your spouse’s dream. 

Agree to disagree at this point with the understanding that you will circle back around to it. The next step is to reflect on how the conversation could have gone differently. Take your spouse’s needs and feelings into account, and come up with a plan to address those needs and feelings. You may very well find that your spouse is on board if you make then feel comfortable about the situation. If you accused them of not supporting your dreams in the previous conversation, it is important that you apologize for making that accusation. 

People certainly do not want to be put on the defensive, especially when it concerns life-altering decisions. Explain things in a calm, cool, and collected manner. Be able to overcome objectives and get them involved in the research process. The more they understand the ideas you are having the sooner they can become comfortable with them.

Communicate Better And More Often 

Did you know that lack of communication/poor communication is the number one reason why people get divorced? It is also the biggest underlying issue that causes relationship problems. If you fail to communicate well with your spouse, it is far less likely that you will be able to amicably discuss important topics. This holds especially true once you start working for yourself. For example, in your old job you may have worked 9-5 Monday thru Friday. 

In your new role, your work hours may change on a daily basis depending on the tasks at hand. Without ongoing communication, you will not be able to get feedback from your spouse updating them on your daily schedule. For example, he or she may be expecting you home for a family dinner at a specific time. Although work is important to you, the family dinner is just important to your spouse. It can allow for exponential growth in your new startup if you are able to communicate with your spouse and loved ones successfully.

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