Your friend is an entrepreneur. Do they consider you "friend" or foe?

A couple of nights ago I was scrolling through my FB page and came across a post from a young lady I've known since she was a child. She is a budding entrepreneur that had reached a flashpoint with her "friends" that weren't "supporting" her business. On this particular night, she vowed to distance herself in the new year from every single "friend" that did not join her FB live earlier that evening. For some reason her post stuck in my mind and several hours later, after hours that were outside of baby-boomer etiquette calling hours, I reached out to her to see if it wasn't too late for an "OG" call. She immediately accepted my offer and for both our sakes', I shared my thoughts of the expectations of "friends" and how I have dealt with it throughout my entrepreneurial journey.

First, I explained to her the concept of, "What's important to you is not necessarily important to others," (aka: Nobody loves your "baby" like you do). Second, I validated her feelings of disappointment, but quickly pointed out that focusing on those feeling keeps her from focusing on her "baby," (100% a lesson I have personally learned). Third, I recommended that she enjoy the part of the journey that affords her to meet new friends; some of which will exceed her expectations of "friendship" (and you can believe I have MANY of those new friends I have experienced). Of course, I had to share my thoughts on what I refer to as, "friends that want to be real close friends once you're Oprah." And finally, giving her my best advice and encouragement to achieve her goals and how to be a better "friend" to others.

If you're still reading this, it's because you have had these same feelings of disappointment with your "friends" or you are a person that wants to know how you can better support your "friend's" entrepreneurial endeavors without bankrupting your resources, both with your valuable time and financial ones. I've addressed it above for the entrepreneur and now are a few tips for our "friends." So keep reading, there's only a few more paragraphs to go. Hopefully as a true "friend" to an entrepreneur,---whether budding or well established, you'll find a couple of ways to better support your "friends."

First, honesty is the best policy. When your entrepreneur "friend" reaches out for something, albeit a purchase, an investment, a connection, an invite to join an event,---whatever it is: give them (us) your honest response! "Yes, I will," "No, I won't," or "Come back to me later." All three are legitimate responses that your entrepreneur "friend" SHOULD appreciate and NOT question. Second, never underestimate the power of your "like" across your "friend's" business social media platform. This is probably the easiest way to offer support and it only takes seconds (you're already on social, so why not?) and as far as I know, it's a free option. If you want to take that support up a notch, consider sharing their post with your network (you may not have a need for the product or service but maybe one of your connections do). Third, speaking of connections; please don't offer your "friend" a long list of people they should talk to that YOU cannot (or are not willing to) personally connect them to. It may make you feel really helpful to add to the "who you should talk to" list, but we all know that a warm intro "friend to friend" is generally best way for folks to connect. Fourth, don't offer help that you have no intention of following through with. This is a sure and quick way to have your "friend" question your "friendship," leading to the type of abrupt termination of relationships that my "mentee" had detailed in her FB post. And finally (for this post anyway), understand the value of a random call, email or text of encouragement. No matter what your entrepreneur friend's social media suggests, this road can be lonely, hard and overwhelming. Sometimes, an unsolicited, "I see you friend," is more valuable than a "like," a connect and even a purchase. Again, these are a few suggestions on how to be a real "friend" to the entrepreneur in your life.

Oh, and for those that are wondering about my Oprah reference to being "friends." Think about all of the celebrities/legends/successful friends that we know about today. Do you think your friendship would've been more helpful to them during their climb to success or once they reached the mountaintop? Not to say true friendships aren't needed every step of the journey, but I have a feeling that many of the celebrated folks that may have come to your mind, aren't currently at a deficit for "friends" that would go the extra mile for them TODAY but I'd love to ask say, Oprah, about her "friends" during her long ascent to the top. (If one of you, my "friends," can connect me directly to Oprah so that I can ask her, I'd appreciate it).

Finally, my new mentee deleted her FB post and has refocused on her entrepreneurial journey. What a positive and less mentally draining way to kick-off 2021!

I'd love to know YOUR thoughts about friends, journeys (entrepreneurial, professional or personal) and expectations. Something tells me this is my first of many posts on the subject. Don't forget to like, share and follow me across social @themillennialplus (Twitter @themillplus) #entrepreneurs #friends #support #connect #expectations