What To Do If The People Around You Don’t Support You

If your friends and family support you in wanting to start a business – hooray.

Onwards and upwards.

Sadly you can’t always rely on even the people close to you to support you.

If your loved ones are outside of the ‘online business world‘ it may all sound a bit shady, not realistic or just plain risky to them.

Their natural urge is to want to protect you from getting burned or making a mistake.

Maybe friends are concerned that it will affect other areas of your life.

Perhaps your partner is worried you’ll have less time for him or the family.

While most people’s intentions are honourable you may also have friends that secretly don’t want you to succeed as it indirectly reflects badly on them.

There can be many reasons why people aren’t jumping up and down at the thought of your new business venture.

If you’re determined to start your own business and explaining why it’s important to you still doesn’t gain the support you are looking for, then what do you do to get people on board?

Use the What’s In It For Them Method To Make Others See The Benefits

If your loved ones still aren’t sold when you explain why it is so important TO YOU, try flipping it around and make it about THEM.

Explain the benefits that they will experience once you’re perhaps earning some money on the side, feeling more fulfilled and doing something you love that may even be location independent.

What if your partner could work 4 days instead of 5 and have a day to work on his car?

What if you could travel more frequently?

What if you could afford a cleaner?

Build a (realistic) picture in their mind of what this could mean for you both in the future to get them on board.

Employ stealth tactics if you’re feeling reluctant to shout your new plans from the rooftop…right away

Personally I needed to feel like I knew exactly what I was doing before showing my family and friends my new venture.

I knew few people would understand and only when I had the website up would they really get it.

I only told my closest friends who I knew would support me.

I needed the space to be able to work it all out for myself without being asked all the time what was happening in my new business.

While I went a bit far I do advocate not shouting from the rooftops about your new plan right away.

You’ll likely change direction a few times on the way and learning in front of an audience drains your much needed energy.

If you don’t want to deal with criticism from your less than supportive friends, find ways to shield yourself until you are ready to show your new project to the world.

Let it go – you can do this without their support

I have heard so many stories of people having to leave friendships behind when starting a new business.

Some friends just won’t understand what you’re doing.

As you go further down the path of entrepreneurship your challenges and wins will change and so will the people you share them with.

This is an unfortunate part of growing as an individual, there will be some people who don’t understand your new path and may not want to come with you.

The best thing is to surround yourself with people who do support you and want to see you shine.