How To Deal With Family And Friends That Don’t Support Your Business…

When you’re starting a new business, your emotions can be all over the place. Between the excitement, stress and fear, startup life is one big mental rollercoaster.

Many entrepreneurs seek support from friends and family — but when you opt to take a path in life that isn’t as conventional as the rest of your family and friends’, receiving that support is a mission in itself.

There are many reasons why friends and family can be disinterested , negative and unsupportive when it comes to your business, and if you find they don’t bother to ask you how things are going or if they’re outright critical about what you’re doing, it could be because of these reasons…

1. They don’t understand the business

This is especially common with online businesses and the older generation as they fail to see how you can make money without having a physical product so to speak. They can also be very ignorant about your business and rather than find out how it works, they choose to presume it’s a load of rubbish that you’re wasting time on.

Just because they don’t understand it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

2. Sibling rivalry

It’s very common for siblings to resent you for having the guts to start something of your own and this comes from a place of fear as they feel they will be inferior to you in the eyes of your parents and the rest of the family. This is especially common with older siblings as they feel they should be achieving more in life simply because they’re older.

3. Parental doubt

This is when a parent has absolutely no faith in you whatsoever and rather than encourage you to give it a good go and support you no matter what , they try to make you ‘get a real job’ and avoid any risk of you having to move back home with them if it all goes wrong. Narcissistic parents also feel resentful because you’re achieving things they never could.

4. Jealous friends

When you grow up with friends in school and college or if you’ve made close friends in your adult life, sometimes they can struggle to accept that you’re motivated and ambitious enough to follow your dreams and design your life. These so called friends get jealous because they feel inadequate to you and feel like they’re being left behind. Unfortunately you out grow a lot of people when starting up and your priorities definitely change.

5. Spouse worry

If you’ve worked a well paid job for the last few years and you have a partner and kids that rely 0n your income, deciding you want to go it alone and start from scratch is bound to ruffle a few feathers. Your spouse will naturally worry about life without your wage but if they really care about you, they will support you and support your vision.

So how do you deal with these people when they’re meant to be the closest people in your life?…

1. Don’t waste energy arguing

You can be the most convincing person in the world but if you’ve turned down a well -paid job or a degree at the best university, nothing you say about your amazing vision is going to change their mind. Instead, let them say their bit, calmly tell them you understand where they are coming from and reassure them that if it doesn’t work you’ll simply get another job.

2. Keep your distance from negativity

Once you have made it clear you’re definitely going to pursue your own business, you have to be willing to step away from the people that don’t think you can do it and just get stuck in regardless. You don’t have to be completely cut throat and remove them from your life, but choose the ones that you see and speak to carefully. Negative people will drain the life out of you. If it means you spend less time with your loved ones, so be it. Starting up can be a lonely place.

You become the 5 people you surround yourself with.

3. Stay positive, even when you’re not

It’s cheesy but it’s true. Your mindset will play a huge role in the success of your business and even if you’re working hard, your state of mind will determine if you can pull it off. People will want to ask you how it’s going, not because they care, but because they want to see if you’ve given up yet. Don’t let them crack you. Stay positive.

4. Prove them wrong

Put in the hours. Hustle like hell and focus on nothing but your business. Say goodbye to social events and nights on the coach watching shit tv and dedicate every waking hour to your vision. Remember this is just a phase and it’ll be worth it in the end.

5. Be humble when you win

When you succeed at your business, it’ll be very tempting to remind people of how they treated you and doubted you before. But you don’t need to bother, they will already know that themselves and feel guilty for ever doubting you in the first place. You can be smug inside, you deserve to be, but keep it high level and avoid rubbing your new found success in their face or they’ll find another reason to give you grief!

Now quit moaning and go hustle!

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U12_WHcBbQ[/embed]

Related articles you should probably read…