Today’s post is a combination of personal struggle and business information. Honesty is the best policy and this blog is full of it. I am hoping that it will help others who may be struggling with the same things in their business. Rob and I married a little over two years ago after a LONG engagement and after finding each other again after almost 30 years. Rob had been married before so he is used to the “marriage” thing and being the head of a household. I on the other hand was an independent, single mom who tended to be a workaholic and a shopaholic. To say the least, some days our two worlds collide especially when it comes to my Thirty One business. Don’t get me wrong, Rob supports my efforts but doesn’t hesitate to remind me that I sometimes work it like a hobby instead of a business. OUCH!
Having come into our marriage with some debt (and he has none), my biggest goal is to be able to have financial freedom and TREAT hubby to a trip where I get to pay for EVERYTHING as a result of my Thirty One business! I have found that sharing ALL aspects of my business (the good, the bad and the ugly) does not always make for a supportive hubby. His gentle reminder that this is a business, usually comes when I am sharing some idea that will cost more than he can see the return on as far as profit.
My FIRST lesson (still struggle with) is that I must be selective in sharing all of the details. If he only hears me complain about the lack of parties, struggles on my team, etc – he will begin to doubt the feasibility of this being a full-time business. Sharing about the FREE products is not necessarily a plus either. I am sure there are many husbands who can compartmentalize the areas of their wives business but mine is clearly the facts only! Sales vs profit margin. If this is your hubby too, find an accountability partner who shares some of the same struggles and goals as you so you can work as a team to reach your individual goals. I have a few women in my Thirty One upline who share this same struggle so I am learning to share with them while leaving the facts for hubby.
Lesson TWO was about EXPECTATIONS. Sometimes Expectant Eddie jumps on the band wagon when I am struggling with things. He gets me all confused expecting things from my hubby that is not going to happen. Rob is a private person and expecting him to become H.O.T. (Husband of Thirty One) is not going to happen. Expecting Rob to understand all of my crazy “thinking out of the box” ideas – is usually not going to happen. Once I let go of that expectation, life is so much easier.
Believe it or not, I didn’t find a lot of articles on this kind of struggle. There is information on How Family Can Help You Start Your Business from Direct Selling Education Foundation. I even read an article from another blogger – Husband of a Proverbs Thirty-One Wife that actually gave me some great facts to share. Still none of them addressed the skepticism that can come in the early years of building your business, especially in direct sales. If anyone has some good articles, please share them with all of us. Please don’t misunderstand, I do LOVE that Rob reminds me that this is a business even if the reminder does sting sometimes.
Time to get back to filling my September calendar. Have a ThirtyOne-derful day.
Hope Wissel 