My grandmother was a spit-fire. I’ll never forget her favorite saying. “When you want to do something make sure you ask your husband and if he says ‘no’, do it anyway”.
While I appreciate my grandmother’s spunk, unfortunately the “do it anyway” approach simply doesn’t work with my type-A husband. I can still remember his response when I told him about my latest business venture. “What are you getting yourself into now, Traci”? Okay, so it wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for but I really didn’t blame him. I had tested out a few home-businesses before and had earned just enough to treat him to a Big Mac and fries. Did I really expect him to do cartwheels when I told him I wanted to quit a decent paying, full-time job with a baby on the way?
With a little creativity coupled with a considerable amount of begging my biggest home-business challenger became my number one supporter. Here’s how I did it…
Take Baby Steps:
I didn’t necessarily jump into my home business with baby-steps, but I did make the transition easier on my husband by making it look like I was moving slowly. I didn’t make any drastic changes at first. I didn’t quit my full-time job and I tried not to make major changes to our family’s schedule. When I started making a small amount of income, I cut back on the hours I worked outside of our home. Within six months, I was able to transition into working “full-time” at home with a relatively small impact on our income and family life.
Show Him the Money:
One of my favorite movies is Jerry Maguire. Remember the scene where the pro-football player danced in his kitchen chanting, “show me the money”? Well, that’s what I did too. After I’d earned my first substantial commission check I ran into the bedroom and did a little end-zone dance as I waved my paycheck in front of his face. I continued to do this (minus the little dance and taunt) each week until he began to realize that my at-home business was a “real-job”.
Put It On Paper:
Take some time to figure out how much you spend on daycare, on business lunches, on work attire and on commuting expenses. (Don’t forget to figure in your morning latte!) Share those figures with him and ask him for suggestions for other ways you can cut back family expenses to make your business plan a reality.
One of my closest friends dreamed of starting a wedding planning business. When she sat down with her husband to figure out if they could afford to make her dream a reality she said that she was stunned to find out that she was making less than a minimum wage income when she factored in all of the expenses involved with working outside the home. From that point forward her husband actually encouraged her to quit her full-time job and pursue her home business dream.
Promote Him to Business Partner:
“Honey, remember how you wanted to buy those cute little black boots you found for me?” It is amazing how simple it is to get something we want when we make it their idea, and not our own. Treat him like a valuable business partner, and you will be one step closer to obtaining your at-home career. Ask him to help you with your business plan. Invite him to business meetings and ask for his input on major business decisions. I was amazed at how supportive my husband became when I gave him an active role in launching my business. At first, I was asking for his assistance for selfish reasons. Suddenly I realized what a tremendous asset he was.
I knew my husband was on-board with my home business when I overheard him discussing it with a friend of ours during a summer barbecue. “She makes great money from home and we don’t even need to pay for daycare….I love having her around more too”.
I did another end-zone dance because at that moment, I knew I had defeated my biggest challenger. Even better, he has become the MVP of my home-business team.
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