ANCHORED DREAMS^®

An excerpt from Chapter One of
"Honey, I Want To Start My Own Business"
by Azriela Jaffe

When you live with people who are important to you, business decisions are no longer entirely yours to make. What you do for a living, and how you shape your workday, affects all who live with you, or rely on you, each day.

The most common mistake married entrepreneurs make is to rush into business decisions without careful thought and discussion of how their business dreams will involve and affect their family. Consider several reasons why this happens:

Blind enthusiasm: The entrepreneur doesn't want to consider any negatives Running away: The entrepreneur is rebounding from sudden financial loss or business failure. The need to move quickly into a new alternative takes precedence over careful planning. Egocentricity: The entrepreneur assumes that the spouse and family will offer complete support. Fear or inability to communicate: Act first, talk later, (only if necessary) is this entrepreneur's motto. Blissful naivete: The entrepreneur can't imagine potential concerns and questions until they actually arise.

The most common mistake partners of entrepreneurs make is to offer unconditional support from the beginning - in concept - without thinking through the implications of such a lifestyle change. Consider several reasons why this happens:

Well intended support: They want to champion their partner's dreams, not throw cold water on them.
Starstruck: They share their partner's romantic vision for great prosperity and an improved life.
Lack of knowledge or awareness: They don't really understand the demands that self-employment will place on their life.
Fear or inability to communicate: They are afraid to voice their opinion.
It's better than nothing: Their partner's job loss or lack of meaningful work frightens them. Self-employment seems better than nothing.
They weren't asked: Though their partner's worklife affects them, their partners don't ask for their opinion.

The family plan is a map as well as a compass for your entrepreneurial adventure. Creating a family plan will not eliminate your romantic vision, or put a wet blanket on your entrepreneurial dreams, but it will ensure that you are at least travelling with your mate on the same path, in the right general direction. Thoroughly discussing your business dreams and planning with your family will help you choose the entrepreneurial path with the most potential for satisfying your long term individual, couple, and family goals.

Before you choose to commit to your mate for a lifetime, you ask and answer at least some basic questions. Do you want children? Where do you want to live? What religion will you observe? How much money and sex do you need to be happy? Though aware of differences, when the answers to enough basic questions are in sinc with each other, you are able to envision building a life together. The same goes for business. This chapter provides discussion points so that you can involve your mate as early in the business planning process as possible. A family plan complements your business plan as a measure toward protecting your relationship and family from unexpected hardships of small business ownership. You can construct a family plan in any format that suits you, written or verbal, formal or casual, as long as it answers your most important couple and family questions and concerns.

If you are exploring a particular self-employment option, "Honey, I Want to Start my Own Business, A Planning Guide for Couples", gives you forty exercises and hundreds of questions to ask yourselves before embarking on the journey. Here are some examples of the questions "Honey, I Want to Start my Own Business" will teach you how to incorporate into a family plan:

1. Will you need to borrow capital to invest? How far into debt will you go?
2. What is the learning curve in this business? What are reasonable expectations for positive cash flow in three, six, and nine months, one year, two years, five years?
3. How much time every day and week is required to operate the business successfully?
4. Will business travel require overnight absence from home - for how long at a stretch? How much of an issue will that be for your spouse and/or children?
5. How conducive is your home and family to a home office?
6. How does the business fit in with your natural personal inclination and your skills and abilities?
7. How will this business option help you achieve your business and family goals?
8. Will you have to sacrifice anything important to your physical, emotional, and spiritual health, in order to succeed in this business?
9. To what extent will your spouse or partner be involved in the business operations?
10. How is this business option synchronous with your mission and values as a couple?

...end of excerpt ...

Return to Home Page - Return to Top of Page