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Tips for Dealing with an Unsupportive Spouse
Written by Guest MyMommyBiz
Author Rachael Hoffman
Many people that make the decision
to run their own business from home can often face opposition from the
people most important in their lives – their spouses. Often times,
the lack of support from the “9-5” spouse stems from other issues;
things that are the RESULT of their spouse’s work from home business
and not the business itself. Below we touch on a few of the potential
underlying causes and give some tips for overcoming them.
When money is the issue:
Leaving the workforce and giving
up a steady paycheck can often make finances tight at home in the beginning.
If that choice affects your financial lifestyle, it can often result in
resentment of the business.
- Sit down and talk with your
spouse. Show them your objectives and how you plan to meet your goals
with your business, and how it will result in an income that will contribute
to the household. Often times, seeing that things will only be tight
for a certain amount of time gives them a light at the end of the tunnel
and can do wonders for their patience.
- Take the time to learn the
tax benefits you will receive by being a home based business owner.
Explain those benefits to your spouse once you have solid details from
your tax advisor.
- Work on your family budget.
Try to cut costs where it makes the least impact on your lifestyle.
One of the biggest budget areas you can cut with some innovation and
good recipes is your grocery budget. Look for cheaper rates for your
long distance, your car insurance and your health insurance.
- Take a look at your spending
and cut it in any way you can that doesn’t make a huge impact on
your lifestyle. Showing your spouse that you are finding ways to keep
costs down while you get your business off the ground can often make
them see that living on one paycheck is not as bad as they think.
When quality time is the issue:
When working your business
to realize your goals, you can often become consumed by it. This can leave
your spouse feeling neglected and unimportant.
- Establish a period of time
daily that you can devote just to spending time with your spouse. Show
them that even though your busy, you still make it a priority to make
time for them. Try not to “schedule” this time and make your
spouse feel like they need to be “penciled in”. Instead, be
aware of times when you have the ability to take a break and get some
quality time in with your spouse.
- Do something special for
your spouse at least once a week. Make their favorite meal or watch
that football game of sappy movie with them that they love. Give them
a back massage or go out on a date. Just show them that you care enough
to do something just for them.
- People working a business
from home are famous for “burning the midnight oil”. Once
a week, be sure to turn off that computer or put down that paperwork
and head to bed at a reasonable time with your spouse.
When household duties are the
issue:
Anyone who works a business
from home and is still responsible for the majority of the housework can
tell you this is not an easy task to do with success. A spouse working
outside the home can often become less than appreciative of their work
from home partner’s business when the household is not being kept
in decent shape. Often times, small things can make the difference.
- Find out what household
duties are most important to your spouse and be sure to have those done
on a regular basis. Maybe it is having laundry clean and folded or the
dishes done. Having the things most important to your spouse done on
a regular basis can often help in them being more patient with those
that aren’t “pet peeves”.
- Talk with your spouse about
what he can do to help. Often times, we expect that our work out of
the home counterparts know what we need from them to keep things running
smoothly in the home. Many times, just sitting down with your spouse
and being honest about what you need help with can work wonders.
- Schedule your household
work into your day. An hour a day consistently can get a lot accomplished
and keep your house looking organized.
- If you have children that
are old enough, give them smaller chores to do. Not only does this teach
them responsibility, but it can also help lighten the load, and it is
often the little things that can make keeping your household neat while
working from home overwhelming at times.
While these are certainly not
all of the reasons that spouses can be unsupportive of their partner’s
work from home business, they certainly are some of the topics that come
up time and time again. And they are some of the issues that you can actually
control or improve with nothing more than your time and awareness that
they exist.
When
Rachael isn't busy chasing after her two children while trying to simultaneously
clean her house, she works as an agent for a telecommunications company
offering discount
long distance, internet access, and toll free service. Rachael can
be reached at info@discountlongdistancerates.com
or through her website at http://www.discountlongdistancerates.com.
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