How to get your spouse`s buy-in?

WebJunky

 friends,
 
just had an interesting discussion with a group of friends (all married with families). the discussion was that life in the USA is so tough and everyone is so busy and tied to their jobs live slaves that there is no time to pursue anything else.  those with families and kids are in a tougher bind because they have a family to tend to when not working. everyone needs some of their time, money and attention (resources).
 
so where does the extra time come from to pursue a venture? where does the extra money come from to invest? moreover, it takes a lot of time hard work and dedication to succeed....so with all the time devoted to the venture, how does one tell the loved ones that time can`t be spent with them? or is there a good way to balance this all out? i am usually good at giving advice and did have some ....but i really could not answer most questions.
 
unfortunately i dont think i am qualified to answer the question as i started my ventures when young (best time to start). my ventures were well established before life got tougher and more demanding in every which  way
 
so i need your help, experience, advice and suggestions...how do you get buy in from your family, kids, spouse...etc?
 

Jmes

I don`t think you can replace your family with work.. It`s not healthy and would make both you and your family miserable. I think you just have to manage your time better.. or get them to help out with the business. That way you could incorporate your business time with them
Jmes

WebJunky

craig - i agree i am a big advocate of life plan before business plan myself. it is not as easy to convey that to someone so fast however.  a lot of it i believe must come from their within. they must be willing to open themselves to that concept since most of our society works the other way around. people plan everything around their "jobs".  in these guys` case i feel it all comes down to how much the spouse and the family agree with them and are able/willing to support them (i.e. buy into the idea).
 

WebJunky

halleluja craig (spelling?)

WebJunky

you are a very lucky lady to have such a supporting husband. or maybe you just bribed him into it with the boat promise
 
wishing you continued married success

WebJunky

brian - what an excellent post.  you got it right my friend... it is not that they don`t support it, they just don`t get it for the reasons you laid out.  it is very hard to convey this as good as we would want to.
 
that said, family does come first and you def got it right there as well.  good luck in your endeavors and keep us all posted!  i am not sure i have ever met or known an "activangelist". what does it entail?

amurphy

What a great topic! I am a "mompreneur" and launched a business last year around the kids, house, dogs, and oh yes, hubby. The hardest part of the launch was convincing my husband to take a chance with me on the business. I had been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, and now that the littlest had started 1st grade--he thought I should get a "real job". Perhaps part of the problem is that when he does come home from work (and by the way, he works his ass off and we have lived off his one income for 10 years) dinner is ready, house is clean, laundry is done, you know....and he doesn`t understand all that goes into that for him.  We took part of my 401K (I know, I know) and used that to fund part of the business and have accrued some debt this past year--but I feel like I`m focused and ready to push forward this year.  I probably still won`t make a profit, but am hoping to at least pay off some more of the debt. I am home with the kids, still, yet pursuing my dreams. Many of us moms at home lose ourselves--and when we finally come up for air--we have no idea what we are supposed to do.  Find your passion and figure out how to make money doing it.  Thanks for the post, Anne Murphy, Decadent Delights, www.annesdecadentdelights.com

WebJunky

wow craig - just the mere thought is quite disturbing (wished i had an adjective 100 times more powerful) - absolutely demoralizing (add 10 more adjectives here). i had heard rumors and some theories out there on it....but just hard to believe something like this will be enacted. 
speaking about a catalyst to completely sink whatever bit is left of this country/government......

nnofes

Greetings WebJunky
Let me put another spin on your question and comment. Society mentally has couples with families thinking that they do not have enough time and life now centers around employment. The question that needs to be asked is why does life and all its activities center around employment...The answer is MONEY. Everything that would make life a little easy and stress free is about having or in most cases not having enough money. To bring balance back into our lives we will need to begin to build relationships with "like minded" people working cooperatively together as a team in support of creating a different economic reality that is a "win-win" opportunity for everyone on the team.
Njideka "Queen of StressFree Living" Olatunde

WebJunky

well said and very true

amurphy

Thanks for the response, Craig, and sorry did not reply earlier.  Just got thru a chocolate holiday.  I am dying to know what happened to the woman with the e-commerce store and hubby got laid off?  How are they doing?  And did he jump in and become a partner with her?  Boy, don`t know if I could work that closely with my hubby. 
Here`s something to ponder.  It never crossed my mind that my hubby could get laid off as he is a nurse manager at a large hospital here in Cleveland and manages 2 departments.  If he did get laid off, and I then had to find a job--I have been out of the job market for 12 years now--I used to sell medical equipment to hospitals.  I would have a heck of a time finding a good position with that time lapse, and competing against kids 20 years younger than me.  Thoughts?  (oh--and by the way, thanks for the interesting link on article about 401ks--I printed it out for my hubby