Home Viewpoints Entrepreneurship Is your Family in It? – Starting a New Business Without Family Support Saturday, 22 November 2008
             
Is your Family in It? – Starting a New Business Without Family Support PDF Print E-mail
Monday, 21 April 2008 16:02

Author: Carol Denbow

It seems as if there are a million things to consider when developing a new business venture. But does your family have the right to be considered in the process? Of course they do, but rarely do they receive equal consideration to finances, business potential, or our own personal desire to achieve success. If your family (spouse, children, parents) aren’t on board with you one hundred percent, at some point you, your business, and/or your family will bear the consequences.

New businesses require a tremendous amount of time and nurturing to develop and become successful; time that is taken from elsewhere, often from the family. Unless you’re starting a “family” business where all members are participants, someone will inevitably feel left out, or neglected.

Our family members don’t always share the same dream as we do. Their priorities may be something far from business success. To make sure our families don’t suffer due to our own ambitions, before you pursue your dream business, sit down with them and discuss the following:

• Will the business venture take away from quality time spent with family members? If so, how much is acceptable to all involved?
• Will the new business be initially funded or supported using family monies? If so, will this put a financial strain on the family?
• Do all family members agree this is a potentially successful business idea?
• Do all family members realize that most new businesses do not succeed?
• If the business is not showing signs of becoming successful, what operational time period will the family tolerate before the business is considered a failure and should be sold or closed down?
• If the new business fails, what is the alternative plan for income?

Some of the questions listed above may not have obvious answers until the business has started up and operated for some period of time. Since circumstances may vary regularly with new business, plan to review this list with the family about every six months to see what situations may have changed.

Your family needs to be in total support of your new business idea, or somewhere and at some point, somebody will suffer. Consider whether your “big idea” is worth the possibility of distancing yourself from your loved ones, or even the finality of a possible divorce.

Business owners with complete family support stand a much greater chance of success. Talk to your family and trust in their opinion before you start a new business.

Carol Denbow is the author of three books, including Are You Ready to Be Your Own Boss? available through www.BooksByDenbow.Weebly.com .

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ask-an-expert-articles/is-your-family-in-it-starting-a-new-business-without-family-support-340992.html

About the Author:

In 2002, Carol Denbow sat down and wrote the introduction to her first book. Two years later, "Are You Ready to Be Your Own Boss?" was in print fulfilling the need for new business owners to achieve success.

Carol is a successful retired business owner, mom of two awesome kid’s, and since 2002 has authored two additional non-fiction books including, “A Book Inside, Writing, Publishing, and Selling your Story” (2008)
Please visit Carol's Website

Comments
Discuss Viewpoint
Title: (optional)
[b] [i] [u] [url] [quote] [code] [img] 
 
Receive update notifications?

3.23 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

 

MBAA Poll

Via the Interest Rate, what can the Federal Reserve Affect?
 

Quotes

I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well. - Alan Greenspan

Visit Sponsors

Your are currently browsing this site with Internet Explorer 6 (IE6).

Your current web browser must be updated to version 7 of Internet Explorer (IE7) to take advantage of all of template's capabilities.

Why should I upgrade to Internet Explorer 7? Microsoft has redesigned Internet Explorer from the ground up, with better security, new capabilities, and a whole new interface. Many changes resulted from the feedback of millions of users who tested prerelease versions of the new browser. The most compelling reason to upgrade is the improved security. The Internet of today is not the Internet of five years ago. There are dangers that simply didn't exist back in 2001, when Internet Explorer 6 was released to the world. Internet Explorer 7 makes surfing the web fundamentally safer by offering greater protection against viruses, spyware, and other online risks.

Get free downloads for Internet Explorer 7, including recommended updates as they become available. To download Internet Explorer 7 in the language of your choice, please visit the Internet Explorer 7 worldwide page.