Its one thing to quit your job to start your own business. It is another thing entirely to explain it to friends and family. Close family is okay, because they usually know you better and understand what you are going through. In my case, the job that I quit was in the family business (no, not mobsters), so there was obviously a lot of talking about it there. Recently, though, I have rubbed elbows with some more distant relatives and friends and got a chance to tell them what I am doing.
It can be an eye opening experience to tell people who care about you that you quit your job. This is especially true when their world-view involves getting a job and working hard at it all of their lives. What I have found is this; the more focused you are with your new business venture, the easier it is to tell your friends and relatives about it.
Early on, I would stumble around the question of what I am doing now to make money. I have goals, but I didn’t have great focus. When someone asked me what it is I do exactly, and I couldn’t answer them in a sentence or two, I realized that I didn’t have the kind of focus it was going to take to succeed in my own business.
Sometimes we exist in our own little bubbles. We have our close friends and family. Maybe they don’t understand what we are doing, but they have come to accept it. Then we have our online community. They are 100% behind us, but they aren’t asking for details and accountability. So, when you run into your wife’s uncle and he asks how you are going to make money with your new business, its time to swallow hard and hope you have a good answer.
Ideally, we would all start with a good answer. Tim Berry, who is someone I greatly admire, is always talking about having a plan. I agree with him. But the reality is, sometimes we end up working things out in the wild. Or at least I do. I sort of jump into things with both feet. For me, quiting my job and starting a business was just long overdue. I needed to be able to grow in ways that working in that business just wouldn’t allow me to grow. So I did something that no one in their right mind would advise anyone to do. I just went for it.
It was only after spending some time going for it that I started to realize I needed a focus. Questions from friends and relatives helped. You want to be able to sound good and make sense when you are telling someone how you plan to make money. If for no other reason than to get them to leave you alone. More than that, you want to know for yourself that you have a plan to make money.
So, for me, it was only after I went out on my own that a plan started to formulate. Now, when a relative asks about the job, I say that I have started my own business designing websites and doing online marketing for small business. I don’t mention this blog, I don’t mention all of the other projects I am involved with. I focus on the area that will make the most sense to them. It also happens to be the area that I can make a living at, right now.
In telling this to relatives, I realize too that this is the area that needs the most focus right now. Its funny how, when put under a little pressure, a plan will come together. I know that I struggle with planning. But when I am best at it is when I run into friction. If something I am doing now isn’t working, I tend to be able to jump in and plan out a fix. When I first started my business, telling others what I did wasn’t working. It was something vague, like I want to help small businesses be successful. Well, the pressure helped me define that and better explain it. Right now, my focus is to help small businesses be successful at attracting leads online. I do that by building web sites and online marketing campaigns.
Thank God for the friends and relatives who will burst the bubble we sometimes allow ourselves to live in, just by asking a few simple questions. Sometimes, they are questions we are afraid to ask ourselves. If you are in business, whether just starting yours or if you have been doing it for years, do you have anyone asking you uncomfortable questions?
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Hi, I am Bradford Shimp, and this is my story. I have recently started a new business, Broad River Creative, and I wanted to share my journey with you.
photo credit: OakleyOriginals
