@Corrisa – That is some of the best advice I’ve heard in a long time. Thank you. It’s true, but I’ve never thought of it. Why not just stop trying to convince, forget the support, and do it without it? Great advice.

@Emily – Hey, you can rant all you want — this is your blog too! Thank you for sharing your experiences; I really appreciate it. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be successful and still get negative responses from family members — that must be extremely difficult. But, it’s great that you have your spouse supporting you. Just do like he said and don’t discuss business with the rest. Your grandmother was very wise, and I see she passed that wisdom on to you as you are to your son. What you’re teaching him now, will better him later — you’re a great mom!

@The Watcher – Thank you; I appreciate it. Yes, innovation is the best way to make it big. It’s also the main reason why little support comes along with great innovation — only you can see your vision. Thanks for bookmarking!

@T Edwards – I like your straightforwardness, “Anyone puking negativity in my face will simply be removed.” I agree. It must be done for the sake of our business’. Any feeding into the nonsense will eventually cause failure.

I want to thank everyone for stopping by and leaving such wonderful comments. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us; we all appreciate the feedback and encouragement to continue to move on without the negative input from others — be it our family members or anyone else. You guys are great! Much success to all of you on all your endeavors.

Talk to you soon

I am so happy that I have a husband that supports me.

Unfortunately, my grandmother (who raised me) and his parents are not so supportive. I ran a business for 7 years that made us a ton of money. But guess what, those unsupportive family members still asked me when I was going to get a REAL job. Also, my husband’s parent thought that all the money came from his job. Go figure! My husband made a third of what my business made and we would have never bought our house with just his income, we barely afforded the apartment we were living in with just his income.

Sorry for my rant. But it still gets me upset that even when successful they find a way to be negative or not see your accomplishments.

I just don’t understand them and decided that they are just stupid and crazy. At the moment, my husband made it clear to them that we will not discuss my business with them.

So even though I can not imagine having an unsupportive spouse (and thank God), I can relate to unsupportive family members.

My grandmother I can relate to however. She said that she just wanted the best for me. Well, I have said things and made choices for my son (8 years old) that geared him towards what I thought was the best for him. For instance, I teach him about persuading people by allowing him to continue trying to persuade me into letting him play more on the video games. Also, I discouraged him from wanting to be a police officer telling him that they don’t make much money and his family may be poor and suffer if he chooses that route. I also tell him that owning a company instead of working for a company is the way to be successful. So in a sense, I am doing the same as my grandmother.

But unlike my grandmother, eventually my son may choose a different path as me and I will have to accept it and support him.

Sorry again for my rant.

There’s no way you’re going to convince someone to change their own preconceived notions and beliefs about your business or the whole home based business industry…so why try.

When you start making money some of the non-believers may come to your side, but some still may not.

Stay focused on your task at hand and you’ll improve YOUR life.

Good article Luis.

Corrisa;-)

So many business newbies experience skepticism instead of support becuase their family and friends do not understand. Before they even learn what a business is about they are against it.

I have always told people, to ignore any “dream stealer’s” they have in their lives. Their family and friends can either accept their decision or choose not too.

Work At Home Mom Taras last blog post..Social Networks..How many are necessary?

@John – Tell me about it. I actually get most of the encouragement to continue from people online. All the negativity comes straight from family and friends. ;( But, we’ve got to keep at it John, and not let it get in the way of our wants. Thanks for sharing with us!

@Benny – Yes, control is key. So far so good, I’ve been able to manage — I see a bright light at the other end of the blogosphere. Thank you for your words of wisdom.

@Writer Dad – You can plant your flag where ever you want! I must say I look up to you, and hope to raise my unborn children as well as you do yours. That is an amazing story and shows that you can’t always listen to what other people tell you. I think it’s wonderful you and your wife have the same vision, and I encourage the both of you to continue pursuing it.

Your blog is extremely prominent and everyone seems to love it (including myself). And, I’m sure your father will comment soon — maybe he’s a little shy after seeing all the other 30+ comments that were posted first —

P.S. My mother nor father can operate a computer!

Thanks for sharing with us Writer Dad; it’s appreciated.

@Normal Joe – Man, you have the cutest set of kids! I’m far from being married, but had a relationship with someone who didn’t quite get, let alone support, this whole “online” thing — so it had to end. I think it’s wonderful your wife is there for you, and the fact that you’re doing it for your family will make you that much more successful. And, your blog is off to an amazing start!

@SuiteJ – I could only dream of my parents being business owners — the thought actually makes me giggle and feel all warm inside.

But, it’s awesome that your parents were and gave you the support I can only dream of. Family is everything, and without them, everything just seems that much more difficult.

And, that is a good way of getting someone to understand your endeavors: meet them while you’re already self-employed —

I want to thank all of you for sharing your experiences and thoughts on the subject. This is an important topic to me and you all left wonderful comments — I appreciate you all!

Also, I was self-employed when I met my wife, so she knew what was up from the beginning. I’ve had a few ups and downs over the years that she had to endure though, and that means everything.

You need to support your love one’s ideas, passions, and goals, because if you stifle them, you’re actually driving them away, even if things might seem normal at the time. They will likely resent you for stopping them (or trying to).

I’ve never been a big fan of “the back up plan” line either. Telling someone they need to have something to fall back on is subconsiously telling them that there’s a good chance they will fail. Read stories about people who have done extraordinary things because they had “no other choice”.

Be smart and prepare for rough times before you start your new venture? Yes.
Obviously, you don’t put your family’s mortgage and food in jeopardy to “try something on a whim”, but you also can’t NOT do something out of fear and risk regretting it later. As cheesy as it sounds, you only live once.

Cheers on a great (and important) post.
Jay

Suite Js last blog post..Sunday Morning Sacrifice: Jay’s Giving Up Coffee For You

Without that support, things can get hard. Some people may use that as fuel to press on, and that’s fine. I just prefer not to find out what it feels like not to have family support!

Normal Joes last blog post..24 Hour Site Flipping Contest: Update

The comment section on my site is thriving. It’s the single biggest surprise of the whole blogging adventure. I have five-hundred comments off twenty-five posts. The compliments are gushing. I say this not to brag, but rather to make a point. Three of those comments are from my own family. Total. All three from my sister. My father reads my posts every day, and has yet to leave a single comment, even though I’ve asked him several times. I don’t care about the comment count. I care that he show his public support.

When it comes to my family, it’s either hating or crickets chirping. But that’s fine, at least they show me what not to do with my own children.

Writer Dads last blog post..A Time For Tears, A Time For Laughter