ASLU 119: What to Do When Family or Friends Don't Support Your Creative Business

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Melissa and Heather tackle a big topic today: how to manage relationships that are… less than supportive of the work that you do.

A dirty little secret of starting a small business that nobody talks about is the lack of support from loved ones. We’re led to believe that if we “follow our bliss” everything will be Instagram perfect. We’ll have a “lifestyle business” that let’s us balance our work and our home life. Friends will spread our praises, our parents will be so proud, our spouses will stand behind us smiling in rapturous support….

This is where the needle gets ripped across the record!

Whether it’s your parents, your partner or spouse or your friends, there will always be a handful of people in your life - often people you are very close to - who aren’t able to support what you do. The reasons for that lack of support are all over the map but whatever they are, it can be very hurtful and very demoralizing. At times, that lack of support might not even be obvious and that can be even more insidious.

So how do you deal with it when the support you hoped for just isn’t there? Let's talk about it.

This Episode Is For…

This is a great episode for creatives who:

  • are struggling to get the support they need from the people they’re closest to

  • need strategies for handling those relationships that aren’t supportive

  • want to find people who are supportive and who understand the challenges of running a small, creative business and bring them into their inner circle or network.

If you just want the links to the resources mentioned in this episode, scroll down to the bottom.

Listen To the Episode

Here’s a link to this week’s episode. You can also listen via the player below or on your favourite podcast app (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, and more). Just search for And She Looked Up!

support show up in many ways

in this episode we discuss:

  • the different ways that lack of support can show up

  • the different relationships we have in our lives and how lack of support can show up in them

  • some ways that we can fix the situation - and that may include ending the relationship

  • setting some boundaries around yourself

  • some of our own experiences with these situations

  • managing expectations: what kind of support do we expect? Are the people we’re close to able to provide that kind of support?

  • appreciating and respecting the personalities of the people we’re close to and recognizing that how they support us might look very different from how we would support them - and understanding that one is not better than the other

  • how not all relationships are meant to last forever

  • the importance of letting those close to us know what we need

  • ask for the support you want

  • recognizing when jealousy can be at play and how that can show up in every day conversations

  • understanding that when somebody is jealous, that’s a result of issues and emotions in their own life and not yours

  • understand that when you’re in an otherwise healthy relationship where support for your business is missing, you have a lot of power in how you choose to interact with that person

  • why it’s so important to communicate!

  • recognizing that as a small business owner, you need to involve your big stakeholders: this could be your spouse or partner, your kids, etcng

  • also recognizing that as a small business owner, you can’t let your business take over your entire life. You need to make room for your personal life and the people who are important to you

  • maintaining your friendships and relationships is a two way street. How are you supporting the people in your life?

Mentioned In This Episode:

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Podcast EpisodeMelissa Hartfielcreative enterpreneurshp, S4, business support, mindset, networkingComment