Spousal Support

Spousal Support
 by: Lynn Colwell

Couples who run home based businesses together can enjoy big benefits, but
all marriages pack a potential for problems. Add a homebased business
partnership to the mix, and sparks can fly. Scott Gregory and Shirley Siluk
Gregory, co-authors of The Home Team: How Couples Can Make a Life and Living by
Working at Home (Panda Publishing, $22.95, 888-447-2632), say to avoid these
five potential traps to help both your marriage and your business thrive:

1. Misplaced priorities. Your relationship should always take priority over
   your business. If the company becomes more important than your marriage, you
   could be headed for big trouble.
   
   
2. Overworking. It takes hard to work to make a business succeed, but be sure
   to take time for non- work activities.
   
   
3. Poor communication. Couples must talk openly and frequently about issues
   affecting the marriage, home and business. It helps if partners clearly define
   family and business roles, divvying both up fairly to avoid hurt feelings.
   
   
4. Forgetting the big picture. It's easy to get bogged down in the crisis du
   iour. Couples must agree on goals for both family and business.
   
   
5. Conflicting personality styles. Diverging points of view can bring
   creativity and growth to both marriage and business. Think of your differences
   as opportunities, not roadblocks, and you'll find working together to iron them
   out brings great rewards

Something To Hide

While homebased businesses have mushroomed in recent years, some clients
still question the professionalism of a homebased office. So should you reveal
you're homebased?

It depends. In many cases, the nature of the business determines whether you
should trumpet your homebased status. Customers also play a role: Consumers tend
to be less concerned about working with homebased firms, while large companies
may find it disturbing. Beatriz T. Halbert, co-owner of The Sequoia Group Inc.,
an Atlanta facility operations and maintenance company, worked from home for
three years. During that time, she never revealed her company's location. ,"My
research indicated [my clients] were interested in outsourcing to small
companies, but they were uncomfortable outsourcing to a [homebased business],"
Halbert says. Parents of young children often find revealing the nature of their
site is unavoidable. "Clients may call when a child is nagging me, so I always
tell them I have a home office," says Judith Lederman, owner of TSL Publicity
and Marketing Inc. in Irvington, New York. Many entrepreneurs take the middle
ground. "The larger businesses I work for mayor may not know I work from home,"
says Pam Paris, owner of Paris Graphics, a computer graphic design firm in
Hanover, Maryland. "I don't hide it, but if it doesn't come up, I don't
broadcast it, either."

Card Tricks

You've already paid for them, and they don't do any good stashed in a drawer.
Here are some ways to capitalize on your business cards: Post your business
cards anywhere they're allowed-libraries, colleges, supermarkets. Get creative
with your cards. If you're a private eye, for instance, how about slipping them
between the pages of books in the local law library?

Never pass up a chance to pass out your cards. Whenever you pay for gas or
make a purchase in store, if you think the salesperson could use your product or
service or might know someone who could, give him or her your card. -Include
business cards when you pay bills by mail. You never know whether the person
opening your bill might need your service. You can benefit from potential
customers' business cards, too. Here's how: Contact a local restaurant or
business that complements yours. Ask if you can place a fishbowl near the cash
register. (If necessary, barter your service or product in exchange.) Post a
sign on the fishbowl inviting customers to drop in their business cards to be
included in a weekly (or daily) drawing for a prize. If you run a catering
service, for example; the grand prize winner could get 50 percent off a catered
dinner party. Offer 15 percent off the first order to anyone who enters. Once
you collect the cards, start calling to remind participants about the discount.

About The Author

Lynn Colwell is a life/personal coach and writer. After a career including
public relations and corporate communications with hospitals and high tech
companies, she decided to devote herself to making a difference in people’s
lives. Her complimentary online newsletter has been called, “An inspiring,
exciting, fun, pick-me-up.” Sign up for the newsletter or contact Lynn at www.bloomngrow.net.

You may freely distribute the articles as long as it are carry the following
notice: Copyright 2004 Lynn Colwell www.bloomngrow.net.

Lynn@bloomngrow.net