Your Friends Don’t Have to Support You!

We all know about the constant circulation of meme’s that discuss how people who don’t know you, support you before your friends do, or expressing how the lack of support from friends affect the individual. Essentially, people get REALLY offended  when friends and family don’t support their business, ideas, and/or events. Let it go! I’ll say it again, LET. IT. GO.

“…they don’t understand your line of business…”

I am really about focusing on the things I have rather than the things I don’t have. I have, what one may consider, A LOT (probably a solid 10) of GOOD friends! I mean, women that I’m close to, that I consider more like sisters, than friends.  To my knowledge, only one of them reads Corporate Momming, two of them have patronized my accounting firm, and I’m completely fine with that.  I guess I will find out if there are more that do, after reading this. My point is, I am not looking to see who is reading and who is not.  In fact, I sometimes send them blogs, that I think they’d be interested in. I do not think they are bad friends, or that they don’t care about me.  The truth is, I am focused on providing a good product for the people who are supporting my endeavors.

It is a very kind gesture for your friends to support your entrepreneurial efforts, very kind.  It is not a requirement.  Further, I think it is somewhat selfish to place that expectation on your friends. They are adults with busy lives, and personal obligations that impact how they move and what they do. Their lack of support does not indicate malicious intent, and it’s no reason to take it personal, unless you’re otherwise concerned about their commitment to the friendship.

“I don’t think that it’s really fair to guilt trip a friend for not supporting.”

For the most part, I consider myself to be pretty involved and active in supporting whatever my friends are working on.  In general, I consider to be very giving of my time, support, and knowledge when it comes to those I love!  That’s a VERY hard commitment to make, and in general I think it takes a very thoughtful and generous person to willingly and constantly support every time you drop a new item, read every blog post, or shout you out because you’re popping, lol!  Come on.

I don’t think that it’s really fair to guilt trip a friend for not supporting.  It could be that they don’t understand your line of business, or don’t have a need for the product you’re offering.  It could also be worse; your friends could be asking you to provide free/discounted services, or they could just be difficult to work with, because of the relationship.  Lets also consider, critiques from your friends and family could sting a lot more, than from those you don’t consider close.  So there are pros and cons on either side.

Ultimately , your focus should start and end with the people who are supporting you. Those are your people, as far as your business is concerned. Yes, we are human and we will consider where support is lacking.  However, you have to make a choice to focus on the people who are assigned to you, and how that assignment can grow as a result of the service you provide.  As I mentioned, it is a kind and thoughtful gesture, when friends support!  Please remember this: If God placed these ideas on your heart, He will give you everything you need to succeed in that endeavor!