Supporting Your Work at Home Wife
The new trend in our society is working from home. Many women
are leaving the corporate world to come home and care for their
families, but they still desire to contribute financially. It
can be challenging to work from home, especially for women who
have children to care for as well.
Is your wife is one of the growing number of work at home moms?
Here are ten key tips on supporting her:
1. Encouragement is key Sometimes all that your wife needs in
order to be successful with whatever she is working on is a
little encouragement. Often times she won't have anyone else
around to give her the encouragement that she needs and you may
be the only person that can give her the encouragement she needs.
2. Help with whatever she is doing Depending on the business
there may be extra work that could be done by you. For example,
with my wife's website, Christian Work at Home Moms
(www.cwahm.com), she will often need someone to write a script,
setup an email account, or proofread a document. Some of the
tasks aren't going to be the most glamorous but 5 minutes could
save your partner hours of time and added stress.
3. Be positive It's easy to be a positive influence on your wife
and her business. Listen to her when she talks about her
business. Don't put down her ideas for business growth - help
her think of new ideas to help her business grow. Remember that
just because she is working from home, that does not make her
business any less important or legitimate. If you are a positive
influence on your wife and take an interest in her business,
there's no telling how big the business might grow! As wives, we
need our husband's support and encouragement! 4. Watch the kids
Your wife is at home with the kids all day every day. Sometimes
she is going to need a chance to work with no distractions. If
the kids are constantly asking questions and bugging your wife
she can't get anything done. Don't wait to be asked. Be
proactive and offer to watch the kids.
5. Listen Your wife might not have a large support system or
other co-workers to bounce ideas off of. She is going to need
someone to talk to and more importantly listen to the ideas she
has. I think this goes hand in hand with encouragement. You will
need to listen and encourage, sometimes that is all she needs.
6. Let her run the show This is her job her business she gets to
call the shots. I know that the way my wife and I handle the
business decisions is that she runs all of her ideas by me and
we mutually make the decisions. A lot of the decisions can be
costly and take a lot of time. Those decisions should be made
together but ultimately it isn't your decision.
7. Be a part of the business Many wives want their husbands to
take part in their home business even if it's just helping to
stuff envelopes. Taking the time to do even small things like
this will encourage your wife and show her that you support her.
If there isn't a way to be directly involved with your wife's
business, pick one day a week and do the dishes or another chore
that will free up some time for your wife to work at her
business.
8. Don't let her give up. Most work at home moms will tell you
that it takes 3-4 years to build a successful business. It
doesn't happen overnight. When your wife feels discouraged,
listen to her and ask if she would like your input on the
situation. She will need your encouragement to stick with it. We
wives do not like to fail our husbands and we sometimes feel
like failures when our businesses are not doing well. Remind
your wife of the time that it takes to grow a business and that
EVERY business has times during the year when sales are slow.
9. Surprise her This may not sound like a business tip, but a
great way to help your wife stay motivated is to bring her
little "surprises" - flowers, her favorite candy, a business
supply that she can't bring her self to spend the money on. All
of these are great ways to remind her of your support.
10. Pray Most importantly, this business is going to need
prayer. Never underestimate the power of prayer to help you get
going and keep the whole project rolling. If you aren't talking
to God on a regular basis it will be very hard to stay on track.
By following these ten simple tips, you can help strengthen your
wife's home-based business. She will appreciate your efforts and
your marriage will benefit as well. Supporting your work at home
wife is one of the best ways to show you care.