Your business is doing well and you're making money, which is one of the great problems to have. But money between friends is really kind of difficult, and money among colleagues is difficult too.
I could hand you a bunch of strategies, but let's just cut to the chase. There's jealousy and there's envy. Those are major human emotions, and they're tough for people to process.
Why a paycheck sees your money differently
Small Business Owners making their own money is especially tough to process for people who get a salary. A salary gives them great security, they've probably got healthcare, and they're happy. But when they watch an entrepreneur friend start making more money every week, month or year, they might start to wonder.
I remember getting my paycheck. No matter how hard I worked, I still got the same amount of money. Now that you're running your own business, don't lose touch with that.
As entrepreneurs, we can make money by selling new things, selling more of what we already sell, raising our prices or building a partnership. We literally get to invent cash if we can build products and sell them, and not every one of your friends is going to understand that.
Think about how it looked from the other side
Think back to your own life. You've probably had a neighbor or a family member who all of a sudden started doing well, maybe with a new job, and they kind of let you know about it. They wanted to go out to fancier restaurants and take vacations you couldn't afford. In my world, they wanted to play more expensive golf courses than I was always comfortable with. I was happy for them but it felt hard to keep up.
Keep the money talk where it's understood
I tend not to talk about money with friends as much as humanly possible, because I don't want my relationships changed because of money. If the business has a great year, I'll talk about it with other small business owners. In the Small Business Owners Community, only people who own a business are allowed in, so we can celebrate when good things happen because we get it.
Be careful with the generous stuff, too. Say you have a big sale, a big quarter or a big year, and you treat your family or friends to dinner to share the success. That's a very generous act. But it could add to the confusion they have about how money works, and it could remind them that as an entrepreneur you maybe have more opportunity than they do.
Here's the homework. Be careful how much you talk about your business success and your money with family and friends, because they might not understand. Save the celebrating for other owners who get it. And before you treat everyone to dinner, think about what that dinner might remind them of.
When you do talk about your business, keep it simple. Here's my post on how to explain what your business does to anyone you meet.
About the author
I'm Pat Miller. I help small business owners build a better business. I host Businessing, a weekly show for small business owners, and I run the Small Business Owners Community, where owners get help from other owners. Come find us at smallbusinesscommunity.com.
