The new trend in our society is working from home. Many women are leaving the corporate world to return home and care for their families, but still want to contribute financially. It can be challenging to work from home, especially for women who also have children to care for.
Is your wife one of the increasing number of housewives working at home? Here are ten key tips to support her:
1. Encouragement is key
Sometimes all your wife needs to be successful at whatever she’s doing is a little encouragement. Many times she will have no one else close to her to give her the encouragement she needs and you may be the only person who can give her the encouragement she needs.
2. Help her with whatever she’s doing
Depending on the business, there may be additional work that you could do. For example, with my wife’s website, Christian Work at Home Moms (www.cwahm.com), you’ll often need someone to write a script, set up 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 extra stress.
3. Be positive
It’s easy to be a positive influence on your wife and your business. Listen to her when she talks about her business. Don’t discount her business growth ideas – help her brainstorm new ideas to help her business grow. Remember that just because you work from home doesn’t make your business any less important or legitimate. If you are a positive influence on your wife and take an interest in her business, there is no telling how big the business could grow! As wives, we need our husband’s support and encouragement!
4. Take care of the children
Your wife is home with the kids all day every day. She sometimes needs the opportunity to work without distractions. If the children are constantly asking questions and bothering her wife, she can’t do anything. She doesn’t wait to be asked. She be proactive and offer to babysit.
5. Listen
Your wife may not have a great support system or other coworkers to bounce ideas off of. She will need someone to talk to and, more importantly, listen to the ideas that she has. I think this goes hand in hand with encouragement. You will need to listen and encourage, sometimes that is all it takes.
6. Let her run the show
This is her job, her business, she has the last word. I know that the way my wife and I handle business decisions is that she handles all of her ideas for me and we make the decisions mutually. Many of the decisions can be costly and time consuming. Those decisions need to be made together, but ultimately, it’s not her decision.
7. Be part of the business
Many wives want their husbands to participate in their home business, even if he just helps stuff the envelopes. Taking the time to do even small things like this will encourage her 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 her wife to work on 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 his wife is feeling discouraged, listen to her and ask if she would like her opinion on the situation. She will need your encouragement to keep going. We wives don’t like to let our husbands down, and sometimes we feel like a failure when our business isn’t going well. Remind your wife how long 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 business advice, but a great way to help your wife stay motivated is to bring her little “surprises”: flowers, her favorite candy, a business supply she can’t afford to spend. . These are all 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 on track. If you are not talking to God regularly, it will be very difficult 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 also benefit. Supporting your wife in working at home is one of the best ways to show you care.
