MBA2552 Q&A Wednesday: How Do I Tell My Wife I Want to Quit My Job and Start a Business?

0:05Hey everyone, welcome back to the$100 MBA show. I'm Omar Zinhome, your host. And today is Q &A Wednesday. If you have a question you want to ask on Q &A Wednesday, go ahead and submit it over at 100mba.net slash Q, and we'll answer it right here on the show. Today's question is from Eddie, and Eddie asks, how do I tell my wife I want to quit my job and start a business? This is a critical moment, Eddie. Your success doesn't just depend on the business. It depends on getting the people closest to you on your side. Today, I'll share with you how to approach this conversation with transparency, with accountability, and mutual respect, but also a plan for the next months and years ahead.

0:52This is not a once and done thing like I'll explain in today's episode. Here's the thing. When you start a business, your team begins at home. If you can't sell the vision to your wife or your partner in life, you're going to have a hard time selling it to strangers out there in the world. So let's talk about how to get your partner on board so you can set yourself up for success. So you can have that peace of mind too, by the way, that the person that's closest to you has your back. So let's start with that open, honest, and consistent communication. Like I mentioned, this isn't a one-time conversation.

1:28It's the start of an ongoing dialogue about your goals, about your challenges, about your progress with your entrepreneurial journey. I know this might feel uncomfortable, but trust me, this is going to make things so much easier for you as an entrepreneur. When I left my teaching career, and I taught for 10 years as an English teacher, but when I left that career and became a full-time entrepreneur, it was important to me to communicate this change to the people that are most important to me in my life, the people that were closest to me at the time, including my parents, my siblings, my partner in life, and now business, Nicole Baldino.

2:06We made decisions together and we kept the communication going. This is so important because it's something that you want to make sure that your partner in life is included in. You don't want them in the dark because when things are in the dark, people get nervous, right? People are unaware. People start assuming things. You don't want people to make up their own conclusions. You want to just have things out in the open. And that's why you should schedule a weekly or biweekly check-in with the person that's in your life that's important, your wife, your partner, whatever it might be. Maybe it's somebody you live with that is really concerned about you and really rooting for your success.

2:46And this doesn't have to be some sort of formal meeting. It could be literally five, 10 minutes where you just say, hey, I just want to fill you in on how my week went. Here are some of my wins and start with some wins. Maybe here are my top wins this week. I closed a customer. I got the new website up and running. I created a system on how to handle customer support. But I also had some losses or I had some challenges along the way. I had to give a refund. I had to deal with some overwhelm that I was having. I'm trying to make my first hire, but no candidates really stand out. So it's okay to share the wins and the challenges.

3:21It's okay because the reason why you're doing this is because you want to include them along with the journey. Now, maybe they're not part of the business. Maybe they're not a part of the day-to-day decisions you're making in your business, but it's good for them to get an understanding of what you're going through and what's happening. What's the progress? So it doesn't have to be that official. It can be five to 10 minutes, but it's actually going to make a lot of difference because they're going to be in the know. They're going to understand that you're making progress. And of course, they're going to feel like, Hey, that you care enough about them that you're going to share something special like this project that's so important to you with them.

4:00But of course, there's an initial conversation you need to have when you are thinking about quitting your job and becoming a full-time entrepreneur. Well, in that conversation, you need to sell the vision and plan. So say, for example, you decide, I'm going to sit down after dinner and speak to my partner about quitting my job and what I'm going to do. What's the plan? What's the transition? how we're going to make money, how long do I expect before I can start earning money in my business, and how much money would that be? So this really matters, because if you can't clearly explain the why of the plan, it will be hard to gain support, right?

4:36It's going to be really hard to get their buy-in. And you need to outline the steps ahead and set some expectations. Like, for example, you may want to share how your business can create freedom for you and the family, whether it's financial freedom, personal freedom, location independence, whatever it might be, but also share the impact of this transition, meaning you're not going to have as much free time. You might not be able to have those long holidays that you're used to in your day job. Maybe you're going to have to work on the weekend in the first six months so that you can be able to get some traction.

5:08So paint the picture of what's the hope. This is what I'm going for. This is what's doable. And here are some examples of people that I follow that have done this. But at the same time, this is the cost of me getting there. This is what's going to happen. And I'm going to need your support along the way because I may not be as available or I may not be able to do the things, whether it's financially or time constraints, as I used to or as I am doing right now. So the point here is that you want to communicate the vision, but also what's the cost of that vision? What's it going to take for you to pull it off?

5:43Because best believe they're going to feel the consequence of this major change of you leaving your job and starting a business, right? It's not like they're not going to feel it. They're going to be impacted in some way. And it's their right to know what's going on and to understand what is going to happen next. So here's an action step. Prepare a plan that includes timelines, some goals that you have for you and your business, and some contingencies. Walk through this plan with your partner and discuss it. Together, address any concerns that they might have. This is something that is important because they might be able to give you feedback.

6:22They might be able to help you improve. They can also maybe shed some light on some things you're not considering. But the point here is that by including them in this discussion, they're getting buy-in, right? By them feeling like they're a part of this discussion and this possibility, they're feeling like, okay, I'm empowered. I'm a part of this process. I'm not a victim of this process or I'm not a victim of this decision. This leads me to number three, be open to feedback and be willing to adjust your plan, right? Your wife, your husband, your partner life may offer valuable insights that can actually improve your plan, that can really allow you to accelerate the plan even.

7:00You're not just looking for approval here, you're actually looking for collaboration. This is one of the reasons why when we started the$100 MBA, I wanted to include Nicole as much as possible. And I wanted to get her buy-in. And I actually said, hey, the best way to do this is become my co-founder. Let's do this together. That's what I decided to do because I knew she could help us create a better product, a better podcast, a better brand. And she has a mind that actually is opposite to mine, meaning that I like to go for it. I like to take risks. I'm an action taker. She's more calculated. She's actually looking at all the contingencies and making sure that we don't make costly mistakes.

7:39You need somebody like that on your team to actually bounce things out. So that's a possibility for you if you want to explore it. And maybe they're interested in helping out and giving you feedback. Maybe not as a co-founder, but maybe just as a friend or somebody who could just be a consultant to you as you're growing the business in the first few months and beyond. So an action step here is to ask for input and be willing to make changes as you're sharing your plan. This means you might need to just take a moment first before you have this initial conversation. Think about how you're going to present it, how you're going to ask them questions so they can give you feedback.

8:15And also tell them, hey, this is just a rough plan. I'm flexible. I'm OK with changing the plan. But I wanted to come to the table with something so that we can have a discussion, start the discussion. okay the best thing I can really share with you that has worked for me is to come from a place of mutual love respect and understanding you know it's okay for you to say hey I'm not happy in my job in my career I need to make a change and I want to include you in that change I want to include you in that process I don't want to do this alone right I want to make sure that you're in the know and you're a part of it so this is what I'm thinking and you want to give as much information as possible, but also have a plan, not just like, hey, I want to quit my job.

8:59I'm frustrated. Let's do it. Right. No, have a plan. When are you going to quit your job? How long is it going to take for you to make enough income to replace your current income? What is your projections? Have something there that you can start the conversation and start adjusting the plan accordingly. Next, accountability matters. Okay. By sharing this process and having this open, candid conversation and the continued conversation with those weekly check-ins that I suggested, you're holding yourself accountable, right? It's easy to get lost with the excitement of starting a business, but having that accountability with somebody that's with you physically in the same place as you is going to be super important and help you achieve your goals.

9:44So for example, like I mentioned, we do weekly progress updates with my partner, Nicole. We did this in the beginning was super helpful in the beginning, especially because we want to make sure we're building momentum without getting overwhelmed, but also to make sure that we're on the same page. Are we building the right business for us, the right lifestyle? Are we attracting the right customers? Are we building the right brand? Because normally when you're not working on a business with somebody or you're not starting something that's going to change your life, like becoming an entrepreneur, you're just going to work and the other person is going to work and you're making decisions on your own.

10:17And you're not really including anybody in those decisions for the most part, other than maybe your colleagues. But the point here is that the other person, your partner in life is not really in the know. And it's a muscle you need to build. It's something that you have to just get used to. And what I always say is that it's very hard to over-communicate. It's very hard to over-communicate. It's a good rule to have. So it's better to over-communicate than to under-communicate. Next, this one is super critical. You need to be honest about the risks. Maybe your partner is not really aware of the risks of business.

10:50Maybe they're not into entrepreneurship. They're not listening to the same podcasts or reading the same books as you. And they're kind of unaware of what kind of risks are involved. You need to communicate that. It's something that you'll actually gain credibility from by actually just being honest, that there's no guarantee of success. It's important to acknowledge that up front. This shows maturity. It shows humility, but also builds trust, like I mentioned. I've had businesses fail. We had projects and products that failed, but because we were aligned on the risks from the start, we were able to handle those moments together, learn from them and make a decision on how we're going to move forward together.

11:27Now, even if your partner's not involved in the business, it's important for them to understand that it's not all going to be sunshine and rainbows, that there will be challenges and there will be failure. That's just par for the course. And it's okay for you to share those challenges and those failures as long as you also say, hey, this is what I failed at. This is what I learned and this is what I'm going to do moving forward. And it just shows a bit of humility but also shows that you are just being transparent about the situation. So expectations are set properly. So be okay with having an open conversation about possibly failing, about not being as successful as you imagine, right?

12:07Discuss what things can go wrong, right? It's okay. We could do this without any fear. We haven't done anything yet, right? We're just getting started, but discuss it. This can go wrong. People have failed in doing this sometimes. I may need a few reps, a few tries in order for me to figure out what's the best way or the best course of action for me and my business. Now, I mentioned this earlier, but it's so important I need to emphasize it. Celebrate the wins along the way. Why does this matter? Well, celebrating milestones keeps you motivated, right? But also reinforces that the journey is worth it, right?

12:42Even if there's some early wins, right? Landing a first client, like I mentioned, or a small milestone. these moments need to be celebrated okay they gave us so much fuel when we celebrated those wins right so i want you to do the same because you're going to be sharing some of the challenges but you also need to not forget to share the wins and by the way the longer you do this the more important this is because you start forgetting that hey that's actually a pretty cool win right and to them that's a huge win because they're not involved in the day-to-day so remember sharing wins is just as important as sharing the challenges.

13:19Maybe agree on doing something when you have a significant win, whether it's reaching a new revenue milestone or getting a new big client or account or whatever it might be. You know, you might say, hey, anytime we celebrate a pretty significant win, let's do something. Let's go out for ice cream or something, or let's go for a walk and enjoy some time together alone. Don't be afraid to get silly and have a little mini dance party. It's okay. Enjoy. Mark the occasion with some celebration. So Eddie, telling your wife you're quitting your job and starting a business is a big conversation, but it's also an opportunity.

13:56It's an opportunity for you to build trust and align with your partner, to be open, to be honest, but also to be consistent with that conversation or that communication, I should say. Be consistent with not being like the once and done thing. Make sure that you're constantly communicating your wins or challenges, but also reiterating your vision. Make sure you're holding yourself accountable. And again, like I said, celebrate some wins along the way. This isn't just your journey. It's a shared one because you share a life with somebody and it's important for them to be in the know with what's going on.

14:28You'll benefit, the business will benefit, and of course your partner will benefit because they're a part of your life. They're a part of this journey as well. Thanks for tuning into the$100 MBA show. If you're watching this podcast episode on YouTube, make sure you hit subscribe. And we have all our links to our website where you can consume more and more episodes, over 2000 episodes. Also, if you want to submit a question, just go to 100mba.net slash Q and we'll answer it right here on Q &A Wednesday. Thank you so much, Eddie, for submitting your question. Thank you so much for listening, for watching and learning from Eddie's question.

15:04And I'll see you in the next episode.

15:10We'll be right back.