How will your friends react?
There was an interesting article about young entrepreneurs in this months Entrepreneur Magazine (here's the web copy of the article entitled "A New Direction"). It essentially deals with the difficulties YEs face with their friendships, particularly after they have some success. Let's face it - those of us who dream about starting a business and then actually do it in our teens or early twenties are in the minority, and that can put a strain on relationships with other people our age.
I thought YE Alex Vaz put it best:
Every experience is different, and some people may get 100% support from everyone they encounter, but most of us have or will experience a divide amongst our friends. Personally, I've noticed that my family and good friends have eventually come around and it's to the point now where they know this is what I do and it's barely a topic of conversation. If I say I can't make a social event because of the business, they don't hold it against me. They know that as we grow and stabilize I'll be able to be more flexible with my time spent working.
The shock factor is gone for me. However, it wasn't like that initially, and anyone doing something as ballsy as starting a company has to be strong enough to use the questions and criticism as motivation and not let it crush them.
The only problems I still have with people I was friends with in my engineering career. Good friends from college or my first job seem to have a bit of that jealousy. Maybe they feel like I bailed on them because we went through so much...or maybe they are unhappy with their jobs and wish they took the leap that I did. I really don't know, but that's the only spot in my life that 2 years later that I feel there's been a strain because of the business. I'd like to keep those friendships, but at some point you stop calling and emailing and just focus on the people who want to spend time with you.
Kudos to Entrepreneur Mag for talking about such a pertinent topic.
I thought YE Alex Vaz put it best:
Stick with what you're doing, because once you do make money, there will be plenty of time to party. If your friends aren't happy about you excelling and making money, they're probably just jealous. Your real friends will always support you.
Every experience is different, and some people may get 100% support from everyone they encounter, but most of us have or will experience a divide amongst our friends. Personally, I've noticed that my family and good friends have eventually come around and it's to the point now where they know this is what I do and it's barely a topic of conversation. If I say I can't make a social event because of the business, they don't hold it against me. They know that as we grow and stabilize I'll be able to be more flexible with my time spent working.
The shock factor is gone for me. However, it wasn't like that initially, and anyone doing something as ballsy as starting a company has to be strong enough to use the questions and criticism as motivation and not let it crush them.
The only problems I still have with people I was friends with in my engineering career. Good friends from college or my first job seem to have a bit of that jealousy. Maybe they feel like I bailed on them because we went through so much...or maybe they are unhappy with their jobs and wish they took the leap that I did. I really don't know, but that's the only spot in my life that 2 years later that I feel there's been a strain because of the business. I'd like to keep those friendships, but at some point you stop calling and emailing and just focus on the people who want to spend time with you.
Kudos to Entrepreneur Mag for talking about such a pertinent topic.
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