A quote from my wife when I first mentioned that I was considering opening MGR Accounting Recruiters. In all honesty, she had a good point.
.....
It was late 2006, and we had just become parents. My wife and I had wanted children for so, so many years, and we had just completed a two-and-a-half-year (!) process to adopt our first child. We finally had exited the limbo-like phase of the adoption process and had become parents. A couple weeks later, I announced my crazy intention of throwing our lives back into potential chaos by quitting my stable paycheck job and starting a brand-new business from scratch.
To add a few other supporting, yet very important, details to the picture...
My job was our only income,
I had been out of the industry for three years, and
... oh, did I mention we were new parents?
Honestly, when she first reacted that way, I wasn’t surprised at all. I won’t say I was expecting it, but I immediately realized that she was right. It was a crazy time to make such a change, and I should have realized it. I quickly changed the topic, and we went on about our evening.
Obviously, things changed though. It was the next morning when she brought up the topic again. She simply said, “You know what? You are right. Now is the perfect time to start a business. You can do it, and it will be good for our family.” I was slightly taken aback, shocked in fact, but also elated. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Now was the time.
The rest is history. I quickly got the formative details taken care of, and in January 2007, I opened MGR Personnel, which would later become MGR Accounting Recruiters. I’m happy to say that although the stakes were high, and sometimes the emotions were as well, we hit the ground running. We beat all our initial goals. God is good.
So why do I tell this story? Outside of perhaps some shock value regarding our conversation about starting the business, I tell it to emphasize what a difference it makes when your spouse is onboard with your business plans, whether in start-up mode or even deeply into the ongoing development. I’ve seen businesses where the spouse was not fully onboard, and those where the couple was entirely in-sync. While the latter isn’t necessarily 100% smooth sailing, the former is definitely like trying to row against the tide. It rarely goes well when there isn’t agreement at home.
Even if your spouse isn’t involved in your business, it’s still wise for them to understand the commitments and potential challenges. I was fortunate that my spouse always fully backed me in our professional endeavors, even to the extent of filling a few key needs along the way. I was blessed to be in that situation. Should you decide to start a business, or even further grow an existing business, I wish the same for you as well. Those conversations are worth investing in very early.
If there is anything I can do for you, please feel free to reach out. As always, I wish you the best in your business.
Mark Goldman
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