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I’m all for pursuing your passion and taking the journey down the entrepreneurial road. I don’t want to sound like a politician, but small businesses do help make America what it is.
When it comes to the self-employed life, there’s no established playbook that will guarantee success (please forward me a copy should you have one). There are part-time entrepreneurs who rely on a traditional 9-to-5 gig to fund their endeavors, folks who take the leap of faith by quitting their job and others who collaborate on joint ventures. So long as you have a plan in mind with an end goal, keep on trucking.
That however does not mean you should expect others to pay your bills.
Don’t get me wrong, there are times when financial hardship is a reality. In fact, this is one of the reasons why many millennials are moving back in with their parents and even looking to them to help pay monthly expenses. Whether you graduated not too long ago or can’t seem to find a job after some time on your own, there are tons of reasons why loved ones spring into action and offer support.
This however is not one of those examples.
It has come to my attention — through the family grapevine of course — that one or two relatives have requested an offering plate be passed in their name. Both are able-bodied individuals who could find employment to supplement their income, but instead want to rely solely on the financial donations of the family until their separate ventures turn a profit. Did I mention that one of the them is married and has four kids?
Say what now?
As a self-employed person myself, I get that certain ventures require more start up money than others. It would be great to think of an idea and have Oprah’s bank account to fund it, but that’s not a reality for most of us. What I don’t get is why these two are giving every excuse in the book not to work. Come to think of it, one of them lives in a property owned by his mother and never had to pay a dime in rent. Even if you had to do something part-time due to the amount of hours needed to get things going, you have to learn to take care of you and yours on your own.
I guess one of them used his “spidey sense” not to call my house as my father-in-law recently told us he was hit up for money. Perhaps this wonderful cousin of mine realized asking a young married couple with a toddler and baby on the way wasn’t a good idea, especially when you consider the wife (that would be me) has been trying to navigate the demands of being an entrepreneur for several years, and has taken employment when necessary to pay bills.
Am I really that wrong to think a grown adult shouldn’t ask around the family to pay for his own bills on a monthly basis? I’m all for volunteering and charitable efforts, but not in the case of someone choosing not to work. Sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves and do what’s necessary in the meantime. Then again, there are some people who feel it’s okay to hit up family because they earn more. I beg to differ and think like the folks at Capital One: What’s in your wallet?
I guess it boils down to how you look at things.
