Today, I want to talk to you about how to support your spouse in their MLM Business. As a spouse, we should always try to encourage and uplift our significant other. We don’t always have to agree with what they are doing, but as long as it is legal, ethical, moral and important to them, we should at least be neutral.
After all, who wants to be married to a dream stealer? Who wants to be married to someone who tells them what they can and can’t do? Who wants to be married to someone who is constantly nagging them and trying to bring them down or control them? I know I wouldn’t want to be married to someone like that. Would you?
For the rest of this article, I want to share a few tips for spouses married to people who are involved in the MLM Industry. This advice will apply to both men and women alike. The purpose of sharing these tips is to create harmony in your marriage or relationship, so both partners are happy.
# 1 Attend an Event
One of the best things you could do is attend a company event with your spouse. Go to the annual company convention with them. Meet other people in the business. If that’s not possible, at least go to a local or regional event once or twice to learn more about the business. Trust me, your spouse will appreciate it. Plus, you will get an opportunity to meet other people involved in the business.
# 2 Learn What You Can About the Industry and Company
Take 10-20 hours and objectively study the industry and company. Talk to some successful people in the company and industry. Talk to some people who quit. Find out what you can about the company owners and leadership team. Read the good and bad, not just a few negative websites you find online. Find a few industry related books and educate yourself. The more you know the more informed you will be.
# 3 Use the Products
Do NOT be one of those spouses that refuses to use the products. After all, if your spouse owned any other type of business, you would use the products or services to be supportive. Don’t be so set in your ways that you aren’t willing to at least try out the products. You never know, you might actually enjoy the products.
# 4 Give You Spouse Time to Give it Their Best Shot
Don’t tell your spouse they only have one to three months to see if the business works. No business is built in a few months. At least give them two YEARS to give it their best shot and see if they can make it work.
# 5 Talk About Your Concerns
If you have concerns about the industry, the company, or the products, talk it over with your spouse. You might even want to share those concerns with another spouse in your upline. You might find they had similar concerns when they first got started in the business. You might even realize that your concerns aren’t that big of a deal after all.
# 6 Don’t Nag, Bitch or Complain
No one likes being around someone who is always nagging, bitching and complaining. I know I don’t. If you aren’t happy with the business, keep it yourself. At least be neutral. Thinking something is fine, but don’t constantly try to guilt trip your spouse or bring them down.
# 7 See Things from Their Perspective
Take some time and see things from your spouse’s perspective. It’s easy to only see things from our own perspective. Put yourself in their shoes. Find out why they want to build a successful business in the first place. Find out their dreams, hopes and goals.
# 8 Don’t Talk Negatively to Your Friends and Family About the Products, the Company or Your Spouse
Don’t make the common mistakes of bitching and complaining to your friends and family about your spouse or the business. This will create a negative force-field and your spouse will know it. It will also undermine them.
# 9 Give Your Spouse Referrals
If possible, give your spouse some referrals. Talk to a few of your friends and family about the products or services to see if they would be interested in becoming a customer. Hand out your spouse’s business cards whenever possible.
# 10 Find a Way to Work Together in the Business at Least Two Hours Per Week
If at all possible, find a way to work together in the business for a couple of hours each week. See if there is something you can do to help your spouse out with paperwork, organizing, preparing for a meeting, etc.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that we should all try to support our spouse in the business. Even if we aren’t excited about network marketing like they are, we shouldn’t become our spouses number one enemy. In the worst case scenario, you should at least be neutral and give your spouse a fair chance to succeed in the business.
What are your thoughts? What do you think a spouse should do to be supportive with the business? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
I know I should be supportive, but struggling with actually being supportive. Hence why today I found myself googling “how to support spouse in a MLM”. The hardest part for me is that MLM’s seem to suck SO MUCH TIME away from our family. My husband works a full-time job, comes home and works on his MLM. He spends time on his MLM on the weekend. Is this just what to expect from an MLM? It’s his 4th go at an MLM and from the outside looking in, it just seems like an awful large amount of time spent chatting and planning with people in his up line. It’s discouraging to support him spending all this time on his MLM, feeling like it’s going nowhere and our family is being neglected. He says the same thing as your article, that I need to suck it up and stick out for a year or so to see benefits, but all I feel like is our family is being neglected and, for what?
Thanks for the comment, Rose. Starting a new part-time business of any type, not just MLM, does require a time investment, especially the first few years. Assuming your husband works a full-time job like you said, he will have to give up some family time. That’s much easier to do when both people are on board and have the same goals/vision. On the other hand, I see your concerns, especially since he has tried other MLM Companies in the past without huge success. Is there a way you could help him in his business? That way the two of you could spend more time together. Or, could the two of you sit down and talk about WHY he wants to do the business so bad? While it bothers you he spends less time with you, he might be motivated to have MORE TIME with you in the future, by building the business now, and getting rid of the job.
Food for thought. What do you think?
I disagree that you must work together with them. While that would be ideal for the relationship, it is by no means a requirement. I can support my girlfriend emotionally without being involved in something I morally disagree with. You should always put your relationship above the MLM.
Without a supportive spouse, it will be very tough to succeed in business and in life.
I just had to come on here and say that I am now in the position of being a supportive spouse. My spouse just agreed to joining Amway, and in all respects, yes, I have my negative thoughts, but I am keeping them completely to myself. I believe with her attitude and the excitement she has, she will do very well in the Amway system.
I am going to have her read the many great articles you have here Chuck, and if you have any other special advice, I would love to hear it.
P.S.–I fell in love with the trail mix. The hint of coffee taste in it makes it very special.
Congrats on joining Amway. I wish you and your wife all the best with it.
Outstanding post. I definitely know couples where one person is in the MLM industry and the other person is kind of clueless as to how to help or support their partner. So they just end up feeling left out or the spouse in the business feels like the other person doesn’t care. These are all great suggestions that don’t require an excessive amount of time or energy, but can send such a positive message that you care and want to see them succeed.
When a couple works together they can get the business built fast.
This is a very interesting post. The topic you discuss of supporting your spouse in their MLM business is not a very talked about subject, but it should be. For a business to be successful, there are many facts that should come into play, such as support! Great post with awesome tips.
Regardless of the type of business, a spouse should be supportive.
Very good advice. I almost think this post should be shared on marriage websites. So often, spouses are un-supporting of their mates, even in non-related MLM things. To have success, a person needs their spouse by their side.
I believe one of the best tips is to keep all negative speech out of your mouth. If you always say negative things around other people about your spouse and the MLM or products, you are hurting both your spouse and yourself.
Sure, maybe your spouse is doing something you don’t agree with, but at least he/she is trying to better the family. At least they are not out boozing it up or cheating.