Will Your Friends Determine Your Future?

Before you read the rest of this post, take just a minute and ask yourself, “Who are the five people I spend the most time around?”

Once you’ve brought those people to the front of your mind, consider this.

One of business and personal development philosopher Jim Rohn’s most repeated quotes is, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

What exactly does that mean?

Most people use it to argue that if you want to make more money, you have to surround yourself with people who are making more money.

Meaning if you added up the income of the five people you spend the most time with and divided it by five, it would be a close predictor of what your income is.

There’s no explanation of how Mr. Rohn came up with the number five, and no research to suggest that there’s anything magic about that number, but the principle certainly has been proven by anecdotal evidence as well as research.

It’s Not All About the Money

Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, my financial situation isn’t so dire that I’m going to dump all my friends and try to go make new ones based on how much money they have.”

The thought of striking up a conversation with someone about her bank account rather than your potential mutual interests is more than a little unappealing.

But fortunately this is about more than money. And, it just so happens, people who make a decent amount of money tend to have other positive qualities that will make you like them for who they are rather than what they have.

Research done in this area shows that obesity, smoking, and overall happiness are all things effected by where our friends land on these issues.

And it makes sense that if you looked at just about every characteristic or habit a person could have, you would find that we tend to band together with others who are like us.

Why? Because we all gravitate towards normalcy. 

And if you have friends that eat two desserts for dinner every time you go out to eat, or fill their homes with junk food every time you visit, bad eating habits are going to be seen as normal to you and therefore acceptable.

Ever heard or read the story of someone who’s made phenomenal change in her life? Chances are one of the deciding factors you’ll hear her talk about is the fact that she changed her circle of friends, changed who she let herself spend the most time around.

What This Means for the Stay at Home Mom Entrepreneur

If you’re a stay at home mom with an urge to have your own business, or maybe you’ve tried a few extra money making things on the side, looking at friendships can be especially important to the success of your business.

The fact is, most people aren’t entrepreneurs, and that’s okay.

But this means that you’re going to find a lot of resistance among your friends if you talk about your desire to start a business with them, or tell them that you’ve started a business.

They may accuse you of neglecting your children, roll their eyes and dismiss your dream with a “those things never work” comment, or just wonder why in the world you’d want to start a business when you have the challenges of raising kids.

The bonds between stay at home moms can be stronger than your average friendship for a couple of reasons.

First, the challenges of parenting are real and if you aren’t a stay at home parent, it’s impossible to completely understand them.

Second, stay at home moms crave adult contact. Without our friends, we can go for days without talking to anyone over the age of 10 and it can make you a little crazy.

The temptation to join the normalcy our stay at home mom friends establish can unfortunately kill our dreams of starting a home business.

What if You Could Have it All?

Well the good news is you can.

But the potentially (temporary) bad news is, in making the transition from stay at home mom to work at home mom, you’re likely going to have to find some new friends.

Friends who support what you do, who understand and share your vision, and who won’t feed your doubts.

If this is bad news to you, it’s only temporary because once you’ve connected with these like-minded moms, a whole new world will open up for you.

If you’re resisting, thinking you’ve been friends with Jane since your grade schoolers were babies, don’t despair.

You don’t have to give up your friendship with Jane. 

Just open yourself up for some new friendships. You can still have coffee with Jane. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself becoming less attached to her as you build other friendships.

Finding Like-Minded Moms

There are no shortage of mom entrepreneurs, but you will have to leave your house to find them.

While it’s relatively easy to find an online community of fellow work at home moms, Facebook groups being the most fertile ground for this, you’re going to need real life friends. Ones you don’t have to get on a plane to visit.

Look for local business-focused groups in your area. Look on MeetUp.com, BNI, toastmasters, your chamber of commerce.

Just sit down with Goggle for 30 minutes and you’ll have a list of places to check out.

You may have to go through a few before you find one or two that are a real match for you, but they are out there. And they meet morning, noon, and night, so there will be one you can work into your schedule.

And your goal here isn't to become completely involved in the group, unless you want to. You're really just looking for more like-minded moms to hang out with in your kid-centered environment.

Admittedly, finding your new friends might take a little work. You’ll need to pull off your sweatpants and find two shoes that match. 

But the rewards are well worth the initial work.

Erasing the obstacles that your friends often unintentionally put in your path to building a successful business could be just the push you need to get going.

And having the support and friendship of other like-minded work from home moms will be life-changing in more ways than you can imagine going into it.

And while we may not be local to you, a great way to start connecting with other entrepreneurs who understand building a business while raising kids is through Kids Party Characters.

Owner Cheryl Jacobs started her entrepreneurial journey as a single mom with two children, has been involved in multiple businesses, and has turned Kids Party Characters into a six-figure business.

Cheryl has a passion for mentoring other moms, and an opportunity with Kids Party Characters that’s a great fit for stay at home moms.

Cheryl’s created a membership to Kids Party Characters that allows you to have an exclusive area in which to book parties, access to our 200+ costumes, as well as our casting director and acting coach.

In addition, you get step-by-step training from Cheryl on how to set up your business for success.

If you think this might be a fit for you, or just have questions about getting started, set up a no-pressure chat with Cheryl right here and she’ll guide you in the right direction.

Also join us on Facebook to learn more about the magic we bring to kids’ parties, as well as our best tips and strategies for building a successful business while raising happy and healthy kids.