Dealing with non-entrepeneural friends

**bob0172** · 04-22-2009 03:18 PM

I'm doing kinda ok with my business right now but i find myself more and more isolated from my non-entrepeneural friends. Somehow the way of love and the self-employed, self-responsible mentality conflicts with the more employee type. Now it is getting to a point were i'm having doubts about the quality of friendships between entrepeneur and non-entrepeneurs.

Anyone else experiencing these problems?

**byzantium** · 04-22-2009 05:13 PM

Read some of Robert Kiyosaki's musings on this, he even says straight out at one point that if you shake off the chains of working for somebody else that you WILL lose your old friends, because your old friends are the types of people who can't handle the truth. The solution is to get new friends. Be fortunate that they're just friends, and you can cut them off if you so wish. I have yet to find a way to divorce myself from my government bureaucrat parents.

**myfayt** · 04-22-2009 06:23 PM

Being an entrepreneur is a lonely life, but you have a choice. Either stop being an entrepreneur and go back to your friends and work a dead end job, or make new friends and have a big career ahead for you.

What I try to do is get everyone I know to become an entrepreneur. I keep telling people to start their own business and the #1 reply I always get is (I don't have ten thousand dollars for a business). Most businesses are started on $500.

But the thing is, you have to jump in and take the risk. There is no "should I do this? do I want to do this? is there money in this?" you need to get jump in and attempt. If you fail, no big deal you wasted $500, start up a different business. If you are successful as many are on your first business, then great!. But never give up, I am on my 6th business now, spent $1,000 and am now ready to launch and estimate I will make $40,000 a year. Beats the $9,000 a year at my previous job.

Take the risk and make new friends!

**Will** · 04-23-2009 07:52 AM

Number 1 is: If they have a problem with you for being an entrepreneur, or anything you want to be for that matter, then they aren't really friends worth having anyway, so who cares?

Your friends are there to be supportive. Maybe they are jealous of you and wished they had done the same?

If you just meant that you don't get as much time to be with your friends and they get to socialize more, I guess that is what we have to deal with due to our silly love for entrepreneurialism!

**bob0172** · 04-23-2009 02:23 PM

I guess i have to find new entrepeneural friends. People who can support me and understand the entreponeural attitude.

So another question arises:
What type of business subjects do you discuss with non-entrepeneural friends, and which do you need to avoid?

I once told a friend of mine i was so happy that i made 14k in 2 weeks,,,,, my relationship with that person changed dramatically.

**bob0172** · 04-23-2009 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by byzantium

Read some of Robert Kiyosaki's musings on this, he even says straight out at one point that if you shake off the chains of working for somebody else that you WILL lose your old friends, because your old friends are the types of people who can't handle the truth. The solution is to get new friends. Be fortunate that they're just friends, and you can cut them off if you so wish. I have yet to find a way to divorce myself from my government bureaucrat parents.

Yeah i've read lots of Robert Kiyosaki's books, now that i think of it,,, he got me convinced that starting my own business was the ONLY way.

My parents are academics, they are terribly rigid about financial matters. It's really hard to communicate with them. I don't want to cut of my parents because i love them too much. Now i'm trying to find out which discussions to avoid.

**Wayne Liew** · 04-23-2009 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by bob0172

I guess i have to find new entrepeneural friends. People who can support me and understand the entreponeural attitude.

So another question arises:
What type of business subjects do you discuss with non-entrepeneural friends, and which do you need to avoid?

I once told a friend of mine i was so happy that i made 14k in 2 weeks,,,,, my relationship with that person changed dramatically.

If you can't find any entrepreneurial friends around you, just log on to YE, we are all entrepreneurs here and I'm sure there will be a large percentage of people over here understands your situation.

As for discussion topics with your non-entrepreneurial friends, I guess it boils down to how much they are willing to hear. Some people are just plain good listeners while others will just shut you off, or worse, pretending to be listen while in fact they are not.

**GermanAudioTech** · 04-23-2009 11:19 PM

I'm glad I found this forum AND this thread. I've been venting to my girlfriend lately how much life seems to be GREAT and SUCK at the same time being a successful entrepreneur. My lifelong friends are very distanced from me since my college graduation. I grew up, decided to take my own path in life and my 'friends' are still working dead end jobs and are getting no where. They are slaves to the system. I'm looking for new friends that are business-minded also, but they are hard to find where I live. Maybe I am just not looking hard enough. Anyone in Southern California (long beach) area looking to kick ideas around let me know! AIM me.

**Okane** · 04-23-2009 11:31 PM

I find myself missing out on opportunities/activities with my friends. It sucks, but being stuck working to make some other jerk's dream a reality sucks more.

**HarveyJ** · 04-24-2009 01:20 AM

OR you can stop being an anti-social prat and actually schedule time with your friends.

Sure, you're going to be busy, and they understand that.
What they don't understand is how you never have time anymore.
Fact of the matter is that you do have time, you're just making your work more of a priority than your friends, and that's what's upsetting them.

Now, you are not required to work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for 52 weeks a year to get your business to work. Take some damn time off and go have some beers with your friends, or prepared to be a lonely miserable sap that writes angsty poetry about how no one understands what you're trying to do.

It's called Time Management.
Run things to a schedule, keep to that schedule, and amazingly, you'll have time to spend with friends.

**chrispalko** · 04-24-2009 07:26 AM

Will you're "friends" help you achieve your ultimate future?

If your answer is no, then find new friends. I don't have any friends for that reason alone.

@HarveyJ: Why should I take the time to make a schedule to spend more time with people that will only increase the time it takes me to achieve my goals? (not saying your input is incorrect, but I don't believe it is universal).

Anyways, I can't really offer input to the remedy of this situation as I haven't found it myself (and it's not really a priority that I do find out).

Overall, just look out for your own best interests. Only you know what's best for you. Don't let "friends" try to tell you what's best for you just because they're bored and want someone to hang out with.

**FrioGott** · 04-24-2009 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by bob0172

I'm doing kinda ok with my business right now but i find myself more and more isolated from my non-entrepeneural friends. Somehow the way of love and the self-employed, self-responsible mentality conflicts with the more employee type. Now it is getting to a point were i'm having doubts about the quality of friendships between entrepeneur and non-entrepeneurs.

Anyone else experiencing these problems?

I try and keep my buisness and friends seperate. It has worked out pretty well so far. It is really hard not to just start spouting out things about it though. It's like a newly wed couple that just had a baby, all they can talk about is their baby and how awesome their marriage is. I think it is the same way with entrepreneurs and their businesses. We just can't stop talking about it because it is like breathing and drinking water for us!

GermanAudioTech: I find it hard to believe you can't find anyone in California. That place seems to shit out entrepreneurs daily. Try living in Oklahoma. The few buisness minded people you do find are all interested in oil and only oil. I can't go hang out with you but I can be your long distance buddy

**bob0172** · 04-24-2009 11:48 AM

I think eveyone needs an innercircle of trustworthy entrepeneural friends.I really need to built on that inner circle. I'm glad i've found this forum, it makes at all much easier.

**byrneof** · 04-24-2009 12:19 PM

There is a huge difference in mindset between entrepreneurs like us and people who are employees. It's just natural. However, it helps if you have common interests like sport so you don't talk about "work" so much.

I am in a similar situation with my friends but when I hear them talking about "work" or applying their employee mentality to something I realize that I have made the correct choice with my life.

**SeaSquirrel** · 04-24-2009 04:57 PM

@chrispalko

I think your twisting the meaning of whats going on here. There needs to be down time where you can relax and enjoy life with people you care about and that is what Harvey is getting to. Shoot if I shut out people who didn't help me with my own personal and business goals I would be one sad person. I do see where both of you are coming from but there has to be balance!