Dear WineShop at Home consultant spouse,
I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the tremendous benefits that WineShop at Home has to offer your spouse and your family! A supportive spouse is so important when it comes to building a strong, thriving WineShop business. This means that, believe it or not, the way you interact with your spouse with regards to the business will have a huge impact on his or her ability to succeed.
Truth be told, I see a huge difference in the success rate of consultants who have supportive spouses versus those who don’t. That doesn’t mean that somebody who doesn’t have a supportive husband or wife can’t create a lucrative business, but if every tasting event or team meeting is an uphill battle, it’s not going to be easy to come by big wins.
Many consultants who don’t have a supportive spouse quit after a matter of time. As a leader, that is hard to watch because often, I see greatness in them.
It’s true that opening a WineShop at Home business will not be profitable in the first few weeks (but I can teach you how to make it profitable faster) since every business requires a bit of time to get rolling. However, if you extend patience, support, enthusiasm and acceptance of your partner’s endeavors, becoming a profitable business will be infinitely easier and likely to happen much more quickly!
I want your spouse to be successful and so I’ve put together a Top 8 list for how to be a supportive WineShop at Home spouse. Even choosing just one of these will have a profound effect on your spouse and his or her ability to succeed!
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Give up the Grief.
When your partner needs your help watching the kids or making dinner so she can go do her thing at a tasting, please don’t give her grief. She’s working toward a common goal of success: help her get there! Same with if she comes home and has had a rough night, don’t make her feel bad about being out without you.
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Offer Help where You Can.
Help load or unload the car before or after a tasting. Help wash stemware when your partner gets home and talk to her about how it went. Help her enter orders, do accounting, or design her flyers – whatever your expertise may be, use it to help her and spend the time together.
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Be Flexible.
It’s really important that your spouse attend corporate events to grow her business. Please be flexible when it’s time for her to go to an event such as our annual conference or a big regional meeting. Think of these events as continuing education for her business.
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Give up the Guilt.
I’ve seen men make their wives feel guilty for lots of crazy, irrational things. There’s no guilt in building a new income stream for the family or even wanting to work a bit outside the home to have an outlet for different energy, so if you find yourself laying it on thick, take a deep breath and let’s give it a rest.
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Keep Your Eyes Peeled for Prospects.
Helping your spouse find new customers or new avenues for a customer base is a great way to be supportive. Think of your co-workers, your buddies, and any relatives who may be interested in hosting a tasting. Brag on her business and be proud. It will pay off, trust me.
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Help Pour at a Tasting.
My husband, Andrew was the life of the party whenever he helped me pour at a tasting (okay, maybe not quite the LIFE of the party), and he loved it plus often, my sales were HIGHER. True story.
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Become a Taste Tester.
The most coveted job of any WineShop at Home spouse is the role of taste tester. Who doesn’t love a scheduled date night where you’re forced to make delicious recipes and see how they pair with the wines? Taking a tax deduction* for your date night sounds pretty great to me! Plus, do you know what Mag 7 is? That’s the program that lets us EARN wine for FREE. Help her be successful and you’ll reap those rewards too.
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Celebrate & Encourage.
Overall, the most important thing you can do for your spouse is to celebrate her wins and buoy her when things get tough. Please don’t make her feel bad if she has a less then stellar tasting! It even happens to me. Ten years of pouring tastings and sometimes, I just have a sucky one….or even two in a row. Encourage her to stay in the game and before long you’ll see wonderful results.
Being a WineShop at Home consultant goes beyond making money (though we certainly do that). Many consultants are stay-at-home moms who don’t necessarily have “adult time” every day – they need to have something besides home life to feel like the creative, inspired and productive people they are.
Your support means so much to your spouse. When you choose to be encouraging, understanding and helpful, you will watch your spouse’s eyes light up when she or he talks about the business. And by the way, you can thank me when you’re sipping on sangria in a tropical location in 12 months thanks to WineShop’s incentive trips.
To good wine, great people, and the lifestyle you love,
Diane
*Consult your tax preparation professional