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The Scent Shack | 10 West State St, Geneva, IL 60134
(630) 845-8931 | Email: info@thescentshack.com

Question: "First of all, cultivate a contented spirit. Recollect that nothing so soon fixes disagreeable lines upon the face as habits of scowling, or facial contortions of any description. Keep your soul above the petty trials of life. Look up, my dear friends, and forward. Above the roughness of the earth you will always find a bit of blue somewhere in the firmament, and if you watch patiently you will find a little star of hope trying hard to send you a loving little twinkle of encouragement out of the blackest night. Don't waste your strength losing your temper over small things. We have just so much vital force, each one of us. If we waste it over trifles (and a lot of strength escapes in each angry word), we will not have it for our work or diversion."

To win, be the first to respond with name of the person who is credited with saying the above and win a copy of HBN member Sandy Maine's book "Creating An Herbal Bodycare Business" plus your choice of a Create The Life You Love™ audio tape, plus a sample of rose absolute!

Please read the contest rules here before submitting your entry. Put "TRIVIA CONTEST ANSWER" in the subject line or your answer will not be considered.

While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the winner will be notified by email and their name posted at HBN's home page.

This series of articles looks at a collection of questions that should be asked and answered by any owner of a start up business, and probably also by business owners who are already established. The two preceding articles in the series are:

Question No. 1: Do I Have Enough Money?
Question No. 2: Do I Have Enough Stamina?

This week's question is Question No. 3: Do I Have Enough Emotional Support? I have heard it said numerous times that the most likely saboteurs of a small business are the business owner's close friends and family members. I have never quite figured out why that is the case and I suspect it's different in each scenario. Sometimes the motive is jealousy. Other times, it's heartfelt concern that business owners will get in "over their heads" and be stuck with barely enough resources to support themselves, not to mention the business. Whatever the case, if you are starting or already managing a small business, it is extremely important that you surround yourself with positive people who can uplift you when you're down (and you will be down sometimes because your business will be down sometimes) and celebrate with you when you're up. Here are some tips.

1. Make Sure Your Spouse Or Significant Other Is On Board. In my life, I have observed business people who started their ventures with the support of their spouse or significant other and I have observed people who started their ventures in the face of great opposition from their spouses. Of course, those closest to us should have our best interests at heart so unless your spouse is a known saboteur or a negative "nay sayer" (see Point #3 below), you should pay close attention to what they think and do some serious soul searching before launching anything they are not in favor of. The reason for this simple: you will need their help at 3:00am. If they are not on board with your business venture, they are not likely to help you package products before dawn or keep the kids quiet so you can complete a professional call with a potential new wholesale customer. The best thing to do is to put your business venture down on paper in outline form for your partner so s/he can see exactly what is involved. Often times even the most skeptical person will buy into an idea if they see that you have thought it through in a thorough fashion. Provide your spouse with a periodic update of how things are going so they can remain abreast of developments and are not broad-sided with unexpected financial needs and the like. The attitude and assistance of a supportive partner can make or break a small business ... or it can make or break a relationship. So do everything you can to make sure that your partner is excited about your business. You'll find that their enthusiasm will go a long way toward providing you with the emotional support you need to make things work.

2. Select A Few Trusted "Sounding Boards" To Be Your Advisors. Make sure you have trusted counselors. And not just trusted counselors, but wise and objective ones. As pointed out above, you will need the support of your partner, but that person will not always be objective when you need it most. Your emotional sanity will take a nose dive if you don't make sure there are wise people in your life who can advise you in an objective fashion. My most trusted advisors have saved by mental life on numerous occasions. One is a professional soapmaker who has made a profitable business out of selling her soaps at retail while holding down a full time job. While she could support herself making and selling her soap, she is also a rabid planner who has not yet seen the financial wisdom of giving up her day job. This woman is a "voice of financial reason." Another advisor is the woman who introduced me to the art of soapmaking 10 years ago. I have seen her in person only once in my life but she is one of the wisest women I know and she plans everything, I mean everything. This woman is my "voice of look before you leap."

My favorite sounding board is my younger brother. Every time I have an idea for a new venture, or a notion to change an existing one, he's there to ask me all the right questions. He's an incredibly cautious person (taking far too long in my opinion to do ANYthing!), but he can cut to the heart of an idea in no time flat. A few weeks ago, I sat down at his kitchen table to share a fantastic new business idea about which I was really excited. In about 30 seconds, he had calculated in his head that the chance that my new business would be a financial flop was about 100%. He explained his reasoning to me, after which time I pouted, frowned, told him he was right, and left the table. Having my brother and people like him to give me good advice does not excuse me from analyzing things myself, but it sure does help to have their input ... and they have saved my rear end more times than I like to admit.

Visit our suite of Web sites serving the handmade toiletries industry:

HandmadeBeauty.com: the leading industry trade organization
MangoButter.com: over 400 suppliers of raw materials and packaging, updated weekly!
MakeYourCosmetics.com: ingredient encyclopedia & original cosmetics recipes
DonnaMaria.com: sound advice for your small business, Create The Life You Love™ Lectures & Workshops
Handmade Skin Care.com: secure online shopping