Getting out of our comfort zone

Starting off things seemed to be going okay but I was not involved as much as I should have been. I was very hands-off. When we decided to do this we knew I wasn’t going to be around much because of work and Army schooling. Our main reason for signing up for this program is Michael felt like he needed something to do while I was gone that would make money. The biggest selling point for me was the coaches would provide the guidance he would need while I was gone. I also didn’t think it would be best for our long term relationship for me to try to both be his significant other and his accountability partner. This was going to be our business but Michael was going to run it and I was going to support him. He still jokes that I am his sugar mama.

I was working full time and couldn’t devote myself necessarily even part time. I did what I could. I logged into my account and did a little of the online training when I could. I signed up for and attended the webinars that were scheduled during my lunch hour. I tried to be involved in the coaching calls and help make decisions. Michael always seemed a little split on how much he wanted me involved. He didn’t want me in the weeds about what he did all day but he wanted reassurance that he was doing the right things.

From my point of view, the hardest things for Michael were not feeling like he knew what he was doing and being worried about making a mistake. We had already spent so much money that he was truly afraid of making a bad decision. The program was clear that bad decisions turned into losing money. One of the big things to learn first is that you make money when you buy. If you buy at the wrong price, for the most part, anything you do after that just locks in your loss. I on the other hand just wanted to do something and didn’t care so much about money as long as we (well Michael) got our hands dirty and did something. I tried my best to be encouraging without being demanding or putting to much pressure on him.

Michael had just left a job he had been doing for years. He knew pretty much everything inside and out. He was comfortable and possibly a little bored. He will say he left and went into real estate to find freedom and an easier way to life but I think he needed something intellectually more challenging. He found that challenge in a whole new world that we both had to learn from nothing. Michael probably felt a little in over his head.

Letting him take the lead on the business was easy to do. I trusted Michael to work hard and make good decisions. I saw him as strong, intelligent, hard working and dependable. I’m not sure he saw himself the same way. Michael was having a crisis of confidence and it didn’t matter how much I believed in him if he didn’t believe in himself.