I have a seasonal garden business as well. No one understands how it works, especially if you live in a high income tax state. My family acts like this too at times, but mostly it’s about expecting me to always take days off. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard "but you’re the boss! You can take whatever day you want off"🙄🙄. The other comment I get frequently is people thinking my rate=take home pay…I wish lol

I think some of it is age. We didn’t go into business until later in life and no one has given us any attitude or been anything but supportive. I’m kind of surprised by how often these posts are made.

Here is something I have found out over my lifetime and a 35 year business. Never give anyone anything. They will not appreciate it, only think that, “he has so much why did he give so little” and they will be upset that you do not give more. Give once, they will be at your heals forever. Just like the charities or political parties you have donated to, no matter how much you give, it is not enough. People will be hostile to your success, you just have to keep it separate from family. You do now owe anyone anything who did not help with your success. Everyone wishes they could be their own boss. But they could not do it. You did. There will be jealously.

Not as an owner myself, but growing up my parents were small business owners. It wasn’t so bad in elementary school because I went to a private school but once I started public school people were absolutely convinced that we must be rolling in money because our last name was on a building. I can promise you over and over again that that was not even close to the case. My mom lived in a constant state of anxiety that at any minute we could lose everything.

I got all kinds of s***. I think the craziest was this guy in high school who was adamant that I couldn’t be into punk rock music or the scene because we were probably just way too wealthy and upper class. So I found it quite humorous when junior year his mom bought a house just a couple doors down from us. When he became my neighbor was about when he shut up.

There’s a common misconception that business owners have lots of free time and money. Just because my shop is open from 10-6 doesn’t mean that I only work those hours. People also assume that the money just comes in unlimited.
They wouldn’t last a week walking in our shoes.
Keep up the good hard work and brush aside the haters.

Not just that, but from some of the least expected places too. My friend and I started a business in March of this year, and while we’re still hunting for our niche, we aren’t going broke either which is nice.

Most everyone was excited for us, but I will admit I was blown away when a close mutual friend of ours scoffed in my face about our prices, then went on to bad mouth us to other people about our prices even though our prices are on par with our competitors.

Like it’s one thing to not agree with the viability of a business plan, but to actively smack talk your friends’ business because you don’t agree with one thing? That just makes you look bad. Whenever I see him now, it’s nothing but rainbows and butterflies about how well things are going just to make him feel like a schmuck

The ones that get me are my friends. They all say they wish me the best but are then shocked when I charge a fair price. Truly the worst customers I have by far. They are the secret hater’s Caught what I thought was a true friend talking my business down and refer people to my competitors all the while I was working a fairly big project for him at a hair above cost. 2024 will be the year I sort that out and become more selective of who my friends and my customers will be.

Oh yea. And they only ever see the upside of what you do also; you couldn’t possibly experi3nce any form of hardship or stress while you fill all your golden hefty bags with cash. It’s funny… in the start, friends and family don’t support you much and ask about your little business, but when it sticks or takes off, they then have this idea that you’re doing too well and I think they don’t support you because they are slightly jealous.

Crabs in a bucket.

Same with employees to some extent. They think with the sales we have, we must be millionaires. We are actually breaking even.

If you don’t have haters you’re not accomplishing anything remarkable.

My sister likes to call me a child because I now have a ton of free time and she doesn’t. Apparently in order to be an adult, you have to constantly be busy. Who knew?

Seems Reddit was built on hate. Reddit actually pays them to post it. Look at their get paid to post program that came out in September.

just came here to say i really love your simile “acting like i’m driving around in a RollsRoyce with a monocle.” great visual lol.

also

don’t let other people’s bitterness rain on your hard work. you don’t owe anybody anything. be careful with “helping” people out, too. it’s lovely to do, but again, you don’t owe them this, i’ve seen a lot of situations where the “help” snowballs into something ugly where you are doing all the work and people are just taking from you or taking advantage of you. don’t let your family do to you what Britney’s family did to her.

Yes, my siblings and I love each other fiercely, yet we are sarcastic and unsupportive lots of times. I got a job outside the family business, and they both were a bit indignant about it. Similar pay much less hassle both of them could not believe it.