Supporting partner's risky business venture?

[Beauchamp]

My DH is strongly contemplating leaving his current, steady, well-paid corporate, fairly boring job to buy a portion of/invest in a business opportunity that would be pretty darn close to a dream for him to do. It would mean leaving behind a good, steady salary, health insurance, 401K matching, regular annual raises, paid vacation, etc. The new job would mean sporadic hours but possibly more time with family, much more job satisfaction for him, and potentially a lot more money down the line, more than he could ever make now. We'd have to invest quite a chunk of money to buy in. It would involve a move across the country to a place I am not certain about raising our kids (southern Utah, specifically the St. George area, I think.) We're not in an ideal location now, but this would be for the long haul. This would happen VERY soon. I am due in June with baby #2...so fairly soon after the birth we'd go.

I'm worried if I say no he will resent me forever and blame me for a lost opportunity at a dream job.

Has anyone else thrown caution to the wind and supported a risky business idea? It would be much easier do just jump in and do it if we didn't have children to support, but we do.

Any BTDT? How did it work out?

[anjelika]

What are the consequences of failure?  Will you still be okay financially if things fall through?

If your financial situation is tenuous, no way!  If you would still be able to afford the basics if the business didn't work out, I'd consider it.

Best of luck in your decision!

[cappuccinosmom]

I did, and would again.

But I have a somewhat unique husband.  He is as much invested with me being at home with the children as I am.  So my being a sahm is not dependant on our financial success or failure.  I'm just home.  Everything else centers around that.  If business didn't work, he'd get a 9-5 and we'd adjust our lifestyle down.  We just do what needs to be done to make it happen, and because I am confident of his dedication to that, I'm happy to support him

[MCsMom]

I'd probably go for it as well.  I feel like we are a team and if this is how he thinks the best way to support our family is - then I would ask questions and be prepared, but go for it. 

[insidevoice]

We made a similar leap.  Because of it, and because DH is so dedicated to my being home with the kids, it has been a good move.  He was willing to do a LOT or work for a while to make it happen though, and it meant that  he can't be around  a lot for right now- but in a few years he will have more freedom.  Right now he is working a ton to make everything work for our family since we both believe that it is important for one of us to be home with the kids. 

I was terrified in the beginning, but am glad we made the leap.  I also know that DH would pick up side jobs to make it work if his business did not work out, and would find something else if we were really stuck. 

[DuckDuckGoose]

My husband started his own business just before our #1 was born. Shortly after that he quit his day job. Its been almost 5 years and we are still about breaking even. Of course the economy has taken a dive, but its been steady. And while we are in a good amount of debt from it we are starting to chip away at it.  He is much happier working for himself, although that brings a whole new set of issues.  Having to be 100% responsible for all decision, failures, responsibilities....its a huge load. And he works around the clock so there is no cutoff time.  But its been great having him home and having the excitement of a really good week!  There's no budget though and on the bad weeks/months it feels like a panic attack.

How easy would it be for your husband to find another job if this venture didn't work out?  Jobs are SO hard to land these days.   Its quite a decision. Its always hard to leave a comfortable situation, but people are rarely ever successful when settling for their comfort zone.

[jeteaa]

I would support my dh is the opportunity to own his DREAM business IF it we would still be able to support our children. However I would NOT support him if it meant having to move to an area I would not want to raise my children in.

[philomom]

I did do this ten years ago. My hubby and his posse came together and built a start up. We had less salary the first year and the company eventually tanked. But I suspect it has been the most rewarding year of my hubby's career thus far. He talks of it often and he and the friends still reminisce. My kids were preschool age at the time and they didn't notice the scrimping and it didn't involve moving.

And not to be Debbie Downer but its a whole new ball game right now in today's economy. Good luck working things through.

[les_oiseau]

Honestly I think there may be just as much risk in staying as in leaving. While what he has now is considered "stable" our country is changing and most positions of employment are based on a need for a specific slot to be filled, whereas if he were the heart and soul of a company he could change the whole structure of it, as the demands change, to keep it alive.

It may not be "successful" but the time to try it is now. If he doesn't do it now, would he ever?

[Beauchamp]

Well, we're still on the road to risky business. DH is still very excited. If everything tanked we would still have enough in our other accounts to support ourselves at a reasonable level. We're even talking about possibly relocating to a better area, not necessarily southern Utah, which, to me, is quite remote and not the ideal place to raise our kids, if I had the choice of anywhere on the map, yk? (not to offend anyone from southern Utah, please understand.)

The financing for the whole deal will not be certain until this fall, so we have some time to think. If I told him I didn't want to, pretty much for any reason coming from my own opinion of the location, the money, etc, I think he'd be resentful of me. If we decline I think the reason would have to be a strong one and come from the business venture itself, not from my opinions, if that makes sense. It bums me out to think that my DH would think of me this way, but I do.

Right now I'm a SAHM, although I would like to work someday, somehow. I can't let the future unknown of my career keep us here in Corporate Land. It's just a shame, because he keeps saying how his job now is relatively easy, he likes the people, etc, but our current location is not what we want at ALL. This business would be pretty darn awesome for DH, in terms of the "fun level". He even uses the word fun to describe it himself!

Sorry for the rambling. We just got DD to bed and I am pretty fried. So apologies if I sound like I can't string two words together right now.