Your Family & Your Self Employment

No matter how successful your self employment may be, every holiday season your family somehow makes you feel inferior because you have the luxury of working from home. Bolder family members may even ask you how much you make, and other invasive questions.

They’re your family – so what do you do? The holidays would seem a little less bright if you told them off or primly said, “It’s not really any of your business.” You don’t want to reduce the discussion at the table to “pass the green beans” and “ready for dessert?” So you bite your tongue, you smile, and you patiently explain – again – the nature of your self employment.

Answering all their holiday season questions usually lasts through at least the first hour of the family holiday get-together. When you feel like you’re being put on the spot and you’re wishing the holidays were over so you could escape, your family and your self employment aren’t seeing each other eye-to-eye.

How do you get them on the same page? Or at least, get them off your back so you can enjoy your turkey? Every time they ask you an invasive question, smile, take another bite, and turn the tables on them. They’ll get the hint, and you won’t have to go out of your way to put them in their place. If they try to press you, just shrug, smile, and say “that would be telling, now, wouldn’t it?” And wink.

Let them wonder what you mean for the rest of the evening.