A gray T-shirt, blue hoodie, and jeans. That’s what Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wears every single day. He does so to reduce the number of decisions he needs to make. To most people, that sounds nuts. To an entrepreneur though, that sounds smart — almost inspiring.
Entrepreneurs don’t see things the way other people do. The average person seeks the approval of others, but someone charting his own course can be too focused to worry about what others think. Most successful entrepreneurs are disagreeable and impatient, says best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell. They embrace long hours, intense concentration on the business, and impatience with the current state of affairs.
Where does that leave his wife — or her husband — and kids? It can’t always be pleasant to have a spouse or parent who is disagreeable and impatient, who works all the time yet who might not even bring in a steady income to support the family. How can they have a healthy relationship?
To support Lee Jay and help maintain the family equilibrium, his wife and kids give him as much space as they can to pursue his business. They see that he gets a lot of satisfaction from it. And they try to remember that they’re the beneficiaries of his hard work — that makes it easier for them to forgive his preoccupation. It also helps that Lee Jay makes sure to spend time with them.
No matter what the entrepreneur is hawking, he may have a hard time breaking away, especially at crucial moments. At those times — when they see their husbands absorbed in some aspect of the business — stepping back is a common strategy for spouses. Take Rochel Lazar, for example, whose husband, Chaim, is a serial entrepreneur: He currently owns a plumbing, HVAC, and remodeling business with his brother; an auto-maintenance business; four restaurants; three retail stores to help people stop smoking; and is a partner in a gluten-free challah business in Miami, on top of his position as a business consultant.