What’s your view on asking friends and family to support your brand? We asked members of the community to open up and share their views on this controversial topic. Check out some highlights below.

Shayla Northcutt

Northcutt Travel Agency is a small business. It is so amazing to see others support our small business, but it is all about educating the public about what our agency does. We are not like a lot of other agencies. We give Personalized Service We don’t Charge Agency Fees We don’t keep you on hold for 2 hours We CARE about your travels and vacations – you are not just a “booking” to us Read more>>

Dj Soles

The Biggest Misconception People think that your friends and family are suppose to support you and in reality they’re not obligated to. Any business and/or organization that you own, you care for like your baby and naturally you want you friends and family to have that exact same energy. When they don’t of course you’re upset. However, understand that once your business or company gets to a position of power, the same people who didn’t feel the moral obligation to support you then will now. I promise they will! Read more>>

Jamie McPherson

It took a while for family and friends to support my business. I assume in the beginning this was a hobby. When I first started in the floral business at my girlfriends flower shop, yes it was fun and a hobby. When I got burned out in my own outside sales job I made the decision to leave that job and start a wedding floral design business. Quite scary after having a secure job for 14 years. My girlfriend who is my mentor kind of pushed me into the wedding floral business. But the support of family didnt come right away. They realized after 2 years and going into my 3rd year with 80 weddings on the books, they realized this is her job and her business. Read more>>

Shaneice Sims

Giovonni’s Canvas is a mother and son duo that has brought the love of art, and it’s many forms, back into the community and more! This business thrives tremendously due to word of mouth about the one of a kind experience and memories they are left with. Read more>>

Jeanil Garcia

When I first started my business, my family and friends were extremely supportive. They referred their friends, co-workers, and other family members to me and it helped my business grow to where it is today. Read more>>

Tyra Bass

At BHE Elite Travel we have done several group trips. The lead person in the group may have been a close friend or family member and after the trip we tend to get inquiries and bookings from those who went on the group trip. This is how we began to expand our clientele. I do not expect my family and friends to support me all the time. Having that expectation will cause hurt feelings so I always keep business separate from my personal life. Read more>>

Quiana Brown

When it comes to your friends and family members supporting your business it seems simple, right? It can be the most difficult. Your friends and family are assuming that they must help you financially or spending money in some way. In actuality, something as simple as going on social media and posting or reposting can help so much. When I was starting out, I was hoping that some of my friends with little girls would be so excited to use my business, but that did not happen until years later. I am grateful for my family, because they have been so supportive of me and my business. Read more>>

Rachael Phillips

We first started GOGA as a crazy idea I had for a fundraiser to raise money for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. We thought a few people would show up, but when we had hundreds of RSVPs to the event and the donation based tickets sold out in 30 minutes, we realized we actually had a huge event to plan. We originally asked our friends and family to come participate in the classes, but we quickly started calling them back to recruit them to come help us check people in, set up fencing, take photos, etc. Read more>>

Keneja Kennedy

When starting a business I believe getting family and friends to support your business is the hardest thing ever. I’ve never fully understood what others were saying until I launched my business. I think it is an huge accomplishment to push aside your fears to start a business not to mention the blood, sweat, & tears you put into your business to get people to notice you. Do not get me wrong I have a few family and friends that support me wholeheartedly and rep my brand as if it’s theirs. Read more>>

Berdarrius Gainer

Honestly, When i first started Love4Dinero I was looking for a lot of friends and family to support my brand. They would ask for discounts or free products instead of paying the cost. What I’ve came to realize is that and this might be one of my biggest lessons learned is that if a person like your product they will pay whatever, as long as it’s reasonable of course. Now i no longer care for the local area support, don’t get me wrong i do have some supporters in my city that cop whatever i drop NOT because they know me but because they love the brand ! And that’s what I’m going for. Read more>>