As an entrepreneur, my brain works differently than the brains of others. People who aren’t an entrepreneur at heart, often don’t understand why I do what I do, why I say what I say and why I act how I act.

I’ve noticed that as an entrepreneur, my personality is very similar to the personalities of other entrepreneurs. They get me. They can relate to my thought process. They understand.

When I talk about business, and what it is that I do for a living, many people don’t really understand. This includes my parents, siblings, friends and even my husband. They realize that I work for myself, from home, but.. that’s about all they understand. Though my husband is very supportive of my work, he doesn’t really get how I make money.

If you’re a married entrepreneur, I’m sure you can relate!

In an effort to clear some things up for our husbands/boyfriends, I came up with this list:

8 Things Your Entrepreneur Wife Wants You to Know

1. She needs your support more than you realize.
Even if you don’t completely understand what it is exactly that she does for work, you need to support her. Be there for her when she has a problem. Listen. Without the support of others, an entrepreneur can feel alone and defeated (which is not helpful in growing her business!).

2. Most entrepreneurs are extreme workaholics.
She likely always has her phone on, is always in front of her computer and is always reading and learning - this is normal. It can be hard for an entrepreneur to stop working, because most of the time, the work that they do doesn’t feel like work, but play. And who wants to stop playing when they’re having fun?

Instead of telling your wife she needs to stop working so much, work out a schedule with her so that when she does sit down to work, she has the ability to focus without distractions. And accept that she likely wants to work more than you do, simply because she loves it.

3. Sometimes late nights are a necessity.
Us entrepreneurs like to create big things. Products, services, programs. And we always work ourselves to the bone on these projects because we know that they have the ability to change the world (or a handful of people, at the very least!).

That means that sometimes, in order to meet a deadline, we may need to work late into the night. We can’t often go to bed when we’re SO CLOSE to finishing something, and we need to lose a bit of sleep, just to say that the project is completed. Then we can sleep like a baby.

4. You will likely never go to bed at the same time.
Simply because of point 2 and 3, it’s not likely that your wife will go to bed at the same time as you. She may have a few projects to finish up, a new project to start, a meeting with her team, or an idea she has to research.

As an entrepreneur, sometimes ideas pop into your head at the most random of times, and you need to stop everything to check those ideas out and see if they are possible for you and your business. So, again, some late nights may ensue.

We don’t avoid going to bed with you because we don’t like you. We just need a bit of space to finish tasks and clear our head.

5. She will fail in her business.
It’s highly unlikely that your entrepreneur wife will be successful all the time. Many successful entrepreneurs fail many, many times before they finally find success.

When she fails, tell her it’s okay, you’re proud of her effort, and give her the encouragement she needs to get back up and try again. She’ll appreciate that more than you can imagine and it will give her the courage to try something new.

6. Give your honest feedback only when asked.
Sometimes us entrepreneurs like to toss ideas around and ask for the opinion of others nearby. “What do you think?”, “Does that sound like a good idea?”.

They are usually just thinking out loud and don’t actually want you to answer them. And if you say no - you will crush them and they will be discouraged, thinking that all of their ideas are sucky.

Instead, wait for them to ask YOU, specifically, for your advice (“_____, can you give me your honest opinion about this idea that I have?”). Then, and only then, should you answer them honestly.

7. She will not succeed overnight.
The path of an entrepreneur is not a straight line. There will be many curves and hills and obstacles standing in her way of success.

And like many that are just starting a new career, she will not succeed overnight. She will fail many times, she will lose money, she will get discouraged.

But she is determined and she will keep at it - and then you know what will happen? She will SUCCEED. Support her through this process and she will never forget it.

8. She probably won’t ever retire.
Entrepreneurs love their work. The eat, sleep and breathe their work. They can’t imagine a life without work - not because they need to work for financial reasons, but because they simply love what they do.

This is why many entrepreneurs never retire - because retirement is boring to them. Look at entrepreneurs like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Oprah. Although they have all the money they need to retire - they haven’t done so. This is because they LOVE their work, and they simply don’t want to retire.

This rings true for most entrepreneurs, so you can expect the same from your entrepreneur wife.

Are you married to an entrepreneur?