What are your Parent's/Friend's/Partner's opinions?

[Tyler]

So you do something a bit out of the ordinary: you make money by developing websites and earning revenue through advertising or other methods.

Depending on your living situation and age, what do your parents/girlfriend/boyfriend/friends think of what you do?:

1. Do they know what you do?
2. What do they think about what you do? Are they very interested? Jealous? Frown about it? Don't really care?

[Submerge]

I'm 20 years old.

My parents, girlfriend, and family I guess are supportive of it. I guess they are impressed that i can make money off something they don't know much about and isn't considered part of the "real world". I doubt they fully know what I do, since they aren't computer savvy.

[Andreas Bard]

My expericence from talking with alot of young entrepreneurs this really is a problem.
Most do not get any support from their parents, and that is very sad.

For me, I have always got very good support from my parents and now my gf supports me to 100%.

//Andreas

[Tyler]

This is interesting, much of it could be based on where you live. Submerge being in the US may be supported because America is a young country and the land of 'opportunity', so society there may have a more open mind about new trades and such.

[jeremy]

my friends, relatives and girlfriend think it's awesome that i make money on the internet. i have trouble explaining exactly what i do, though. i'd probably get the same reaction if i was raking in $10k/year doing part-time witch doctor consulting.

now, if i dropped out of college and started doing web development full time, i'm not sure if i would retain all that support.

[Anthony]

I'm 19, Living in the north of the UK.

I still live at home (not for long) so escaping my folks asking me how I spend my time on my "puter" isn't easy. They know I'm a website designer and I take up the odd development every now and then, but it's VERY rarely a topic of conversation.

My friends aren't really supportive, most think it's geeky and unproductive. More the fool them really.

[Sam]

My friends and parents don't really support it either, but i guess that's because they don't really understand how you can make money with a computer.

[Tyler]

Anthony, your friends really think that?! Haha, I never would have guessed... Oh well, when you're driving your Porche on your way to your yacht and pass by them on their bikes you can wave and smile :)

Here's my story:

I'm nearly 23 now (Ugh!). However when I was living at home doing this as a growing source of main income at age 20/21 my parents were skeptical, curious, and confused. They didn't really understand how it was possible to make money from websites, and they definitely didn't think that it'd last.

They just thought that I got lucky for a while and that soon this 'phase' of mine would blow over and I'd get a real job. But I kept at it and slowly but surely started making more and more to the point where I could just afford to move out.

Now my dad is proud and jealous (my mom is still confused as hell LOL), and they both say things like "You should buy us a new house..." or "You should take us on a trip somewhere..." now so they seem to be comfortable with it when I make more money... strange how that works, eh? :P

My friends and other acquaintances all think it's awesome and are very envious. My girlfriend is extremely supportive... she'll phone me up and be like "There's a new member on CookingForums!!!" (Her favourite out of all my sites).

[Anthony]

They're pissed that I just bought a new car as it is, they work in call centers and spend their money going out and getting drunk 4 nights a week....what a waste.

I envy the support you get, I honestly think that having people to support you in your ventures drives you on further and gets rid of those thoughts of quitting and going for a regular job.

I find it extremely difficult at times as I'm still a full time student (only two more years, yay!) studying two degrees, I'm just glad my clients are still here and I still have a loyal customer base.

[Tyler]

Haha, see? Them saying/thinking it's nerdy and unproductive is really just jealousy talking :)

[Anthony]

Either that, or they're just purely narrow minded and pig headed. I call them my friends, but in truth we barely hang out or talk.

I have a select few friends who always ask about it, see how things are going.

On the plus side, the more people who don't really know how you make your money, the cooler and most mysterious you look ;)

/me puts on shades

[mason]

My parents aren't too supportive of it. Then again they don't really know what I'm trying to do. They just know I spend too much time on the computer lol. I want to see the look on their faces if I become successful at it. I have a lingering feeling that my friends think that what I'm doing will eventually lose interest in me. None of them seriously think I can make a living off of it.

so to answer your question. No, I don't think my friends or family are supportive. :'(

[Idle Play]

My parents still think what I do is Illegal :)

[Gethin]

My parents don't really understand what I do, my dad proberly has a better understanding as he uses a computer but my mother, well I wouldn't say frowns upon it but something like that as she doesn't understand and I find it hard to explain to her.

My brother laughs when I talk about things to do with my work, which I find very annoying and not supportive in the least as it makes me feel stupid, but I'm getting used to him now.
Never really talked to my sister about it.

My friends have been asking me a lot about it and how I make money recently, it can be hard to explain but it's nice because most of them are supportive.

I think it really helps if you have support in what you do, I believe that it gives you more motivation to keep going, if you don't have any support then you may feel as if you can't do it or that it's a waste of time because you'll never be a success, which is a shame really.

My friend, techno from talkfreelance told me the other day that his mother laughs at him when he tells her that he's making money. He codes VB and websites and had around $700 in his paypal from this month, I told him to wait until he get's to $1,000 and then show his mam :p, but he said she wouldn't believe him anyway...quite sad I think.

[Tyler]

Haha, yeah. My mom could never really believe the fact that I was somehow making money from websites. She would say things like "Hmm.. I hope you're not selling drugs..." or "It better not be illegal... how can you make money from websites? I don't get it."

[kaizan]

The hardest thing for me is to get people and family to understand that just because i run a home office and all employees are free to work from home, i cant just drop things and go out for two hours.. or even 30 minutes whenever they want me to.

Its a business and it has to be treated as such. Even if there is one pc on with work and one with a dvd/news ;-p

[kaizan]

Oh but i forgot. I can see how it may be harder for some of you guys. I have the added feature of clients and business meetings. I can see how it would be hard when your a sole operator and there is no end user interaction.

[Gareth]

My parents/girlfriend doesn't know anything about what I do. I wouldn't know where to start explaining...they wouldn't understand.

[Omer]

Yeah my parent's only know a bit about my webdesign because my partner mailed me a 60GB video iPod last January. No one else really knows.

[Shaun]

My parents are alright with it, but they arn exactually the most PC savvy people. My friends think its pretty cool

[Garrett]

My dad's a bit on the technical side, and he doesn't get why I need multiple websites, I want to make revenue, I want to make them, there really fun to make and to develop. Its like a job, I like that feeling. But when I get accepted into YPN, I asked my dad for his tax number, and he was like uh uh, you dont need to be making money that way, its cheating people. I was like thats what there for, for people to click on and for me to make money.

A few of my friends know, a few do stuff with me.

I don't have a girlfriend so I can't answer that.

[L146705]

I have a 1st degree in internet computing, when I told my family that I wanted to work on my own business full time they thought I was crazy

[MDStidham]

Haha, yeah. My mom could never really believe the fact that I was somehow making money from websites. She would say things like "Hmm.. I hope you're not selling drugs..." or "It better not be illegal... how can you make money from websites? I don't get it."

LOL, That just made me laugh because my cousin IS actually selling drugs and has alot of extra money because of it (I know because I spent a week living with him). He tells our family that he makes money off the web... The family doesn't believe him though.

[MDStidham]

Since I have been 16 I have always looked for ways to make money “Out of the box”. I am now trying to get into web site creation and management. When I told my Family about signing up for Google Adsense they laughed and said “stay in school”. They refer to these ventures as “Schemes”.

[aloksingh]

I never ever told my parents that I was developing a website and I haven't told them about it yet. I think that they will support me but still, I think that keeping it private is better for now.

[Reckless]

Yeah they do know i try to make money online, i do not work and don't really need money so :)
but they do support me, i'm studying ICT & Multi Media Design so making money online will probably become a big part of my life

[Submerge]

My family supported me when they saw actual money being made.

[Reckless]

My family supported me when they saw actual money being made.

Yeah if you make money and like what you are doing, they will support you

even if you dont make money, but still love what you are doing they should support you, dont you think?

[andyw]

convince them that u will be making money... soon... :D

[Submerge]

Yeah if you make money and like what you are doing, they will support you

even if you dont make money, but still love what you are doing they should support you, dont you think?

Nah, they thought I was wasting my time being on the Internet.

[Sunfrog]

They think I'm gay.
Hahahaha! Just kidding.