So your wife has joined as an Usborne Books & More Consultant? Congrats! She’s officially an Uzzie! Guess what that makes you, Mr. Husband? A “Huzzie” (Husband of an Uzzie). It’s not the most glamorous or manly title but it’s starting to grow on me 😛 .

Your wife has decided to embark on an awesome journey, but being successful in this business, or any other for that matter, won’t be easy. Running your own business comes with all kinds of ups and downs. As a Huzzie, you play a very important role in the success or failure of this new venture. If you want the new business to thrive and make a positive impact on your family’s financial situation, check out these 5 Ways You Can Be a Good Huzzie.

Encouragement

This is probably the most important way all the Huzzies out there can help – especially in the beginning. I’m about 2 years in with Becky’s Usborne Books & More business and I’ve probably seen it 100 times. A new consultant joins, gets super excited about starting, has her first party and nobody shows up so she quits. It sucks. Part of the motivation for developing this website was to give people the tools and information they need to be successful. I want everyone on Becky’s team to qualify for the incentive trip and be there with us at Punta Cana in 2018.

Sometimes your friends won’t be supportive of your new venture. Most people want to maintain the status quo and they’ll talk down anyone trying to do something better for themselves or different. If you are also piling it on telling her “I told you so” and doubting her, the business is doomed before it even starts. A good Huzzie will encourage his wife to keep going. You can’t dwell on the negative. You have to keep moving forward.

If your friends or family aren’t supportive, reach outside your circle. Try to get a book fair or booth at an event so you can branch out of your own personal network. Encourage your wife to get involved in her team’s group on Facebook. There is tons of support and ideas there. She could also join a business networking group to meet up with other like-minded business owners.

Flex Those Muscles – Load the Car

There have been many times when I’m loading 25 boxes of books in the car sweating like crazy where I’ve said to myself, “Man, why couldn’t she have picked something smaller and lighter like oils or makeup??” The bottom line is books are heavy. If your wife is doing book fairs or events, as a good Huzzie you should help load the car. If you want to save your back and a lot of time invest in a hand truck like this one.

Spend Some Quality Time With Your Kids

If you make it through the first couple parties and are planning to forge ahead on this venture, eventually your wife may want to branch out and do book fairs or booth events. If you have kids like us that means you as the Huzzie will need to watch the kids while your wife works. Don’t fret. As a good Huzzie you should be excited about this great bonding time you’ll get with your kids. I know it can be difficult watching the kids by yourself (I talked about it a little in this other post), but don’t make your wife feel bad for leaving.

Now that your wife is an Usborne Books & More consultant you’ll have access to all kinds of cool books and activities to entertain your kids while Daddy Daycare is going on. I’ve become an expert at paper airplanes with the 100 Planes to Fold & Fly. We’ve also done volcano projects and all kinds of Sticker Dolly books. You’ll have plenty of new stuff around to entertain your kids while your wife is away.

Work the Register

If you want to get even more involved, ask grandma to watch the kids and go help at an event. You’ll get a much better appreciation for what your wife is doing and honestly, I find it fun. I’m a much better register/checkout worker than trying to pretend like I know everything about the books. All the times I’ve helped I’m amazed at how Becky works the booth. She knows all the books, makes recommendations and makes great connections at all the events she does. You never really know what it’s like until you see it in person. Having a second person in the booth also lets your wife take a bathroom break and eat some food which will be much appreciated!

Tech Support

If you are tech savvy, or interested in learning some technical skills, this can be a fun way for you to get involved. You can get your wife a new web address, keep track of the finances, set her up with a Square account then load up all the book titles in Square and help troubleshoot computer and phone issues. This is where my passion and skills are best utilized so I help the most on techie stuff with Becky’s Book Biz.

Final Thoughts

In summary, I think if you are involved and interested in your wife’s new Usborne Books & More business you will automatically be a good Huzzie. You’ll find ways to help like the 5 suggestions above and I’m sure many others. If you aren’t being a good Huzzie, then the chances for success are pretty slim. Building a business isn’t easy, especially when working remotely. Without support from your significant other it makes it even harder, if not impossible, to survive the startup phase.

Are you a being a good Huzzie? In the comments below let me know the ways you help with your wife’s book biz! Are you a consultant with a supportive Huzzie? Shout him out below and let me know how he is helping!

P.S. This was written for the 99% where the wife is running point on the business. I know there are a few guys running the business which is awesome! In that case replace Huzzie with Wuzzie (Wife of Uzzie) and it all still applies 🙂 .