My husband has owned and run his business for over 10 years now, he bought and built his company all by himself. This business is running his life he is right now being sued by people who just do not want to work for a living, everyone wants money and success but, they do not want to work for it. The lawsuits seem to be black and white but in this democratic society there is no black and white and these people could actually get away with this. He is completely consumed and stressed over this he does not sleep or eat he is at a breaking point that scares me. How can I help him? Our marriage is suffering I can not do anything right in his eyes I don't listen right, I am not there for him the right way (whatever that is)it seems no matter what I say or do it is just not right. It is funny the government constantly offers small businesses money, Low Interest loans to help boost your business. Small businesses run the economy so they say but, they do nothing to protect the small business man from this generation of people who seem to think everyone owes them something these people have a sick sense or entitlement to things that are not theirs and they have not worked for. Everyone wants to sue anyone to make a buck. When we were kids if you fell on your neighbors lawn you go to the ER get stitches and go home today you call a cop, go to the ER and than visit a lawyer. What is this world coming to and how do I help my husband and save my family. I need to let him know I am there for him without adding any additional frustration or stress but whatever I say seems to do exactly that. Any advise would certainly be appreciated.

I can quite easily say to you, "been there, done that". We won our lawsuit, but, our opponent filed an appeal. Fortunately, we won that.

Surviving lawsuits is very difficult. It can have you second guessing yourself and your business.

The best technical advice I can give you having been there, is to make sure that you know all the ins and outs of the legal aspect in question. Do not allow your lawyer to simply give you peripheral info, be 100% on top of the whole thing and know what you're going to say to the judge, regardless of what the questions may be. The better prepared you are for court, the better chance you have of being successful. (I am of course assuming that the lawsuits are, as you suggest, frivolous.) If they are frivolous, and you present the facts to the judge in the right way, you will win. That doesn't mean your opponent(s) won't appeal, but at least you'll know where you stand. Knowledge is power, and that is intensely true, especially at times like this.

The stress on your husband has got to be unbelievable and thus the stress on you is so palatable. Unless you, yourself are implicated in the business, about the only thing you can really do is be supportive & loving. Detach yourself from his stress and let him know that you are there for him, the less stressed you are, the less stress he will have to deal with. If you are a praying person, do so, ask your higher power for the strength you need to get through this and for the best possible outcome, and be grateful for what you hvae. If you are not a spiritual person, learn how to meditate so that you can find yourself a calm peaceful place to go when the going gets really tough. Be gentle with both yourself and your husband, as I'm sure noone is being harder on him than himself. Find a way to strengthen yourselves spiritually so that the success or failure of the business ceases to be so personal, and the stress will dissipate.

They say that there are 100 million ways to kill a thriving business, lawsuits just happen to be one of them.

Consider this; what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

Good luck!

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!