Let’s not sugarcoat it.
Owning a smoke shop will either bring your family closer together — or rip it apart.
And if you’re not brutally honest about what this business does to your time, money, and focus, it’ll cost you more than a failed store. It’ll cost you your marriage, your kids’ respect, or the trust of the people who supported you.
This post isn’t here to make you feel good. It’s here to make you think.
Truth #1: Your Shop Comes Home With You
Forget "leaving work at work." That doesn’t exist when you own a smoke shop.
You’ll be answering supplier calls at dinner. You’ll be thinking about payroll while lying next to your wife. Your kid’s game? You’ll skip it because a glass order showed up wrong. Again.
And it’s not because you don’t care.
It’s because this shop owns you if you’re not careful.
It’s because this shop owns you if you’re not careful.
What happens next?
Your family stops feeling like a priority. They start feeling like employees… or worse, like obstacles.
Your family stops feeling like a priority. They start feeling like employees… or worse, like obstacles.
Truth #2: Money Will Start Fights You Didn’t Expect
You might be making sales, but if the rent’s due, employees want raises, and product is sitting on shelves — stress builds.
Then your wife asks if you can afford a vacation. Or your mom asks when you’ll pay back the money she loaned you to open.
You blow up.
They don’t understand margins.
They don’t understand shrink.
They don’t understand that you're not rich just because cash is flowing in.
They don’t understand shrink.
They don’t understand that you're not rich just because cash is flowing in.
But that’s your fault for not setting expectations.
Truth #3: You’ll Resent Them If They Don’t “Support the Shop”
If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking:
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“Why can’t they help me post on Instagram?”
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“Why won’t they offer to work a shift when I’m short-staffed?”
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“Why don’t they get how much pressure I’m under?”
Stop.
They didn’t sign up for this business.
You did.
You did.
Expecting your family to automatically become ride-or-die business partners is a recipe for bitterness. If they step in, great. But if they don’t — that’s not betrayal. That’s boundaries.
Truth #4: You Can Fix It, But You Have to Be Intentional
This business doesn’t have to break your family — but it will unless you build systems.
Here’s what helps:
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Set boundaries: No shop talk during dinner. No texts about vape deliveries at 10PM.
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Set expectations: Explain what the next 6 months will look like financially and mentally.
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Schedule family time like you schedule vendor calls.
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Delegate: If you’re doing everything alone, that’s your problem.
And if your partner feels like they’re always second to the shop? That’s on you to fix.
Final Word from Chad Wade
This business will test your relationships harder than anything else in your life.
Not because it’s smoke-related.
But because it’s owner-related.
But because it’s owner-related.
The shop can be your launchpad — or your landmine. It depends on how you manage your role as both a business owner and a family member.
So ask yourself:
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Is your family proud of what you’re building?
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Or are they quietly waiting for the day you choose them again?
Fix it now — or fix it later when the damage is worse.
If you felt this post hit home, share it. Someone else needs to hear it too.
For more raw, real talk that helps smoke shop owners win, go to ChadWadeTV.com.
For more raw, real talk that helps smoke shop owners win, go to ChadWadeTV.com.