2 ideas
Socrates advised him to set them spinning and weaving for sale. The household turned solvent and cheerful: the women came to regard Aristarchus as a provider rather than a burden, and he came to value them instead of resenting them. In Socrates' fable, the sheep complain that the dog eats their food without producing wool, and the dog replies that his guarding is what keeps them alive.
When Socrates advises Critobulus on choosing friends, he tells him to judge a candidate by past conduct rather than promises. Look for someone who controls their appetites for food, drink, sex and sleep, who manages their own affairs well, and who has repaid earlier benefactors. Someone who has treated previous friends or patrons badly will do the same to you. The only reliable way to win such friends is to become good yourself and to do them good first, because no charm or trick holds a worthy friend.