to disagree with dh who expects me to work full-time as a teacher and pay all costs including childcare (without assistance) while he stays at home to set up a business

[squanderedzeitgeist]

with no cashflow for the next 6 months.....?and nothing in the coffers......

Sorry, but red flags are popping up left and right. (A) spelling mistakes on websites are catastrophic. Putting it live on the internet before it was perfect was a mistake - I would never, ever part with money to a company that looked in the slightest bit unprofessional, and once a potential client has seen it and moved on, they will never come back. (B) it is already failing to make any money. Are you sure the idea is good - why has it failed to generate any money so far

I agree that he needs to stay in his job and save like buggery and try again later when there is at least six months savings in the bank. Doing this with no financial cushion is potentially disastrous.

Here's the thing - nothing like this will ever work out unless you are pulling as a team and all decisions are joint.
We have made some stupidbold moves about ur work and finances but we have always been in complete agreement about giving them a go and sharing the consequences if they fail.
You need to sit down together with a bottle of wine and thrash this one out.

When I went freelance I had bugger-all money saved. It was a gamble and it paid off. Sometimes these things do.

However. We took a mortgage holiday - turned out we didn't need it in the end but it was a big load off our minds. We also came to an agreement that if I wasn't making decent money in four months I would get a part-time job to cover essential costs and work on building up the freelancing in my days off. Might this be an option?

Totally agree with those who have said in order for this to work it has to be a joint decision and both partners have to be happy with it. I don't think there's anything wrong with being ambitious - you never know until you try - but the practicalities have to be thought of.

Might it work out to your advantage in the future though? What if his business takes off and you become millionaires?! Then you'd never have to work again! 6 months sounds like a very short time to expect any return though, is he sure he'll be earning after this?

Couldn't he do some part-time work or something to bring in a bit of cash?

Most business fold within the first 12 months, has he seen enough to convince him the next 6 months will improve the venture ?
Personally I think he needs to get a loan or a partner to give him some cashflow asap, you can't sholder all the responsibility alone it's not fair.