Whether in the start-up stage or a few years into the endeavor, the demands of running a small business can be overwhelming. If you’ve never undertaken the task of creating your own business, it is difficult to comprehend what an all-encompassing drain of time that can be placed on your life. You do want to have a life outside of business? We’re pretty sure God would be in favor of finding a balance between life’s various joys and obligations. The best small business advice we can think of right off the bat is to keep that balance no matter what.
Maintaining a healthy balance between your new business, family, other work, church, community, and recreation is a challenge for everyone but the small business entrepreneur might find it especially difficult to find time in the day to fit it all in. One thing is sure, a small business is – if we might use the somewhat crude vernacular – a harsh mistress and will drain away the hours in your day before you realize it.
Sure, sure, you say. Gotcha. I won’t forget that my family, friends, God, church, and community exist. I’ll make time for them. Riigght. Saying and doing are two mutually exclusive concepts. It’s easy to say you’re going to do this and you’re going to do that, but when it comes right down to it, you’re likely to be found clinging to a project that needs to be completed before you can tear yourself away long enough to come to supper.
Your God, family, and friends deserve better. They deserve your full attention for at least a small part of your day. Give it to them freely, without a lingering conviction in the back of your mind that the whole business thing is going to come crashing down in an instant because you weren’t constantly watching it. If the business you’re building is that shaky, here’s a bit more small business advice, shut it down now because it’s destined for a crash.
And for those among us with a chronic “time disability†when it comes to prioritizing your life, get a pen and paper and write out an old fashioned schedule. Or put it in a Blackberry or in your computer. The secret is to create holes in the day which will be devoted to each of your obligations. Family, God, and recreation are obligations too. Now get out there and find a balance in life.
The Solomon Success Team
Flickr / Empirically Grounded