- Peace
You need to have peace in your heart. Pray that God can guide you during the times of multi-tasking. As a business owner, you wear SO many hats:
- CEO
- Dad
- Head Dish Washer
- Meat Cutter
- Head of Marketing
- Bathroom Cleaner
- Nose Wiper
- Bath Giver
Being able to transition back and forth from each title is huge. You must be at peace with being totally committed to whichever hat you’re wearing at any given moment. Without it, you run the risk of not performing at your potential.
- Perspective
You have to have perspective to know that you are working hard so that you can:
- Provide for your family
- Do what you want when you want
- Make your own schedule
Owing your own business is hard, and everything falls back on you. But you are doing it for more than the money. You are doing it for the freedom. I work hard and I work a lot, but I can do pretty much anything I want, when I want.
When people want to get some time with me, they always say, “I know you are so busy and don’t have time for…” That is not true. I have time for whatever I want to do and whatever I need to do! I just have to plan it out. They are only right in the sense that I do not have time if you want to meet with me in 20 minutes, but I have as much as you need if we can plan it out.
When I coached college football, I had to take vacation and go home only when the boss said so. That was the worst part - for almost 10 years, my entire family had to revolve family vacations and holidays around my schedule. Not anymore!
Have the perspective that you are going to miss some little things, but you will be able to be at and take care of the big things when you own your own business.
- Priorities
Make sure you make the main thing the main thing.
Prioritize your wife, your kids, and your business. Some (most) of the time, you are not going to be able to do the personal things you want to do simply because those other three things come first. Remember, that is what you signed up for.
Of course, if you don’t have a wife and kids, then you can do what you want when you want. The fact is that you are going to have to get up before they do, go to bed after they do, and get work done during those times. Bluntly, it’s just the way it is.
You will be more effective when you can be organized. Make sure you plan everything out, even the smallest of things. Leave yourself some margin, simply because life requires margin, but other than that, make sure you are a structured sucker when it comes to your time and your calendar. If it ain’t on your calendar, it ain’t happening.
These are just a few things that I’ve learned along the way so far, and I hope they help. Let me know what you focus on when it comes to balancing business and family.
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