And isn't that oh, so true!
I have hit many obstacles over the last several years of running my own business. However, of all the obstacles I have hit and over come, I think that the most difficult one is...
Finding a Balance between Family and Business
This is a tough one. Without my family, I am nothing. Without my business, I'm working for Big Corporate America again. Sheesh.
The first step in finding that balance was gaining support from my family and coaxing them to believe that my business is more than a hobby. I used to be asked to babysit during the day all the time. I used to be asked to be the family taxi. I used to be asked to do all the errands. While I did all these things in the beginning, I still attempted to put in an 8 hour day with my business at the very least...many times, a few hours more. Soon, my family saw that my life was full of errands, babysitting and work with not much time for anything else. I had to stay firm with my discipline in getting work done and they saw this.
The second step was to stick with my discipline. I only get asked to babysit when it is an absolute emergency now. My husband has taken over the stupid errand running on the weekends. And I am not asked to taxi everyone around unless it is a serious medical condition. I drew the line in the sand and firmly planted my feet just behind that line. Now, I don't let anyone cross the line again.
The benefits? I saw a profit in my second year. Last year's profit was even better, and isn't that the goal of every business? To make a profit? My accountant was impressed that I pulled a profit in my second year. I do strive to keep overhead down, which does help. But the bottom line is that I stuck to my guns and continue to yield them on a daily basis.
I do all this because I believe my business is definitely worth fighting for!
