It’s often thought that if you run a successful business, this has to be at the expense of your personal life. “You can’t run a growing business without some sacrifices”, we tell ourselves.
I hear stories all the time of business owners who set up their own business to give themselves more control – to have the life they really wanted. Yet they get sucked in to doing everything.
They think that when the business is more successful, they’ll have the time and money to do other things.
So they want to know everything that’s going on and make all the decisions. And as the business grows, there simply isn’t time to do this AND have a life. It’s all too much.
You don’t take time off – either for holidays or for sport, hobbies, even relaxation.
Relationships suffer because you don’t have time for friends and family, your partner and children.
Your health suffers as you become stressed, with no time away from the pressures you put yourself under. You begin to feel unfulfilled, overwhelmed, stuck.
And so ultimately the business suffers. If too much is dependent on you, decisions are slow or not made. Staff have more to offer but can’t do their jobs properly.
And the irony is that you run your own business to give you the life you want.
I believe that it is possible to have both a life and a successful business. Anything is possible … if you put your mind to it. It’s all about how you think about your life AND your business – choice and responsibility; passion; vision; action; and accountability.
So, here’s a ten-point plan to get you running your business, not the business running you.