Without A Net

Small business owners are some of the hardest working people I’ve ever met.  They not only take their work and their clients seriously, they take them to heart . . . sometimes to their detriment. Yes, hard-working small business owners can take on too much.  They give up family time and workout time; they lose sleep and lose perspective.  All of this will not only take its toll on their health, it can be costly to their business as well. Like a trapeze artist working without a net, small business owners need to find balance–or else.

Recent studies have shown that two-thirds of small business owners (many of whom left big corporations to spend more time with their families) work more than 40 hours a week; with one in five actually putting in 80 hours a week! If you’re a small business owner reading this you probably have some experience with this yourself. How often have you read e-mails during dinner, taken phone calls from clients on weekends, or taken the family with you on a business trip to double up the time as “vacation”?

Why do small business owners find it so difficult to find balance?  John Wyckoff believes it’s because too many of them spend all their time working “in” rather than “on” their business. CBS News posits that perhaps people have a hard time drawing the line between on-call and off-duty when both business and family happens in the same physical space.  And the Entrepreneurial Connection thinks that small business owners would be much better off if they knew more about (or were willing to take advantage of) time-saving opportunities and devices.

Whatever your reason, finding a balance between work and pleasure is essential for small business owners.  And as unlikely as it may seem, your attorney can help you find that balance. Whether by helping your business make that transition to the next level, by putting legal protections in place to keep your family finances safe from business lawsuits, by updating your business plan, or working with you on an eventual exit strategy.  However you choose to do it, the best way to take care of your business is to take care of yourself.  Start taking care of both today.