In Honor of Small Business Week!
Pre-Small Business
Life/Work Balance: Not a concept that I knew of in 1979 when I graduated from college. I knew full-time work, part-time work and grad school. (Yes, of course at the same time) I knew how to work for others, do the job, do your best and go home, or in my case, go to school. It seemed full-time and yet it was all for someone else’s greater good. Their show, not mine. But a recent poll by @TSheetsbyQuickBooks brought back a flood of memories as to what I experienced when I started working for ME. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SURVEY*
When I worked for my father during high school and college summers. He owned franchises and, by that time, a great success. I watched him waltz into each of his business locations from 8-12 and then he waltzed off to golf. From a child’s eye, I perceived it as “What a life!” How he arrived at that success was hidden in childhood memories. Someone was always home and we didn’t keep score of who it was. No one asked “What is dad doing?” late into the night or weekends. Just own your own business. The answer is evident.
Full Blown Version
Well, fast forward to my own taste of being 100% accountable for my own success. I subcontracted at a clinic for learning disabled. The hourly wage concept was nowhere to be seen. You work, you get an hourly rate. You must be producing and any administrative work was on your time. So, we’re getting closer to this small business life. Any improvements, any research and development, any accounting was in my court on my dime. I thought this was working on my own. After all, I made my own schedule. Did I say a taste? I meant to say a gulp.
What Was I Thinking
Then, I became a partner in a bookkeeping gig. When QuickBooks came into the clinic in 1993, I was hooked. I wanted that life full time, estimating that it would be the same as being a subcontractor. I was wrong. This wasn’t a taste, nor a gulp. It was a firehose directed into my mouth. There was no beginning or end to the day. If I wasn’t working, I was with my children. If I wasn’t with a client, I was writing, solving, researching, developing, scoping, speaking and any other verbs that imply action. I managed, consulted and administered to many. On the sidelines, I was, to name a few, a treasurer of a symphony, manager of a soccer team and washed uniforms for the hockey team (the ultimate in being a mom) Ok, ok, I did learn some golf and yoga along the way. Yes, I was always reading!
Life/Work: SAY WHAT?
So, when I read some of the questions, I laughed to myself. Get up at 6:00 am? How about 5:10am to get to Curves by 5:30am, drop the kids off at school at 6:30 and be at the office by 7:15. And those were the good old days when the kids were older. I still have nightmares of dropping the kids off at daycare in the dark in order to teach an 8:30 class across town. Relief came later when I was on my own with my own agenda (no partners), but you and I know it was only easier because I worked smarter. I stuck with great team members and branched out more to network, collaborate and discover opportunities and efficiencies.
As for what I want to be when I grow up, I’m not there yet, but I’ll let you know when I retire. (Age unknown as I am a small business owner and we just never give up)
*Survey commissioned by TSheets in April 2018, asking 200 small business owners in the US about the hours they work, the sacrifices they make, and the major challenges they face.
