After a long and much needed vacation from thinking I have come back with a new view on running a small business. As a small business owner what do you do to find the time to not only take care of your clients but also your family? Over the past few months my experiences have provided some interesting results about some issues.

First, know your responsibilities! Vince Lombardi said it best, ”There are three things important to every man in this locker room. His God, his family, and the Green Bay Packers. In that order.” Obviously, your responsibility may not be the Green Bay Packers, but your business. Business is not everything, but at times you have to step back and give your family some of your time.

Second, when was the last time you took a vacation? God rested on the seventh day, so what are you doing? You need a mental vacation from time to time. It can be very beneficial to get away from the situation so you can relax and maybe even rethink about some of the issue you are engulfed with at that very moment.

Third, schedule your time wisely and use your time effectively. After reading “The Four Hour Work Week” I have learned to schedule my time in a manner that produces the best results for my clients and for my family. I work only during the week from 8-5. After 5pm I am off the clock which means all lines of communication are also off with everyone but my family. This is very difficult, but it has given me more freedom and a whole new view on my work philosophy. It means that I work harder from 8-5 to get all of my items achieved and I also can enjoy the time I have with my loved ones. You must try this trick and you will see a huge difference in your moral.

These three issues were a result of me going into a comatose after being over worked and over stressed. I finally decided to stop all business and pass off all responsibilities to my colleagues while I went on a mental vacation. I am now working harder than ever and able to delegate more of my work without having to worry. My family sees me more often, I eat on a normal pattern, and I am enjoying life. Good luck with your business and from time to time sit back and smell the roses.

Tags: family, life, small business, time, work

This entry was posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 2:59 pm and is filed under Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.