At what point did you ...

[danpauselius]

start to have a real life outside of your business? I'm at 2 years in and I'm still absolutely consumed with business "stuff".

 

[CL]

I don't think that ever go's away. If it did you probably should work for someone else.

That being said, you still need to TAKE the time to do what it is that makes you happy. Make shure to schedual time off. No ifs, ands, or buts! There will always be work. We quit doing restoration work because it was always around someone els's schedual

I know it's not easy because I have been a one man show most of the time. During that time and even up till now My wonderful wife has been able to stay at home and homeschool our 7 children. (yes we are Mormon)
It is expensive to raise that many kids. To take time off or have slow weeks freaks me out. But we regularly clear days off just to go have fun. They are only little once. Besides, I need my dirtbike fix at least twice a month and Saturdays are reserved for the family and Sundays for church.

Its all a balancing act. No I don't have a Corvett or take lavish vacations, but we live in a nice home with land and we come and go as we please. That's not to say it's easy for us because it's not. I think about buisness 24/7 and am trying to grow mine. Since breaking my collar bone 6 weeks ago, I have really decided to grow enough so that if I were to get hurt again I would have it covered. So I have hired someone full time and will be futher consumed with keeping them busy and generating enough work to start a second truck.

Good luck, and remember it's better to be the master than the slave.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Dan, its a matter of degree.

My father started in 1961 and at 74 still puts more of his time into this business than anything else. He's only here an hour or so a day, but he'll call me at 10 PM and ask me to look at something he's doing on our website. But it is by choice.

More to your type of situation: The first few years (translate: More than two) often consume more time and money in reinvestment into the business than most are willing to accept. But as "CL" said, you also need to make time for yourself. Even your truck and equipment need "time for maintenance", so why not you?

Steve Toburen will likely say it better, but even now, you need a life beyond just your work.

My best friend dropped dead on the job at 37. All the "Someday we'll have time to do the things we want" promises to his wife and children died that day too.

Remember that Dan.

 

[Guest]

I'd love to answer your question, but have to go put a boat in the water and take the trailer about 75 miles and leave it there...I'll be racing to said trailer tomorrow...

Ask Odin, mebby he'll call you back after he's gone golfing...

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Well put Chuck.

Yep, the Norse God himself has living to work and working to live in pretty good balance.......

 

[minuteman]

The only way it ever goes away or better yet lets you have a life is when you have passed it on to someone else to run the whole "shabang!" If you run a WD/FD 24/7 365 you can"t even get a good hangover, even if you wanted too!

Its all about finding the right people to work for you, and above that, with you to get to the point where you are confident to enough to let them take the wheel.


Greg

 

[GRHeacock]

The first couple of years is the toughest. Starting a business has to be pretty consuming, or you won't have a business.

Yes, you need to have quality family time too, that's why you are building a business, after all- for your family.

But if your heart is not in it, you might as well be some body's employee.

So.... keep up the good work.

And someday you can be like me, fat and spending my grandchildren's inheritance on un-necessary stuff.

Gary

 

[-JB-]

DECIDE to have a life NOW!

While you can still break the chains.

There will NEVER be enough money, or time.

You can ALWAYS make more money.

Time on the other hand ?







Going to take my daughter to visit my niece two hours away tomorrow, and go garage sailing of all things.

The best part is, I'm actually excited about it!


Thanks JP. :wink:

 

[Guest]

Going to take my daughter to visit my niece two hours away tomorrow, and go garage sailing of all things...

How the bloody hell do you sail a GARAGE???

 

[dallasdj]

Gentlemen,

Read "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren, then read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiosaki.

Then site back and relax.

 

[Steve Toburen]

Steve Toburen will likely say it better, but even now, you need a life beyond just your work.

I'd say you did just fine, Jim. Your point is well taken about how all-consuming our involvement with business can be- and what can be lost in this process. I "lost" much of my children's growing up because of my obsession with business. And that is something I can never regain.

Note to JB- One of Sam Walton's most famous quotes was "Time is the only resource you can't buy more of." Ol' Sam died at 73 from emphysema ... with $24,000,000,000.00 in the bank!

Steve Toburen CR
Director of Training
Jon-Don's Strategies for Success

PS I'm taking my 83 year old in-laws off to an all day convention in a minute so I can't write much. (Our annual excursion with them requires the logistics of preparing for the invasion of Normandy during D-Day!) BUT I CAN do a cut-and-paste from my "Cleaning Up" Special Report. (E-mailed free upon your request to stoburen@homefrontsuccess.com) This section focuses on what I call your Lifestyle Analysis re: when should a person "get out" by putting their business up for sale. Obviously if you can give a resounding "yes" to all four of the questions below you shouldn't change a thing now. But one of these days ...

Question #1- “Am I making a huge profitâ€ÂÂ

 

[steve r]

i love what im doing but ill be damned if i take it as serious as most here.ive been working in factories and machine shops for way too longfor way too little to not know im into something good. however i am still treating this as part time. i know a time will come when i need to change my attitude but hek if im not making a lot more than i ever had and its coming way to easy mentally. i work my but off when i do work and im getting almost all my work from referals(which isnt much). my household bills are covered with $400.00 a week and that is with a wife and 2 girls 12 and 15. my work expenses are about $200.00 a month maybe i dont keep track very good but i do know my bank account is growing bigger each month and i do more fishing and golfing than i used to.

so to answer the question my work only supports my life not the other way.

 

[Johnny]

Right on, Dallas. Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life" really put things into perspective for me.

 

[-JB-]

One of Sam Walton's most famous quotes was "Time is the only resource you can't buy more of." Ol' Sam died at 73 from emphysema ... with $24,000,000,000.00 in the bank!

All that money and he still didn't make it out alive!

Too bad,So sad!

 

[Askal]

Hey if you can be on top of your game in two years good for you but it was closer to 20 for me. I finally said I am going to take off 4 months a year and just did it. Low and behold everything went just fine. I am not as invaluable as I thought. A friend of mine who is 64 is still waiting for the used RV of his dreams to be at an affordable price. I told him just get one now and enjoy it. You might get run over by a garbage truck tomorrow and then it will be too late.
Al

 

[Kevin B]

Gentlemen,

Read "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren, then read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiosaki.

Then site back and relax.

Two excellent recommendations.
'

 

[Jack May]

Good advice above.

We are 7 years and counting here in my carpet cleaning and fire and water damage restoration business.

I found the first 2 years were hard in a financial stretch type of way as most others also did. The next 2+ years were very demanding on my physically as I got through that initial full growth stage of an OO.

I eventually took the plunge and put my first tech on and instantly my life changed.... well after some training etc. I went from 80+ hour weeks back to doing all I had to inside my 35-45 hour week. Took heaps of time off to enjoy my new kids and loved it. That lasted 2.5 years as we continued to grow. I kept my tech at full time and slowly took up the slack myself until I was getting back up there on the hours again and was about to look into another tech when the first one upped and left.

That threw caos into my life again as an owner but it has been short lived. You'll always have hectic areas but they eventually pass and hard as they seem going through them.

My aim, and usually what happens is I get up to 1 week MORE holidays than the average person is entitled to, I also get to work most weeks slightly less than full time. I have breakfast with my wife and kids every day, home for luch most days and with the odd exception, I'm home for a family dinner/evening meal at 5.30-6pm. Occassionally I have to go out to an afterhours job after tea but not too often. Yes I still have weekend/afterhours callouts and with 1 tech, that's every second week but most of the time it's not too bad.

I'm not quite to the stage of being invalueable to my business but my aim is only another 1-2 years before I can be. If I can get another tech trained and a receptionist to relieve me of my phones, then I can take a bit more time off for family/church etc.

I'd also like to be able to work ON my business (which I enjoy heaps) at least a couple of mornings EVERY week instead of being out in one of the vans. In fact, I'll never be able to really step back until I've done about a year of that couple of mornings a week so that I can develop all the necessary procedures/operational manuals (yes Steve, I know :wink: one day ). With them in place, the stuff that's carried around in my head will all be in writing and I won't be needed :shock:

Try and do it slowly and build it up. If you have a good reliable tech, prime him for the weekend and book yourself out... take the missus/family OUT OF TOWN for the weekend... include Friday too if you can. Maybe have your phone so your tech can ring you BUT DON'T RING HIM. You may just be surprised what can be done without you.

John