Left unchecked, your business could ruin your family life. Here’s how to keep balance.
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics, as reported on Inc.com, found that the average American works just 33.8 hours per week. The average small business owner, on the other hand, reports working at least 50 hours per week.
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By setting working hours, you’re allowing yourself time off to devote to your family and other personal interests.
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Running a successful small business is a job that never stops. Whether you’re following up with customers, answering phone calls and emails, handling the accounting, strategizing the marketing plan or in the office, there’s always something to do. Now throw in a family that needs your love and undivided attention, too. Balancing anything in life is difficult, but more so for the small business owner/family man. Here are five strategies that can help.
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Set working hours
This is by far the best thing that you can do for yourself. By setting working hours, you’re allowing yourself time off to devote to your family and other personal interests. It’s OK to say no, it’s OK for customers to wait a day for you to get back to them, and it’s certainly OK to not respond to emails at ten o’clock at night. Not only will your family be happier, you’ll also be a better business owner who doesn’t get burnt out within the first year of opening.
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Outsource when possible
Is there any task you’re spending a significant amount of time on that you could possibly hire someone else to do? For example, if you find yourself spending countless hours on the computer crunching numbers, perhaps it’s in your best interest to hire a part-time bookkeeper. You don’t have to be a one-man show and can in fact grow your business while working less by hiring people to take off some of the load.
Take at least one day off per week
A study by Bloomberg, as reported on Forbes, found that 80 percent of entrepreneurs fail within the first 18 months of starting. One reason is they get burnt out by giving their all to the business from the get-go. Their relationships may start deteriorating, their health may decline and they lose sight of who they were before they started a business. In addition to having set working hours, you also have to give yourself at least one day off per week to focus on your family and other interests. This allows you to keep your enthusiasm for your business while also maintaining a closer relationship with your family.
Quality over quantity
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Take time off, spend quality time with your family and focus on the big picture.
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After a long day of work, you most likely want to sit back and relax, have a beer and watch some mindless television. If you’re single, that’s an acceptable way to spend the evening, but if you have a family, it’s important to take some time to focus on them. Even if only for an hour, play a game with your kids, sit down and chat with your spouse and ask your spouse if they need any help around the house. Knowing that they have your full, undivided attention for some time when you’re home, your family will feel loved and cared for and in return give you a chance to wind down, too.
Focus on the big picture
You’re never going to wish you spent more time in the office, but you may look back and regret missing your son’s soccer game or your daughter’s ballet recital. Every day, remind yourself of what’s important in life. Yes, you do need to take care of business matters and day-to-day tasks do need to get completed, but when it comes down to it, family is what matters. Never lose sight of this and if you have to choose between business and family, choose your family.
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Work-life balance is a struggle for employees of a business, so you can only imagine the struggle it is for those that run the business. Take time off, spend quality time with your family and focus on the big picture. By allowing yourself to enjoy your life and your family, you’ll make for a much better business owner in the long-run.
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Photo: Flickr/ Nina Hale