Hey Folks,
I came across my answers to a print interview I gave regarding single vs. married business ownership. These are the complete answers. I thought you’d enjoy them…
Q: As a small business owner, do you believe that either being married with children makes a difference in their success?
CLG – Yes, definitely. Being married and having children in many ways has increased my chances of success. When I started my first business, I was single. I got the sense that customers felt that, as a single person, I wasn’t quite as rooted so therefore my business might not be stable or ‘in it for the long haul’. Once I got married, and then when I began having children I seemed to be more on par with my customers who were also mostly married with children. I was able to increase my fee structure and command better terms and conditions with less negotiation of my prices. I think my customers had a perception of me of greater stability and so they thought my business was more stable and trustworthy also.
Q: Family-men-or-women entrepreneurs, what are the biggest challenges & benefits of running a business, specifically related to being married with children?
A:Benefits:
1. Teaching entrepreneurship to your children. Since owning and running a business does spill into your personal life, it gives you a great opportunity to involve your family in the business. They get to learn hands-on the art and science of entrepreneurship.
2. You build a legacy. Your children can follow in your footsteps in the business you are running now; or in a business they start for themselves.
3. You can foster and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit within your family. Whether or not anyone else in your family decides to start a business, the entrepreneurial spirit within them can still grow. i.e. They may pursue a managerial position, they might travel the world, get involved in a charitable organization or get behind a cause. It gives them a chance to step up and make them a leader regardless of title.
4. My business allows flexibility in my schedule so that I can be present and participate in my children’s activities. If there is an activity during the day at school, I can, in most cases, arrange my schedule to be there.
5. Travel: My business takes me to places around the country and around the world and I get to bring my family with me.
6. Exposure: Being in business exposes you to a variety of experiences and opportunities. Your family gets to choose which would be the right path for them.
Challenges:
- Managing time: The blessing and the curse of running a business is that I as the business owner create the structure of my time. In a job your schedule and structure is given to you. One of the biggest challenges is maintaining discipline is to constantly and ruthlessly manage your time. Early in my career I lacked discipline and consistently and I, my business, and my family all suffered. Now, I am very disciplined and ruthless with time management and, as a result, I, my business, and my family have all benefited.
- Being present: It is easy to allow your personal life to spill into work and vice versa. When I am with my family it is important that I BE with my family and not thinking about work. When I am at work, it’s important that I focus on the task at hand and not allow personal challenges to affect my work. I work hard at compartmentalizing my work and my personal life so that I can be as present as possible wherever I am at the time or whomever I am with; I make them feel most important by giving them my undivided attention.
Prioritizing: As I am dictating these responses, Brigitte, my assistant is thinking “What is this guy kidding, he is horrible with time! We set appointments that he doesn’t make and his calendar changes hour by hour.” The reason for that is I am constantly prioritizing and reprioritizing my time so that I am making the highest and best use of my time at any given moment. It is a delicate balance and I fall down sometimes, but I have to focus on, as Steven Covey would say, focus on the ‘Big Rocks’ constantly. Since I am responsible for business development in my company, I find myself in ‘Prioritization mode’ most of the time.
Regards,
Carl Gould
Chief DISCoverY Officer
The Global Leader in Business Mentoring
