10 Steps to Making Your Business Work Around Your Priorities

Today’s challenge is to educate you about something I know a lot about. So, I’m going to talk to you about keeping your priorities straight while running your own business and having a family. I’m going to share a story with you that I’m not proud of myself for, but taught me one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned.

In June 2009, I opened my first official company, a high priced brick-n-mortar location near the technological center. I did everything “right”. I filed everything with the state that was set up by an attorney, I found a beautiful office space I did the advertising that I was taught to do that was sure to bring in clients. I was convinced that I needed the best location and I got that. I had my goals, projected sales, my business place, everything was in line. On paper, my plan looked fantastic. I mean how hard would it be to hit the bills, easy right? Wrong. Bills didn’t come easy, the money we had stashed away for the business was quickly gone and the only other place to turn to was our personal finances. Somehow we made the bills for our personal stuff and for the office but soon it became too much. Every month the business grew but so did the continuous strain on our personal finances and our marriage. It came to a point where it was caused major waves personally in our new marriage (we got married that Dec 2009) and our finances. Ryan encouraged me over and over to let the business go but I was too worried to fail, I was consumed by the pride that I couldn’t fail. It didn’t matter the cost I wasn’t going to fail, I was too close to having a successful business I could taste it. The focus was more on the business than my marriage. I looked for anything to make the business survive, subleasing the space, working longer hours. I was consumed by it. All the while I was shredding my marriage to pieces – and my pride was pulling us apart roughly and quickly. Finally I hit rock bottom – hard. Not in the I was drinking my life away or anything like that type of thing  but  I didn’t like who I had become, or where my marriage was going. After everything, my business was finally to pay it’s bills on it’s own and that’s when I chose to walk away. I subleased the full office, and I walked away.  I knew the path I had taken to get my business to their self sustaining place it was at, but that didn’t make me like it anymore. I didn’t like who I turned myself into and that my priorities were extremely skewed.

Here we are today, happily married (I’m grateful that Ryan loves me so well) and running two different small businesses. After that lesson, my mindset changed to a totally different place, with a valuable lesson in my heart, because the truth is, although I have a passion for business, there is nothing worth loosing or hurting those closest to my heart.  Even if I end up with 15 failing businesses, and only 1 successful one (this has been the case with many of our most successful entrepreneurs of our time, by the way!) – that’s worth more to me than one failed marriage.  There isn’t a business that is worth losing the things that really matter the most. That’s why I’m sharing with you today my story and how to stay far away from that, because that was a dark part of my life. I wanted to have a successful marriage/family life and a successful business but I had no idea how to make that happen.  The lesson the experience taught me is an invaluable one that I have applied every day since and today  I run two small businesses in balance all because I have set my limitations and based all of it around my priority: my family.  

My priorities evolved once I had A even more, and learning the lesson I did a few years ago it made it easier for me and today I have no problems setting my priorities and aligning my business schedule based on my family.

Even if you aren’t married, don’t have children, etc. you can still base your business around your priorites whether that means making at Thursday afternoon visit to your grandma, or hitting afternoon happy hour once a month with your girlfriends. That’s the beauty of being a business owner.

• Step One. Figure Out Your Priorities. What are your priorities? Family time? Your spouse? Your Children? Girls Night Out? Daily Visit to the Gym? 
  • For me, this is making sure my husband and daughter are getting my full attention when I’m spending time with them. The family comes first over the business.
• Step Two. Setting Your Expectations. When do you plan to work? Where will you work? What limits will you set into place? When do you plan to say no? 
  • For me this one is simple – I have no problems to reassessing my routine based on needing to arrange for my life and the priorities that includes, that also means having an open mind and ability for a flexible schedule.
• Step Three. Expectations of Others Around You (if Applicable). If you have a spouse, what are their expectations? Do they have things they would like to see as priorities that you might not think about but could come up down the road?
  • For me, this one is pretty simple – Ryan and I both see eye to eye on what the priorities need to be – family time and most importantly A. She’s the priority all of the time.
• Step Four. Set Your Hours. When do you want to work? When does it work for you to work?
  • For me, I put in my personal agenda into my calendar before I put anything business on my schedule – dr appointments, trips, family dinners, etc.  This also means I very, very rarely work in the evenings. I never work Sundays and I avoid working on Saturdays, if possible.This also means that I usually only work during nap times or if I do work while A is awake I do so based around her. Sometimes that means I work on the floor on the blanket next to her so I can work and  I can interact. Sometimes this means she’s contently playing in her exersaucer while I work on a couple of things.
• Step Five. Accountability. If your priorities seem to get skewed who is going to help keep your accountable and keep you on track?
  •  I’m really conscious about this, especially now that we have A. Ryan has no problem being this accountability person for me if that time were to come, in fact, there have been times where he’s told me “I feel like you are answering a lot of emails right now” or “you seem to be attached to your phone a bit lately.” and I appreciate the feedback and I make sure  I change my priorities and do less of what he’s noticing.
    
• Step Six. Your Goals. What do you want to gain from the business? Where would you like to see it go? How do you want to fit into your life?
  • My goals include making an income from home working with my businesses but being able to maintain being a stay at home mom and wife. Once I get to a point where I don’t feel like I can handle it all and thrive at being a wife and a mom at the same time it is my goal to hire an additional employee(s) as needed. With the businesses I love that I can keep my business flexible.
• Step Seven. Your Limits. You have to decide what your limits are, where you say enough is enough. This goes for little and big things. If needed when would you close down the business? When would you maybe hire help?  Are you going to be somewhat flexible on your perimeters or flat out black and white?
  • When it comes to my limits I have a little wiggle room when it comes to my hours. If a client contacts me in the evening or on the weekend and needs something sent over that will take me a short amount of time and I’m available to do it, I do it. If there came a point where I felt like the business was taking too much of my time, I know I would either hire someone else on if there was the monetary means or draw back a little bit I’m completely comfortable with either. I also have decided if life were to throw me a major curveball like a major health issue or triplets down the road I would either pass along the business, simply hire a team to work under me and me just over see or, or close it down entirely.
• Step Eight. Communicate.Tell your clients what your limits are, and the perimeters you works around.
  • All of my clients know that I’m a work at home mom and that my family is first priority. This also means that they know that my time lines usually are set longer for this reason. Most all times I complete the work ahead of schedule, but they understand why they are set in place. They also know that although their business is very important to me, so is my family. They all understand and respect the perimeters I work around because t have communicated them with the beginning.
• Step Nine. It’s OK to Say NO. 
  • This one can be easier said than done – we want to please our clients, after all they are our income, however, it’s OK to say No. It’s completely OK to say “I can’t get to that this week but I can add it to my schedule the first part of next week, no problem,” just to simply make more room in your schedule for your priorities. I promise, your best clients will always understand.
• Step Ten. Breathe.
  • Take a step back and always look at the big pictures. Give yourself a break and remember you are doing the best that you can, business or no business – you’re priorities (in my case, family) will be there. This is your business and you can make it anything you want!