When Life Gets In the Way of Your Business

John Lennon said, “Life is what happens when you are making other plans.” You are starting a small business.  Everything is going well and you are on track to open in a week.  Then something happens.  Life gets in the way.  It could be that your daughter gets sick, or your elderly mother falls and breaks her hip.  Or your car, which has many miles on it, gives up the fight.  Who knows?  

So are you going to give up on your grand opening? Are you going to put your business on the shelf, so to speak?  And what if life continues to happen?  How do you know when to walk away from your business?  These are tough questions that all of us must answer.  I don’t know the answers either, but I do have some thoughts on this subject:

Your Family Support. If your family are firmly in support of your business, you will find it easier to handle both the business and your family obligations.  Having a supportive spouse, for example, helps you deal with that darned car or the child who comes down with chicken pox. If you didn’t have that support from the beginning, maybe you should not be trying to start a business anyway.

Your Professional Support. Friends who are professionals are a source of help in times of stress.  Someone who can go to your store and wait for supplies and equipment to arrive, someone you can trust to write a press release or pay a few bills, can be a vital resource.  When you find a friend like this, you both can agree to help each other.

Getting Your Priorities Straight. This is a tough one.  I find that assumptions set out ahead of time about priorities, with your family, your spouse, business partners, helps when things happen.  A gentle reminder that, “You remember I said I might have to miss your dinner,” or “Remember we agreed that I would not be able to be the caregiver for Aunt Ellen” might be what you need.  I’ve been there too, and it’s always harder on you than on them.  Of course, if a member of your family is hospitalized, you have to be there.  But if Jinny has chicken pox, do you need to be there every minute?

Handling the Stress. Making your priorities explicit and gathering support ahead of time can help you handle the inevitable stress.  But the stress will still be there.  Find ways to minimize it, learn to deal with it.  This crisis will be repeated many, many times in various forms and you will have to learn how to juggle a business and your life.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers.  In my experience, the best way to handle these situations is to talk them through the people you love and work on ways to deal with the inevitable problems before they show up. And they will.

If you have found ways to deal with the stress of juggling your business and family obligations, please share with us.

Image: MarkCartwright@Flickr