Businesses balance
by Jay Pateakos
For the most part, very few people know what it takes to start and keep a business running.
It’s really no one’s fault at all, but as it is with many things in life, sometimes it’s best to think about how life on the other side can be, just to gain some perspective on your own life.
You arrive to pick up your pizza order and you pay for it. You’re done. But do you ever wonder what time the crew came in this morning? How many hours does that pizza spinner work in a day? How is the owner dealing with rising food costs? Is he even close to being in the black?
You walk into a floral store. The smell….the colors. But how many plants did they have to throw away which were beyond saving? How are they making ends meet? Is this weekend going to make or break them? How many community organizations have hit them up for donations?
From the outside, your quick look tells you everything is ok.
But owning your own business is just about the most difficult thing there is. Constant worry over how to pay the bills, how to hire trustworthy people, how to run a successful business while also trying to have a family life; dealing with people who don’t pay for services you rendered.
I was a business owner for only a year. We established an English Muffin company in New Bedford to compete with the Thomas’ brand. We can all see how that turned out.
In the process, I learned much about the sacrifices business owners make, and the mistakes that can cripple a business. We made plenty of mistakes, and so we – and hundreds of thousands of other businesses – became “business closure” statistics.
My first child was on the way when my business folded, so I never had to sacrifice time with my kids for my business. I was lucky; I don’t know how I would have done it, or how people do it now. Just think about working 7 am to 10 pm every day, seven days a week, when you have small children?
Balancing business and life
“It’s all about work/life balance. You see families fall apart because of businesses and you see businesses fall apart because of families,” said Melinda Ailes, senior counselor at the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC). “It’s really, really hard.”
Ailes said there’s a myth that being a business owner somehow gives you more control over your hours as opposed to someone who just punches a clock.
“That’s a fallacy,” Ailes noted. “Your business will consume all of your time.”
read the entire article in the October edition of the South Coast Insider page 36
