Running Your Own Business and Your Personal Life: The Trade-off Some Entrepreneurs Make

Running Your Own Business and Your Personal Life: The Trade-off Some Entrepreneurs Make
Page content

How does running your own business affect your personal life?

For anyone who does not run a business this question seems odd since most people who work simply stop working at a set time. Business owners do not have that option most of the time. This is one of the many trade-offs an entrepreneur makes when working their own business. Others include trading financial success for time, choosing between personal time and business and bringing work home.

Money for Time

How does running your own business affect your personal life in regards to time and money? In many businesses, you will find that the need to generate enough money replaces time. This is especially true when an entrepreneur first starts their business. The trade off in this case is that a business owner will often take time from their personal life in order to tend to business issues to ensure income. This may be by staying late, doing paperwork while watching TV or working early morning hours and weekends.

Making Time for Your Life

One thing which entrepreneurs have trouble doing is making time in their lives for life. You sometimes forget you have a life outside of business and tend to ignore other things around you. One thing I’ve been accused of many times by people around me is that I tend to ignore everything outside of work when I have “work to do;” the problem with having “work to do” is that you tend to think there is always something that can be done as long as you are awake. Because of this your personal life gets pushed aside in the quest for a successful business. Even a minor change in this area can help sustain a healthier life.

Taking Work Home

This one is hard for someone who is a high achiever. It is also extremely difficult if you work out of your home. Finding a way to stop working, when the work is always with you, is one trade-off which seems to be ignored. Taking time out from the business while at home is often not an option when there are pressing issues or projects which must be handled.

What happens when your business life and personal life seem to mix together? Personal life tends to merge into business life, and sometimes seems to disappear.

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons