The other day I wrote about the top five fantastic things about being married to an entrepreneur. Click here, if you have not read it. But, of course, I could not leave well enough alone.
I have been searching for good definition of an entrepreneur. Yes, I know that I already quoted one from Dictionary.com; but I have been looking for something that better captures what an entrepreneur really is. The reality of what being an entrepreneur means. I found two, but haven't been able to determine which one is better ... you decide.
I am partial to the second one because it is true ... but the first one is very funny. I think owning your own business is mostly about problem solving and finding a way to make things work/happen. If that doesn't sound fun to you, do not open your own business. When you work for someone else and you have a concern/problem/need, you take it to your boss and wait until a solution is offered or refused altogether. If you are self-employed, there is no one to take your concern/problem/need to - except maybe a business partner. But ultimately, you will be involved in generating the solution. For me, that would be part of the excitement of owning my own business. Shaping things into what you want. Problem solving on the fly, looking for the best way to make things work. And when things are coming at you from many different directions, you get a high from the adrenalin push ... with each problem, or phone call, or e-mail, your adrenalin gets pushed a little higher. Sometimes it is draining, but mostly it is exhilarating. For some, this would not be a fun day at the office, but not so for the entrepreneur.
Remember though ... not all those phone calls and e-mails contain problems that need solving. Some of them contain confirmation of a big deal or some other kind of good news - like, for instance, free exposure for your business. And when this good news arrives, it makes being an entrepreneur the BEST thing in the world. Trust me on this.
However, as I said the other day, being married to an entrepreneur is not all roses and sunshine and great news.
Keep in mind that Jonesy and I work out of the same office. Imagine working with your husband. Seriously, think about that for a minute. There was a time when I thought it would be really cool if we opened a business together - I am over that now. Thankfully, we do not have to collaborate on any (work-related) projects, but we do have to share office space. And sometimes we argue over the use of the conference rooms. Do-able? Yes, most of the time. Challenging? Absolutely. And sometimes, it just not fantastic.
And so, without further ado, here are the top five not so fantastic things about being married to an entrepreneur.
(1) Sometimes you are poor. When you are self-employed, there is not a regular paycheck. Even if you work really hard. I could go on and on about this, and then be declared the most bitchy and ungrateful wife on the planet. So, instead, I will just say this ... sometimes you are poor, and I find that to be not fantastic.
(2) Jonesy is always around. Always. He is always here. There is no alone time, unless I have somewhere to go - which is not very often and if I do, I am almost always accompanied by a very cute four-year-old girl. Now, I ask you ... would your marriage survive? Again, think about this for a moment. He works from his computer; and his computer is in our house. In fact, he and his computer are always together, in our house. I would almost be jealous if I couldn't see what he was doing with her. If he starts to take her out for lunch, there will need to be a discussion. In the meantime, they are always here. Just existing. In the middle of the house, doing whatever it is they do. And we are suppose to be quiet while they do it - Addie and I. Having your self-employed husband around all the time is not so fantastic.
(3) He is always in his office. There is no separation of home and office. If that little "ding-ding" sounds to indicate an email has arrived, everything stops in his world. He must attend to "business." And, again, we must be quiet. If someone calls your office in the off-hours, they leave a message; however, there are no off-hours in the world of self-employment. I imagine that it is very difficult to turn it off (the "business" train of thought, that is), especially when your supplier (the computer) is positioned in front of you at all times. Having a home office is not so fantastic.
(4) Sometimes, I have to know what is going on. Problems at Customs, deal fell through, customer changed his/her mind, someone won't make a decision. Customer hasn't paid - this is a big one. There are some parts of business that I do not want to know about. It's part of that bubble my parents created. Plus, it creates a kind of ugliness that I dread; and the ugly trickles down to affect the entire family. If it were my business, and I was stressed out or overwhelmed, I would cry. Of course, I would; and then I could move on because the emotion had been expelled. But, not boys ... they get grumpy and extremely irritable with very short fuses. Then, I get stressed trying to keep the kids from irritating Jonesy any more, and then we all become a little anxious because Daddy is grumpy. Yep, sometimes I have to know what is going on and it is not fantastic.
(5) I have learned things that I do not want to know. Business is ugly. It is cut-throat. People lie in business; did you know this? It shocks me the things that people lie about because everyone knows they are lieing. Well, everyone except me, that is. Recently, when I heard a story from Jonesy, I reassured him that I was sure the person was being honest (this time) - what motivation could they have to lie? They were lieing ... I now trust nobody. Not even you. I have learned things that I wish I did not know and that is not fantastic.
So, would I recommend entrepreneurship? I would be an entrepreneur is a second ... if there was no risk involved. I would enjoy the ALL the fun stuff, but NONE of the stressful stuff. Remember, I wrote once about owning a coffee shop or a chocolate-making business? I would thrive on the creative part of the business ... creating new chocolate flavour combinations, or packaging ideas, or coffee specials. But I would detest the business end of things ... like gross profit margins (I become disinterested after the "gross" part) or obtaining capital or anything accounting. Marketing is another tough thing for me ... I can generate lots of marketing ideas (packaging, identifying target markets) but I find it difficult to find a way to present the idea to the right person. Not the talking part (I think you should know this, if you read my blog often), but the asking-for-something part. I don't like asking for help for myself. For someone else, that's fine, but not to further myself. Weird? Maybe, but that's just me.
There are many things to consider if you want to be an entrepreneur. But I think I'll leave you with some words recently spoken by the one I know best ...
"If you cannot enjoy the ride, in pursuit of the success, you should not be an entrepreneur." - Matt Jones, Zee Media
It'll be nice to remind him of his own words the next time he has one of those not so fantastic days.
I have been searching for good definition of an entrepreneur. Yes, I know that I already quoted one from Dictionary.com; but I have been looking for something that better captures what an entrepreneur really is. The reality of what being an entrepreneur means. I found two, but haven't been able to determine which one is better ... you decide. #1 Entrepreneurs are people who are too naive to see the obstacles that are obvious to others.
#2 Entrepreneurs are people who treat obstacles as daily exercise.
I am partial to the second one because it is true ... but the first one is very funny. I think owning your own business is mostly about problem solving and finding a way to make things work/happen. If that doesn't sound fun to you, do not open your own business. When you work for someone else and you have a concern/problem/need, you take it to your boss and wait until a solution is offered or refused altogether. If you are self-employed, there is no one to take your concern/problem/need to - except maybe a business partner. But ultimately, you will be involved in generating the solution. For me, that would be part of the excitement of owning my own business. Shaping things into what you want. Problem solving on the fly, looking for the best way to make things work. And when things are coming at you from many different directions, you get a high from the adrenalin push ... with each problem, or phone call, or e-mail, your adrenalin gets pushed a little higher. Sometimes it is draining, but mostly it is exhilarating. For some, this would not be a fun day at the office, but not so for the entrepreneur.
Remember though ... not all those phone calls and e-mails contain problems that need solving. Some of them contain confirmation of a big deal or some other kind of good news - like, for instance, free exposure for your business. And when this good news arrives, it makes being an entrepreneur the BEST thing in the world. Trust me on this.
However, as I said the other day, being married to an entrepreneur is not all roses and sunshine and great news.
Keep in mind that Jonesy and I work out of the same office. Imagine working with your husband. Seriously, think about that for a minute. There was a time when I thought it would be really cool if we opened a business together - I am over that now. Thankfully, we do not have to collaborate on any (work-related) projects, but we do have to share office space. And sometimes we argue over the use of the conference rooms. Do-able? Yes, most of the time. Challenging? Absolutely. And sometimes, it just not fantastic.
And so, without further ado, here are the top five not so fantastic things about being married to an entrepreneur.
(1) Sometimes you are poor. When you are self-employed, there is not a regular paycheck. Even if you work really hard. I could go on and on about this, and then be declared the most bitchy and ungrateful wife on the planet. So, instead, I will just say this ... sometimes you are poor, and I find that to be not fantastic.
(2) Jonesy is always around. Always. He is always here. There is no alone time, unless I have somewhere to go - which is not very often and if I do, I am almost always accompanied by a very cute four-year-old girl. Now, I ask you ... would your marriage survive? Again, think about this for a moment. He works from his computer; and his computer is in our house. In fact, he and his computer are always together, in our house. I would almost be jealous if I couldn't see what he was doing with her. If he starts to take her out for lunch, there will need to be a discussion. In the meantime, they are always here. Just existing. In the middle of the house, doing whatever it is they do. And we are suppose to be quiet while they do it - Addie and I. Having your self-employed husband around all the time is not so fantastic.
(3) He is always in his office. There is no separation of home and office. If that little "ding-ding" sounds to indicate an email has arrived, everything stops in his world. He must attend to "business." And, again, we must be quiet. If someone calls your office in the off-hours, they leave a message; however, there are no off-hours in the world of self-employment. I imagine that it is very difficult to turn it off (the "business" train of thought, that is), especially when your supplier (the computer) is positioned in front of you at all times. Having a home office is not so fantastic.
(4) Sometimes, I have to know what is going on. Problems at Customs, deal fell through, customer changed his/her mind, someone won't make a decision. Customer hasn't paid - this is a big one. There are some parts of business that I do not want to know about. It's part of that bubble my parents created. Plus, it creates a kind of ugliness that I dread; and the ugly trickles down to affect the entire family. If it were my business, and I was stressed out or overwhelmed, I would cry. Of course, I would; and then I could move on because the emotion had been expelled. But, not boys ... they get grumpy and extremely irritable with very short fuses. Then, I get stressed trying to keep the kids from irritating Jonesy any more, and then we all become a little anxious because Daddy is grumpy. Yep, sometimes I have to know what is going on and it is not fantastic.
(5) I have learned things that I do not want to know. Business is ugly. It is cut-throat. People lie in business; did you know this? It shocks me the things that people lie about because everyone knows they are lieing. Well, everyone except me, that is. Recently, when I heard a story from Jonesy, I reassured him that I was sure the person was being honest (this time) - what motivation could they have to lie? They were lieing ... I now trust nobody. Not even you. I have learned things that I wish I did not know and that is not fantastic.
So, would I recommend entrepreneurship? I would be an entrepreneur is a second ... if there was no risk involved. I would enjoy the ALL the fun stuff, but NONE of the stressful stuff. Remember, I wrote once about owning a coffee shop or a chocolate-making business? I would thrive on the creative part of the business ... creating new chocolate flavour combinations, or packaging ideas, or coffee specials. But I would detest the business end of things ... like gross profit margins (I become disinterested after the "gross" part) or obtaining capital or anything accounting. Marketing is another tough thing for me ... I can generate lots of marketing ideas (packaging, identifying target markets) but I find it difficult to find a way to present the idea to the right person. Not the talking part (I think you should know this, if you read my blog often), but the asking-for-something part. I don't like asking for help for myself. For someone else, that's fine, but not to further myself. Weird? Maybe, but that's just me.
There are many things to consider if you want to be an entrepreneur. But I think I'll leave you with some words recently spoken by the one I know best ...
"If you cannot enjoy the ride, in pursuit of the success, you should not be an entrepreneur." - Matt Jones, Zee Media
It'll be nice to remind him of his own words the next time he has one of those not so fantastic days.
