Three tips for fathers running their own business

After years of holding down steady jobs many fathers these days take a leap and start their own business. Why do they do it? Perhaps because having your own business allows you to control your destiny, get paid what you're really worth, work flexible hours, do what you've always been passionate about and so on. However these days many dads also have a desire to spend much more time with their Children. Self employment, on the face of it, offers fathers flexibility and time to spend with families and children.

The reality for many people in business is different though. Long hours, being at the disposal of clients, cash flow problems and the pressure of keeping the business running. Time becomes a precious resource and often there are conflicting priorities between business and family. It takes a quite a guy to take on all these responsibilities and be 100% fully engaged whenever they spend time with their children. Talk about being a great dad at the end of a 12 hour day with 4 hours of admin work to do once the children have gone to bed.

How do you do this? You suck it up. This is what fathers do, and that's why fathers are the great people they are. Great dads find creative ways to be effective at work and keep up their motivation and energy levels to be there for the kids as well.

To fulfil the important job of being a great dad there are 3 things you can do in you business to make things easier:

1. Automate the business as much as possible – what tasks can be done automatically (e.g. online order processing). Outsource where possible
2. Systemizing roles, jobs, marketing, and operations as much as you can. I.e. creating standard templates and processes, etc.
3. Use your work calendar to book in family time. Spending some extra time with your kids is much easier to manage when you can plan ahead.

Also - remind yourself why you started this business, what you wanted to achieve and what you love about it. If you are not enjoying most aspects of your business life over long periods you may want to rethink your decision to start your own business. Whilst having your own business is an important aspect of life it is also just a means to an end. So don't lose sight of your end goal and find time for the family ... for your children you are the coolest dad on the planet!

Jeff Smith
www.boostbusiness.co.nz