Here’s a quick question for you:
“Do you fit your business around your lifestyle or your lifestyle around your business?”
Many people start a business with big plans and dreams. They want to get out of the rat-race and start earning what they are really worth; not what their boss pays them. They want the freedom that comes from running their own business.
They know that better financial rewards and more freedom will give them a better quality of life or lifestyle. It will allow them to live where they want to live, drive what they want to drive and more importantly; it will allow them to be the master or mistress of their own destiny.
So why is it that years later, most small business owners still work long hours and live an uninspiring lifestyle?
I believe these business owners make a subconscious decision: They decide to fit their lifestyle around their business.
Their business grows to a certain point and then, usually after 2 or 3 years, it levels off. They then adapt their lifestyle, to fit the limitations of their business. Whether they know it or not, they are in just as big a rut as they were, when they worked for someone!
The answer? Fit your business around your lifestyle
I believe the answer is to turn the model on it’s head and fit our business around our preferred lifestyle. In other words, we need to decide the income we want and the number of hours we want to work and draw up a new plan to take us from where we are right now, to the quality of life we deserve.
I meet people all the time, who have seen their business results reach a plateau. Their business may have grown a little or shrunk a little, but it’s not growing in the way they originally planned, when they were inspired to start their business at the beginning. Those dreams of the good life are a distant memory.
For example, they live where they can afford to live – not where they want to live. They find themselves having to constantly settle for less. They also have to spend too much time away from their families and friends – because their whole lifestyle is designed to fit around their business – which is NUTS!
Instead of being on top of their business, their business is on top of them!
So, right now, decide to reclaim your dream
Right now, if your business is not rewarding you with the results you need, in order to enjoy the lifestyle you want, CHANGE IT! Reclaim your dream – get back in the driving seat and plan for what you want. I suggest your new plan is based around developing your business, so that it generates the income you need, in order to give you freedom of choice.
Money is very definitely not everything, but it does give you options. It gives you the option to decide how many hours to work, and with whom you work. It gives you the option to decide where you live and in many cases, it can help you live a longer and healthier life too.
Don’t allow yourself to settle for less than you deserve and don’t be fooled into thinking that the good life is for others and not you! With the right plan and the motivation to put that plan to work, you can achieve anything you want to.