Keeping Up

As you might have read below this April will mark the conclusion of my 3rd year operating a small business. Now more than ever before I’m becoming aware of how much effort it takes to keep a small business up and running. On a daily basis I’m nearly overwhelmed by the constant demands of running a business not just a business but a business in a rapidly changing technical sector. When you think about running the business alone the task is quite daunting. When you realize that I’m trying to maintain good physical health, be a father, husband and friend it quickly becomes a run-away-train. I often think that small business owners should be the most soft after people in the world for bigger businesses. As small business owners we must make critical decisions by the minute. What needs done now? What can wait until later? What’s going to be an acceptable definition of later and who will be the judge? Can I afford this? Should I buy that? What does my budget look like for more expensive items and how am I managing my growth. Did I call the people I needed to or is email going to be fine? Do I hire someone today or try to find a new way to squeeze one more hour of productivity out of myself?

Once you push aside the aspects of operating a small business then you have to embrace the tasks of your business. By tasks I don’t mean emptying the trash and dusting the furniture. By tasks I mean keeping your critical skills updated. Being aware of security flaws that exist in both hardware and software deployments. Implementing the technology solutions your clients expect in a timely manner with the right touch of quality. When it comes to implementation it’s one thing to work with clients in the same town or city. It’s truly rigorous to try and understand designs and requirements with clients in other states or across the country. You are a small business and you most likely don’t have the time or the capital to travel and so the logistics of your work multiply the complexity.

I do feel like I’m stretched too thin every day. I feel like I’m taking on too much and I feel like I simply have to say yes because saying no is so final. Running your own business is certainly not a simple undertaking nor is it the “get rich quick” that many people think it is. I know that each day I have to learn something new, forget something old and somehow make it all balance. In the back part of my mind I cannot help but wonder if I’m slowly turning into a precious and rare resource that could be a superstar in big-business or if I’m getting out of touch with corporate culture and slowly working myself into a niche from which there is no escape. I don’t think there is a right answer to this question and as time goes on I’m sure how I feel about the answer to this question will certainly change.

For now all I can do is the work that’s in front of me. I cannot worry or at least not too much about the work that’s behind me and I simply must fight to preserve my health and my relationships outside of work. I will constantly be hunting for new tools allowing me to do more with less and with each new discovery I must decide if I keep the hour saved and share it with my family or if I push yet one more hour out onto the bargaining table of profit. Somehow I just have to keep up but as I go forward I must constantly be vigilant for opportunity. The opportunity to save or grow and vigilance is the key.