Small Business Builder: Be it Resolved

— -- One component of entrepreneurial success, some veteran business owners say, is giving 100 percent of yourself — more, if you can — to your venture.

Terrible, wrongheaded advice, even though most of the “experts” who recommend that kind of singlemindedness don’t really mean it. They assume their listeners have good judgment and a healthy sense of self-preservation. That’s not a safe assumption; after all, you have to be a little bit crazy to go into business for yourself.

Sharpen the Saw

Many entrepreneurs are young and inexperienced in the ways of the world. They think they’re indestructible … that they can sacrifice sleep, good nutrition, relationships, recreation, personal and professional development, and all the other things that make life worth living … things without which “business success” is empty indeed.

It might help to think of yourself as a piece of expensive business equipment. Let’s say, for example, that you are a self-employed cab driver. Since your livelihood depends on having an automobile that runs reliably and economically, you take good care of your car, making sure that it gets regular lubrication, fluid replacement, brake inspections and so forth. You put fuel in the tank before it runs out of gas, and you buy new tires before the old ones wear smooth. It helps, of course, that vehicles have gas gauges and warning lights.

Unfortunately, people don’t. The warning signs that do exist are usually subtle and easily explained away or masked. You get headaches, you take painkillers; you get tired, you drink coffee; you get hungry, you eat french fries. Since you’re constantly working, at first you might not even notice friends and family members drifting away. Meanwhile, neglect is steadily taking its toll, just as it would if you never changed the oil in your taxi. Personal maintenance — the caring for your physical, mental, and spiritual health — does more than keep the “other” (nonbusiness) part of your life in balance; it makes your business-related activities more effective. Metaphorically, it’s referred to as “sharpening the saw.”