What Does Owning a Mom and Pop Business Mean?
March 23, 2017
To me it means getting to work with and see family members often. It means that "quality control" is often "supervised" by a grandchild and that a three year old gets to practice her counting skills with the shells that mom is sorting. It means that my webmaster, shipping department, booth display maker, accountant, and head support person all live with me in the form of my wonderful husband. It is the force that has expanded us out of our last two residences into larger living spaces with outbuildings in a futile attempt to keep this a home based business. It allows us to buy locally and employ the talents of local friends to make some of our products. It allows me the freedom to use my skills as an energy healer/teacher and my love of business combined with my ever flowing visions to create a line of products and teaching tools for you to use in your journey for knowledge and healing.
It can also be an entity that is hard to let go of because I love the work I do. It is really easy to get into a pattern of rolling out of bed and checking my computer, just for a few minutes, to see what is going on in my business. Then I realize, well into afternoon, that I am still in pajamas and have, again, skipped breakfast and lunch because I kept chasing the next project that came up on my screen. It is hard to just simply take a vacation because there is always a store I can introduce my products to, a booth to vend products in, or maybe a place to teach nearby. Most of my "vacation" time away from home is tax deductible.
But even if you truly love something you can get too much of it when it starts taking over your life. So I am getting better (or at least attempting) at sometimes ignoring my computer, taking time that is not for business, and setting up specific work hours. I am even thinking of places to travel to and visit that are not work related. Mom and pop businesses have a habit of moving into every area of your life and it is important to set boundaries. I need that time to rejuvenate so that I can come back with full energy to do the work I love.
National Mom and Pop Business Day is March 29.