Lessons from a 5th Generation Entrepreneur - Family Comes First

Being a fifth generation entrepreneur and operating my own company for the last decade has been difficult on my family life. For the first five years of the business I put my business in front of my own family needs. I skipped dinners, shortened vacations, and combined family time with work time. I worked late hours and woke up early sacrificing a lot of healthy quality time.

For those that are aspiring to be business owners managing your time is one of the hardest achievements you can obtain. The goal is to have the business of your dream without sacrificing the family of your dream.  What I have learned through my own ups and downs with time is to never sacrifice your family in the name of a business. It is not worth it.

Today I was working out at the gym and the movie 'Click' was playing on my treadmill. The movie is based on a workaholic architect that finds a universal remote allowing him to fast-forward and rewind to different parts of his life. He realizes that his choice to work non stop eventually cost him his family.  In the scene below he races to stop his son from following in his footsteps. He tells his son to go on the honeymoon - family comes first - before he dies.

I cried over and over with this scene because it hits so close to home. So many times as entrepreneurs we give up memories so we can make new memories but we forget how precious those moments are in real time. Every second is lost if not cherished. Every moment cannot be replaced.   Let me put it into a clearer perspective. My son is three and loves me so much. He asks me to read to him every night. I presume that by the age of ten he may outgrow that request so that leaves him with seven years or 2555 moments when I will get to hear him ask me to read him a story. That is not a lot of moments. Those moments are the ones that we want to keep closer to our hearts.  They cannot be replaced with any amount of money.

Live your dreams and build your businesses but along the way cherish your family, reach out to your friends, and honor your health because reaching the top of the mountain is lonely if no one is there to share your joy. While I can't fix my mistakes I can move forward as a better business owner with a new awareness. Every morning I wake up and thank my kids and my husband for being a part of my life and thank the universe that I was given the gift of parenting and marriage.  Build your family into your business plan and you can create your business dream without sacrificing your family.