From Business Misery To A Solution
What follows is a bit of a personal story which happened yesterday, but one which led to a huge realization about my business.
Yesterday, I got some work done in the morning. By early afternoon, I was feeling burned out. Unenthusiastic. Just not happy. I was at Panera Bread working because it is nice to get out of the house sometimes. By the time I got back home and walked into my office, it was very clear I didn’t want to be there. Life sucked.
So, I want for a walk for about an hour. I took the Iphone with me and listened to a couple of podcast episodes of Internet Business Mastery. The two episodes spoke right to me. Episode #48 talked about lifestyle design (a term popularized by Tim Ferris). Jay and Sterling spoke of their various life goals and how they set up their business to make those things happen. Episode #49 talked about their big mistakes and what they would do differently if they were starting from scratch. In it, they talked about the importance of setting up systems. That is, systematizing all procedures in the business so that they were not personally trapped by it. It means documentation so that another could sit down and do the job.
After listening to these two episodes, I felt re-energized. But, by night, I was incredibly upset once again after my wife and I had a two-hour argument. It all started with the fact that I was on my laptop at night – again. I was on the Internet – not exactly working, but doing some stuff related to my line of work.
The truth is: I find myself defaulting BACK to work-related activities even when I’m not officially working. It leads to constant work, and not enough time with my wife and daughter. I really do enjoy what I do, but there is a definite lack of balance. Not good.
My wife and I went back and forth trading insults. We weren’t getting anywhere and, quite frankly, we were both just dramatizing problems that had other roots. And a humongous part of that root is this: I have not been attending to my family as much as I am needed. Sure, my daughter is only 9 months old and she seems happy all the time. But, my wife has only the baby and it DOES wear on her. I have to take responsibility for that.
I was feeling torn. I feel the need to work hard so that I can grow my business. At the same time, my family wants me and my wife feels insulted when I’m on the computer at night. At the same time, the economy is on the mind and I feel pressure to grow the business so as not to get caught with my pants down. Crazy amount of pressure.
Laying in bed, my wife gave me the best piece of advice I could have gotten. I don’t even think she thought it was that notable, but it just cut right to the core of my problem.
The advice: Work on setting up systems to simplify my business and make the various jobs into self-contained, doable actions by OTHER people. And, most importantly, do this BEFORE I start any other projects. If I don’t, then these other projects I am beginning will only add to the overwork, the confusion, the time away from family.
I have other web projects to embark on, but PCMECH.COM continues to be the heart of my business. I need to fully systematize that business before I start new ones otherwise I will simply go nuts. I need to make PCMECH into a business that more or less runs itself, or at least is not completely dependent on me to keep running.
So, I know this is a rather long-winded post, but I am laying out my experience in the last 24 hours that has really driven home the need for systems in any business. We don’t start internet businesses in order to become slaves to it. The beauty of internet business is the potential for good money coupled with lifestyle flexibility. But, none of that means anything if you’re feeling forced to work and you become such a slave to your business that your family begin to suffer. That is much worse than having a shitty boss and a 9-5 job.
I want to thank Jay and Sterling with Internet Business Mastery. I am also a member of the IBA Academy and it is well worth it. But, I really admire these guys’ approach to internet business. And, on a day where I was dramatizing all of the bad things which happen when you don’t set things up correctly, their podcast spoke right to me.
Lessons:
- Create systems and document them so that my business is not sitting in my head.
- Keep my life in better balance. I have nothing if I’m not happy and if my family isn’t doing well.
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Bryan
I am a pro-blogger and Internet entrepreneur who generates six figures online per year. This blog is a plain-English, pull-no-punches tale of my life as an Internet entrepreneur and problogger. 
