One SME expert says to love your small business more than your family
Films and folklore have made the workaholic, rich - but lonely - entrepreneur the stuff of legend. In the case of Ebenezer Scrooge, it turns out that putting aside family for financial success is a mistake. But could there be some truth to the idea that successful entrepreneurs can't have a healthy family life?
According to one small business owner reporting for Entrepreneur magazine, family time should be kept in check in order to achieve financial security. George Cloutier, founder and chairman of American Management Services, says an entrepreneur's first love should be business.
He advocates making family time cherished - but brief. Instead of taking a weekend birthday sojourn with a spouse, he says it should be a time to reward a partner (if an SME owner has one) for willingness to let business be the priority by giving an expensive gift that is the product of hard work.
Cloutier suggests commitment to your business and clients is what will make your small- or medium-sized enterprise boom - and family will appreciate this later. "They'd much rather enjoy great financial security than see you struggling for the rest of your life to make money that never comes."
This ideology may not be encouraging for some SME owners. In fact, many experts do not share Cloutier's opinion.
Small business experts at GigaOm say one of the top myths that destroys a startup business is the idea that entrepreneurs need to work hard without expecting to have a life.
