Your Business Should Match Your Lifestyle

When people use the term "lifestyle business," they usually are referring to something small and even part time. I would argue that every business should be viewed as a lifestyle business.

If you choose a business deliberately based on your aspirations and values, you can create a business that is an intentional reflection of the lifestyle you would like to live.


Your chosen lifestyle may be one of integrating your business skills with your passion to change the world. We call this a social venture. Your lifestyle in this venture would be one of sacrificing some of your own income and wealth potential in exchange for making the world a better place.
Your chosen lifestyle may be one in which you have flexibility to spend the time with your family, your church, your community, your hobbies, or travel.

Many entrepreneurs deliberately limit the growth of their business to allow them time to pursue interests beyond their business.

Your chosen lifestyle may be one in which you want to keep things simple. For example, one of my former students started a business that had the potential for significant growth. She could have added employees and even grown into other markets. But she had no interest in expanding or growing beyond the business she could take care of by herself. She did not ever want to have to add employees and face the complexities that arise with adding staff. Success to her was meeting her basic lifestyle needs through the income from her business, while keeping her life simple.

Some want fame, fortune
Your chosen lifestyle may be one of fame and fortune — of being willing to put your work ahead of everything else. This entrepreneur will need to seek out opportunities that provide wide open markets with significant growth potential.

Be deliberate in planning a business that reflects the lifestyle you want. And understand the trade-offs that come with the choices you make. There are always trade-offs.

High growth ventures offer high rewards of income and wealth. But they also come with the risks associated by pursing such ventures. Your income is more at risk, certainly in the short run. Your family will likely see you less often. And your hobbies and interests will take a back seat.

On the other hand, the decision to keep your business small can offer the ability to control your time and make it more flexible for other parts of your life.

But your income potential will be more limited and you will have to be content with passing up opportunities to add more products, move into other geographic locations, or maximize your share of the market. The key thing is to recognize that every business you start will have an effect on your lifestyle. Be honest with yourself. Know what lifestyle you truly want and then engineer that lifestyle into the business you build.

If you do not intentionally plan your business to meet the lifestyle you want to be living, the business you create can quickly dictate a lifestyle for you.

Fuente: http://forum.belmont.edu/cornwall/archives/009959.html