RE3EL STANCE

A couple days ago my wife and I showered our baby with another butchering of “Happy Birthday” in celebration of her 4 month birthday. Lily continues to amaze us each and every day and I could write blog post after blog post about her. But, I’ll save that for later.

You often hear entrepreneurs describe their businesses as their “babies” and hear that starting a business is like having a baby. You have to nurture it. Your heart becomes bigger to love it. Etc…

But, I’ve learned a lot of other things about being an entrepreneur from the first four months with our Lily. So, here are a few:

1) You can plan for her but she’ll have a mind of her own. You have to run with it. You have to provide direction but let that direction shift.

2) Every day is a fresh start. Every morning as a parent is a fresh start. It’s the same as an entrepreneur. No matter how difficult the previous day was today is a new day.

3) You need a lot of support. Having a baby is a lot of work; far more than I anticipated. The same is true of starting a business. Times will get tough and the work will get overwhelming but having people there to support you will help get you through.

4) Laughing is the best medicine. It’s amazing that no matter how difficult a day is as a parent, a quick laugh or giggle makes it all okay. As an entrepreneur be sure to use the free medicine of laughter to keep you grounded.

5) There will be a lot of sleepless nights. As a parent the days of a long, uninterrupted night of sleep is a thing of the past. The same is true as an entrepreneur.

6) Play. The best thing you can do for your child when she is young is nurture her and play. The same is true of your business. Make your business fun. Play with it. Make it a fun environment for your employees and your customers.

7) Celebrate the little things. Every day has things to celebrate as a parent. The same is true of your business and you should never forget that. Don’t forget to celebrate the little things because those little victories are often more satisfying than the big ones.

Get your finances in order. As a parent, you start to think about money in a different way. You measure it and save it differently. The same is true of your business. Pay attention to the finances. Make smart decisions and learn how to manage the money in it.

9) Build partnerships. Having an amazing wife as a partner in parenthood and friends and family that are there to help nurture our child makes all the difference. The same is true of your business. Build partnerships that can help nurture and grow it each and every day.

10) Sh*t happens. Somebody could win a Nobel Prize in Physics for explaining why it is your baby will poop the minute you put a new diaper on her. Face it, Sh*t happens in life, as a parent, as an entrepreneur. You can’t get frustrated by it. You can’t let it derail you. You can’t take it too seriously. You have to stop crying over the spilled milk and get moving forward again.

11) Make the world a better place. When you are a parent you realize that your child has a lot of years ahead of her and that making her world a better place for years to come is so important. As an entrepreneur, you should feel the same responsibility to make the world a better place through your business.

12) Don’t lose yourself. You spend so much time nurturing your baby, but it’s important to maintain your own life and passions as well. The same is true of your business. Keeping your own self as you raise a child makes you a better parent. Keeping your own self as you grow a business makes you a better entrepreneur.

When I talk to people thinking about having kids I often hear the same thing that I hear from entrepreneurs that are thinking about starting a business: “the timing isn’t right”. Well, the timing is never right. But, you figure it out as you go and you’ll be happy you took the leap. So, if you have been putting off your dreams…stop. Take the leap, find support, understand it won’t be easy and don’t forget to laugh along the way.