Small Business Ownership...

There are usually three things a person is seeking when they open their own business. 

The first is usually money.  Folks have different goals, here.  Some would be happy making enough to live on.  Others would actually be willing to live on LESS money to be captain of their own ship.  Others want to advance, financially, farther than they could by working a job.

The second is freedom.  People want the ability to take vacations when they want.  To set their own schedule.  To have greater ability to dictate how they are going to live their lives.

The third is for the chance to spend more of their working lives doing something they love, and to spend less of their working lives doing things they really don't like doing.

Owning a small business has been great along all three of those dimensions for me.  However, the one area where it has been head and shoulders above being employed is freedom.  Specifically, I have a lot of time to devote to my son.

He started playing travel baseball last year and I attended every game, travelled to every tournament, and assisted in every practice.

When I worked a job, the hours I kept in the office would have made that impossible.  If I left at 6:00 p.m., I thought I was doing good, and it wasn't that unusual to leave at 7:00.  A half-day on Saturday was generally a good thing if I wanted to keep my head above water.

Logan's mom works unpredictable and sometimes long hours.  So, it's helpful that I've got a life that lets me stay home for the day on short notice. 

Those are the types of experiences you can't really put a price on:  quality time with children.  I have held every moment with my son as precious.  He'll be out of the house in 9 more years.  Judging by how quickly the last 9 have gone, it'll feel like it passed in the blink of an eye.  After that, any unfufilled longing about how I wish I would have raised my son will just be a pile of regret.

I do believe in that adage that nobody ever got to their deathbed wishing they'd worked harder at the office and spent more time away from their family.  The time we have with the people who are important to us is life's most precious gift.

That's why, even if I didn't do THIS small business, chances are I'll always own a small business of one sort or another, for the rest of my working life.  When Logan is gone, I want to be able to visit other people I don't see enough of.  When he has children, I want to be able to spend time with the grandkids. 

Maybe someday, I'll hand the reins of the business over to him and enjoy a quiet retirement.  In the mean time, I hope to build a lot of fond and positive memories to sustain me in my golden years.