A third and equally important benefit of Economies of Small is the ability to establish my schedule. I thoroughly enjoyed setting my own hours, my own pace and my own work environment.
Since I never expected to grow beyond a “kitchen table” practice where I used my dining area as my office, I quickly realized that Economies of Small must build in room for two critical elements to success: Margin for expansion and rest for the weary.
My client files were flooding onto the floor, my bookkeeping was getting out of hand and my office space continuously experienced interruption by cooks in the kitchen (namely my two boys and a houseguest living with us).
Add to that that I was now booking clients a quarter at a time and suddenly – I had no room to breathe. Vacation? No time. After all, I couldn’t cancel clients already booked, right? Small had become unruly. Like a single ivy vine, which is so pretty at first but can take over quickly if unattended, my distorted view of Economies of Small was preventing me from managing the viney growth of my business. It was threatening to overtake every aspect of my life.
How could I stop my business from taking over my entire life? How could I find balance? The solution included booking my vacations in advance, converting my living room into an office and limiting my work to weekdays. I built Friday afternoon in as my overflow time to ensure adequate follow through with clients, admin tasks and tying up loose ends.
Do you need margin in your life? Is your home life, family, work or ministry consuming you? Since I took control and created balance in my business, the results are remarkable. I have room to play, work and probably most importantly, to create. I have energy and see opportunity where before I was exhausted and only saw piles and unfinished to do lists. Economies of Small is an enjoyable place to be, and I’m learning how to make it work to not just the advantage of the business, but to my whole life as well.
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