In addition to learning how to run a business, my dad shared with me his love for music. The Beatles were a favorite of his, as was CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival for those of you too young to remember), the Doobie Brothers, James Taylor, and the Eagles. Some of my fondest memories are him blasting music off our deck while we build shelving for Blue Star’s warehouse and singing slightly off key together with the windows down after a particular long, sweaty workout.
(Fun fact – Blue Star founder Dave, known to me as Dad, was also my coach any time I was not in season.)
I no longer blast music … rather DJs with melodic rhythms (hello Peggy Gou, DJ Colette, and Maurice Fulton) or soundtracks (Trent Reznor and Hans Zimmer are favorites) keep chewing up RAM while I work.
And work, I do. A LOT. Like 8 days a week a lot.
What No One Tells You About Entrepreneurship
It’s time-consuming.
It’s like doing 2-a-day practices over and over and OVER again but never scoring more goals, never getting a PR.
It is having to learn a million and one new things to tweak all the time. Even things you thought you knew or had practiced for a long time (leading people, running marketing campaigns, and following budgets for instance), you have to go deeper, try again, have it not work, and then try again.
So how do I, as a small business owner, not become a sad statistic? (According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more. Yikes!)
I work 8 days a week.
A Day In the Life of This Owner
I have a confession: I am still reinvesting every dollar that Blue Star makes back into the business.
This is biz “white wash” for admitting what I have never said publicly till now – and that is that I have a whole other business that actually supports my family. (I provide strategic communications on a project by project basis for organizations of all kinds and sizes.)
So between that work and Blue Star AND being the involved partner and mom I want to be AND being the community leader I want to be (I’m on 2 nonprofit boards), I really do feel like I am working 8 days a week. I squeeze work into every nook and cranny of time I have. Most days go something like this:
- 4:30 a.m. – Wake up and head to the gym. My partner and I train together because it is cheaper and since our kids are too young to be left home alone, we drag them with us. Do you know how long it took us to find a gym that would allow us to do this?!
- 6:00 a.m. – Return from the gym and get everyone ready for the day. This involves making 2 meals (breakfast and lunches) for 4 people, checking the calendar to make sure I am prepared for all meetings, responding to emails that came in overnight, and quizzing kiddos on sight words.
- 8:00 a.m. – School drop off. Having to quiet giggling kiddos in the backseat while I take my first calls of the day while I drive.
- 8:30 a.m. – noon – Head down, work time. If you have ever tried calling Blue Star’s 800 number during these hours, I usually don’t answer 🙁 Since the other company I run is knowledge-based work and I do my best writing when my mind is fresh, protecting this time to crank out work is really important to my bottom line. Cue the music!
- Noon – 1:00 p.m. – This is usually my “break” … a.k.a. household management and mom sh*t time. I clean up the kitchen from the morning chaos and prep dinner, run a load of laundry, tackle errands, or make calls to set-up medical appointments, etc.
- 1:00-5:00 p.m. – Return calls/emails, take meetings, process orders for Blue Star, tackle the never ending to do list.
- 5:00-7:30 – Prime mom and family time. Phone is off, laptop is closed. My partner and I make it a point to read to our kids EVERY night.
- 7:30-9:00 – Finish any of the day’s mission critical tasks that must be completed before a new day starts. If completed, I read. Historical fiction for fun, or nonfiction about all kinds of things (cookbooks, psychology, gender studies, are a few favorites!).
Now that may look like a full day, and it is. But the freedom I have by owning my time and the value I can create for others through my businesses is my life purpose.
