Collaborative post
The parallel is not an idle one.
In both cases, you need to get into the right routine from the outset to avoid
stress and sleepless nights, and with the best will in the world, it is easy to
set out with great intentions of being the best business owner or parent in the
world, and still to find yourself slipping into bad habits and struggling to
devote the time you should to other aspects of your life.
For the business owner, it is
often your personal life that suffers. That doesn’t just mean not devoting
enough attention to loved ones or taking time to relax on a weekend – although
these are certainly common. But it also means neglecting your personal finances
because you are so focused on those of the business. It is the most common
mistake in the world.
Be ready for the volatility
Even if the business gets off to a
flyer, there is certain to be volatility along the line, with some months being
better than others. That is a difficult enough thing to manage from a business
perspective, and the last thing you need is the additional stress that there
might not be money to pay the mortgage or pay for the kids’ school trips.
Paying yourself a salary that you can afford will help. It probably won’t be as
much as you could be earning as a manager in a big company, but you were never
really in this for the money, right? In all seriousness, though, having a
salary makes it easy to budget and that means less likelihood of domestic
dramas.
Keep those lines of separation
Be pragmatic. A new business is a
fragile thing, and plenty of them
fail in the first couple of years. Hoping for the best but preparing for the
worst is never a bad idea, and keeping a degree of separation between home and
business is a good way to do that. Having every pound you have tied up in the
business is a sure fire route to disaster on both a personal and professional
level.
Visit a site like Wealthify to explore the most tax-efficient personal investment
options to ensure you have some assets tied up safely and securely, but in a
place you can access them quickly if you really have to.
