Lynda Moore notes people start a small business for 'freedom' and find it doesn't work out like that. She has tips for how to get the balance back

A couple of weeks ago, I shared the story of my kettlebell, and how my good intentions to use it weren’t going so well.

I have a happy ending to that story, the kettlebell has a new role, no, I still haven’t lifted it, but it is the perfect size and weight to hold the garden shed door open!

Not that this helped me with my intention behaviour gap of wanting to build some upper body strength, but not actually doing anything about it. That is until my lovely neighbour and I were having a chat, and the subject of exercise came up.  We both do a lot of walking, in addition to this, my neighbour also goes to the local gym and does classes there.  “Why don’t you come along with me” she enthusiastically says.

Why not, I thought, I haven’t done any weight training since pre-Covid, and I used to really enjoy it, “I’ll do it” I equally enthusiastically reply. ‘What time is the class?  “9.30, we can walk there together, so I’ll see you at 9.15, at your gate” and off she went.

My heart sank. I can’t do an exercise class at 9.30 on a weekday. That’s during work time!  I assumed we would be going to the 6am class like I used to so I could get home and be at my desk by 9am ready to start my day.

Then I gave it some more thought. Hang on, I go to my networking groups during ‘working hours’ and I don’t feel guilty about that.  Why do I feel that I can’t I go to the gym at 9.30 in the morning?

I certainly know part of it was the conditioning from when I started my working career.  We all went to work at a certain time, had a morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea break and then went home.  Plus, being in the accounting world, I was used to counting every 6 minutes of the day, so doing anything considered personal like going to the gym was certainly not an option back then.

I have been out of that structured world for a very long time since starting my own business over 30 years ago, so that really shouldn’t bother me.

In the end, I just went ‘stuff it’, I want to do this, so off I went with my neighbour and after the first class, I have committed to going three times a week.  It’s good for me physically, and mentally and as a business owner, those aspects of running our businesses are just important as marketing or working with our customers.

When I ask new clients why they went into business, they will often say ‘freedom’, the ability to do what they want, when they want to.  But the reality is that often isn’t the case.  Not because we can’t, but because we believe we can’t.  We believe we need to be available for our clients 24/7. We believe we need to show up and be there and work harder than our team. We believe we need to be the first to arrive and the last to leave. We believe that just showing up is being productive. And the list goes on. Feel free to add your own business owner beliefs in the comments.

I then ask the question, are you running your business, or is it running you? When I asked myself that question, I realised I was allowing my business beliefs dictate when I needed to be at my desk, not what my clients were asking for or needed. 

Yes, of course, there are times when you drop everything for a client or customer, when you pull an all-nighter, or work the weekend.  But that shouldn’t be the norm, if we go into business for freedom, then we should be running our business and not our business running us.

The final clincher for me: Taking on a new team member who works from home and saying I have no problem with flexi time. As long as the work gets done, I don’t mind when that happens. I decided I needed to listen to myself and apply that to my own time management as well.

So, here I am at my desk typing away.  I really should move, as Jett is looking at me wanting his dinner, but right now, the thought of standing is just too hard…. No pain, no gain someone said a long time ago… they better be right!

*Lynda Moore is a Money Mentalist coach and New Zealand’s only certified New Money Story® mentor. Lynda helps you understand why you do the things you do with your money, when we all know we should spend less than we earn. You can contact her here.