Back to work in the nick of time

Life can really be a black hole. Things were moving along with this business when, 2 weeks before my daughter's 2nd birthday, we started working on all these projects around the house. Now, 3 1/2 months later, I'm still not done with all the projects and my business has been left in a coma. Normally I would never allow this to happen, and I highly recommend not trying this for yourself, but in this particular case it may have been the best thing for me.

When I was in school, I was a total procrastinator. Even with crucial, grade changing work I would wait until the day before and scramble to get it done. The funny thing is, this is not how I treated my business or how I have ever worked for others. I fully embrace the idea of getting things done immediately so you can go back to them and tweak them if need be or move onto the next task. My theory on why I was like that in school is it was for me and I realize now, at 41, that my self esteem was a big player then. I wasn't worth the effort so I didn't put it in. At the same time, I was working my first jobs and I was an aggressive go getter that accomplished task as quickly as they were assigned. These tasks were for other people, not myself (at least this is how I thought of them).

By taking this time off, 2 very important things have happened. One is that now I have a time limit that I must adhere to or my business is dead. The second is I could really give this whole thing some thought and I am now actually more excited and into it than I was 4 months ago. I love this business and now know it is my true passion. This type of realization doesn't come cheap but it was well worth the journey. Plus I accomplished a lot of the task, large and small, that have been looming around the house.

To sum this up, finding an employee like my teenage self is a very good thing. I worked like a driven adult and cost my employers very little. As an adult, it's good to look back on your work life objectively and see what traits you like and dislike so you know how to conduct your business going forward. As a small business owner, not beating yourself up when a stall or false start happens and letting things grow naturally can tell you a lot about what you should be doing. Going forward, I expect my business to move at the speed of light but this trial and retooling will prove to be invaluable in the long run so don't be afraid to go with the flow once in a while.