My Business is My Baby: The Hard Truth

Mar 1

My business is my baby!”

If you have ever heard a business owner say this, that’s probably because they genuinely feel it’s not far from the truth.

When you delve into the reasoning behind this, you can understand how this might have come about.

It might take years to consider becoming either a parent or business owner. Neither decision is likely to have been taken lightly with both events being life changing.

With hypothetical and theoretical considerations whirring around in a person’s head, some people’s plans will remain there and nothing further will be ventured.

Why is that?

Both parenthood and business ownership are not just life changing events. They both bring about huge responsibility with a need for many personal qualities including: commitment, patience and open mindedness as well as having a nurturing nature.

Without certain characteristics, a person might find either gift too great a challenge.

When I was younger, I felt that even if I were to get married it didn’t necessarily mean I would automatically try to become a parent.

My true belief was that just because I loved someone it didn’t necessarily qualify us to be the right people to have a child.

I decided fairly early on in life that would only happen if I truly believed we had the capability of bringing someone good into the world and would commit to doing our best to raise them well.

Becoming a parent, for many, is down to societal expectation and family tradition. If someone comes from a larger family, a person may feel a sense of obligation to continue that pattern maybe?

My feelings are the same when it comes to business ownership.

Just because someone is successful in their employed career doesn’t mean they will necessarily be an effective business owner.

A person who takes on business ownership needs to be strongly independent with the ability to be able to receive much feedback, both positive and negative, to move forward.

Being able to work alone for long periods of time and not become disillusioned when challenges can feel overwhelming at times is important as a business owner.

In both cases, parenthood and business ownership are similar in many ways.

Being prepared is the ideal scenario, however, there are of course times that parenthood or business ownership is not planned out as it had been hoped.

Sometimes, life changes come to us by surprise.

An unexpected pregnancy or an untenable situation in employment might lead someone to one of these life changing events with less planning than they had anticipated.

For the sake of this, let’s assume either event has been planned.

It is therefore likely that a seed was planted a long time before these life events take place.

It is often from an early age that someone decides they shall become a parent, just like a person has a natural calling to entrepreneurship, maybe even as far back as their childhood.

An influencing force might have inspired a prospective business owner such as their parents demonstrating to them the life that option can offer as they grew up within it.

They might even be destined to take over the family business that has been operating for generations.

Whatever the case, just like a business owner plans their start-up, an expectant parent plays the waiting game.

They are probably both filled with excitement as well as with some trepidation.

The months and weeks before both of these life events takes place requires a high degree of organisation, ironing out any last minute details and getting as much rest as possible.

Those that have either gone through either event will know that something is always missed and we soon learn that we might never be ‘100% ready’ for anything.

If we were it would insinuate that we are perfect and both new parents and business owners soon come to learn that nothing is perfect.

We can only prepare ourselves the best we can. The rest is down to logic and adaptability.

When the new arrival comes into the world or the start-up is launched, there is undoubtedly an element of shock to the system or at least adjustments that need to be made.

With a steep learning curve ahead in both cases, there is likely to be a heightened feeling of emotion and summed up by the well said phrase of pride and joy.

In the first few months of parenthood to a baby or a business, there is an accelerated rate of learning and much adapting to do.

It’s the period known as the honeymoon period as new parents and business owners are thrown into their respective journeys in getting to know their new arrivals and understanding the new needs.

A whirlwind and a feeling of living in a bubble is often experienced as the life event chosen becomes a time warp with every hour passing quickly yet, at the same time, the days feeling to pass slowly.

So much is gained in the first moments. It is important to enjoy them before they pass by.

It is during this stage that it becomes clear there are many well meaning people who will advise, recommend or simply tell the new parent or business owner how to do what is being done and when to do it.

I shall never forget the advice my midwife gifted me:

“What works for you will work for your baby.”

Just like having a baby, business decisions are far better taken when they are made by the person whose baby or business it is.

That’s because it has to come from within, from genuine feeling and through well kept values.

There is no point in following advice if it is something that is not believed to be good or appropriate.

Whilst some of the recommendations will align with the values of many new parents or business owners, it may not with others and so knowing what is important from a personal perspective and having the courage to follow a gut instinct is vital for both parents and business owners.

Gut instinct has to take over to some extent in order that new discoveries are made and likes and dislikes can emerge.

Like a baby is weaned and gets a taste for new flavours, a new business tries and tests many things, which might include: processes, systems, suppliers, products, services and so on.

Some will be favoured whilst others are most probably discarded like an unsavoury new taste that is tried and tested by a baby.

Once the ‘honeymoon period’ is over a new parent or business owner might feel they have ‘got the hang of it’.

No sooner have they said they are on top of things, a new development stage of a baby or concept in business will no doubt scupper any sense of feeling completely in control and the learning curve begins again.

The paths in each of these worlds continue in an ongoing cycle of learning and development as the new parent becomes less unsure and the start-up business owner becomes more established.

Regardless of this and their age, it makes no difference to a parent or business owner and their roles of responsibility and accountability of course do not and should not stop there.

It is the same in both cases:

Nurturing and developing continues throughout their lifetime.

Things can start off slowly with the new experience, provided there are no complications, which can then follow with the experience often being questioned whether ’this is it’ or ‘how hard can it be?’

Everything has been prepared as much as possible, all is in order and the baby and business are, for the majority, relatively tranquil.

You have heard what they say though…

There is always a lull before the storm.

That storm will undoubtedly come before it’s least expected.

When it does arrive, there is no ignoring it.

As a new parent attends to their baby to learn what is needed at every step of the way, a new business owner learns what is required for their business for every stage of their journey.

Both might start slowly and as they develop they will get more accomplished at everything they do.

It is clear to see that a new parent and new business owner have many things in common, not least the responsibility they hold as one of the biggest commitments they hold in their lifetime.

Yet another question that can be posed is if these responsibilities are, in actual fact, a guardianship.

As a baby or business is nurtured and cared for, ultimately the growth and development of either will determine their own destinies.