The Best Time Is Now and Never

Something I learned a long time ago as a parent is that there’s no perfect time for kids. The same is true for marriage, vacations, starting a new business… You get the idea.

Among the gaudy parade of the latest Inc 500 —the business equivalent of a high school prom—is a short article by Meg Cadoux Hirshberg who is married to Gary Hirshberg, president and CEO of Stonyfield Farm. The title of the missive is Balancing Acts: If Not Now, When?

Money quote:

The reality is that when you are entangled in an entrepreneurial life, there’s never a right time – for anything. There’s no right time, because there’s no time (and usually no money, either). For having kids, for buying a house, for getting a dog, for taking a vacation, for going out to dinner. Planning becomes difficult when income (if it exists at all) is insecure and savings are usually (to put it gently) unsubstantial. No matter how loudly private life calls out for investment – of time and of money – the business screams even louder in its demands for both. An entrepreneurial life becomes all about postponing – “When we break even…,” “When we get that contract…,” “When we hire that salesperson…” – ah, yes, that’s when our lives can move ahead.

In the hyperactive (yet unproductive) and overcommunicated society, it’s refreshing to come across such uncommon common sense about entrepreneurship.

Enjoy the read!

I agree that is a good article. It should be required reading for someone who wants to start a business. I think a lot of times people think that entrepreneurs have all this freedom that people working 9-5's don't, and in certain instances I'm absolutely sure they do, but work doesn't necessarily stop just because it is after 5, or because they are at home, or because it is the weekend. It is there all the time, and that is something they constantly deal with.

I totally concur. Once entangled, it is hard to detangle. But we can. We can re-prioritize. It is the re-balancing act. Whether you work for someone or for yourself, you always gain some and lose some. Entrepreneur starters face the toughest challenges. It it good if you have a partner or an assistant whose capability you can trust and rely on. But it is tough. On one hand, that potential partner or assistant always look out for other equal or higher potential opportunities. What you need is being straightforward, fair, and paper-explicable from the very beginning. As a basic rule, treat people the way we want to be treated. On the other hand, you as a starter have limited budget, have high vision for your own business, and therefore more inclined to being on your own. This is a big stress factor, and alot of time you can not get everything done. Build a team, get a trust-worthy team-mate involved, and delegate some tasks. This will help you have a sense of symbiosis, a great . Think about how a system works; a visionary (leader) without an implementor does not build a system. Many successful corporates are built with this in mind.