Work/life balance
There are lots of small business owners out there that are living life on the edge: They have little to no health insurance.
They figure they're pretty healthy, so they can save money by paying doctors for routine visits out of pocket. But what if they get a serious illness?
Most of you out there figure you'll go to the hospital, get the treatment you need to get nursed back to health and then deal with the bills as they come in. Hospitals, especially nonprofits, have to treat people, right?
Think again.
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| Richard Drew / AP |
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When blogs first came on the scene, they were basically online diaries.
I remember this freaky guy I worked with about nine years ago at a newspaper in Florida was writing this new thing called a blog. His posts were mainly about his sex life, or lack of it. And he also blogged about how he hated journalism and really wanted to be a musician.
What got me thinking about the origins of blogs was a story in the New York Times Friday about how blogs are now being used to air dirty laundry.
Duh! That’s why blogs were created. But recently, blogs have turned into little more than advertising sites for businesses and places where journalist can write shorter stories that are infused with a bit of opinion, and sometimes humor.
But alas, the best-read blogs are filled with personal musings, sex, and the more dirty laundry the better.
So what’s a small business owner to do if they want a blog that’s well read? Should they start writing about their escapades in the bedroom?
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I’m feeling pretty lonely.
Lately I’ve noticed my emails are going unanswered for longer and longer periods of time.
I check my email every few seconds, and I can’t imagine not getting back to people in a flash.
But maybe I’ve bought into this crazy way of life.
Maybe I should take a page from the owner of a tea lounge in San Francisco who has taken a machete to email.
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Are you one of those entrepreneurs without a “sick boundary”?
That’s what Rich Sloan, founder of entrepreneurial website StartupNation.com, calls it.
A sick boundary is a common sense strategy all small business owners should have. Here it is in a nutshell: When you’re sick, stay home, don’t work, get better.
This is pretty simple, no?
“Most entrepreneurs don’t set the sick boundary,” he says.
I know, how the heck do you make money when you’re not working? That’s the entrepreneurial conundrum.
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This past weekend I got it in my head to finally use that fondue pot my sister-in-law and brother-in-law gave us for Christmas. Well, actually, they gave it to us three Christmases ago.
It was cold outside and the kids were restless. What better way to make everyone happy than a big hot pot of melted cheese and simmering beef broth, and lots of stuff to dip into them.
I set out to buy many of the ingredients I would need from local businesses. By local, I don’t mean the big supermarket chains that line the busy thoroughfare near my neighborhood. I mean I wanted to buy as much as I could from my neighbors with no ties to conglomerates.
Little did I know I was part of a growing trend, a trend that's actually boosting business for local retailers.
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Many moons ago when I was working for a daily newspaper there was a columnist there who would always write his best columns after a three or four martini lunch.
Many of us in the newsroom would say, after reading a particularly witty column, “He must have really tied one on at lunch.”
And, at a fashion publication I wrote for, one of the big time editors there would keep a bottle of whisky in his top drawer, “just in case.”
I never found out what he meant by just in case. I figured there were probably a lot of just in cases in his day.
Alas, behavior like that is a thing of the past with only about 7 percent of American workers saying they drink during the workday, according to a University of Buffalo study.
But should entrepreneurs abstain? Can't they do what ever they want? They are their own bosses after all.
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| BusinessWire |
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The tragic story of a kind man who used a portable toilet one day in a park and ended up paralyzed inspired nearly 90 small business owners to embark on one charitable mission.
For six weeks, plumbers, roofers, and painters, just to name a few, worked hard at transforming Pedro Toala’s home into an accessible dream house. This former bus driver was the victim of what was deemed a prank, when a bunch of kids tipped over the portable toilet he was using in Wilmington, Delaware.
His story got lots of press attention locally, and many were moved when he forgave the men who ended up breaking his spine.
How were so many busy small business owners able to join forces and do something good for Toala?
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What happens if you take a job in your spouse’s family business and then you realize you want out?
Tough luck buddy, you’re stuck.
Well, that’s not entirely true. You can get out but expect some hard feelings, especially if you’ve been complaining and family feuds are starting to percolate.
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A friend of mine told me that her boss invited her and a bunch of other employees to his house for a holiday party.
It was a nice gesture, until she found out she had to cook something for the soiree. If any of the invitees were at a loss on what to bring, the boss gave them a food assignment.
Have we all lost our minds?
I like potluck as much as the next guy, but don’t your workers do enough for you during the year? Why the heck would you assign them yet more work when they’re supposed to be letting down their hair and relaxing?
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Can an ugly entrepreneur be successful?
Not according to women entrepreneurs. At least that’s the findings of a recent study of female business owners.
It’s like we’re living in the 1950s. Women dolling themselves up to in order to get society’s approval.
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| David James / NewLine |
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