This week was great I was able to talk with a few business owners and I learned a lot about the priorities that they have. I found that family time is often sacrificed in order to build a company and keep it running properly. Often to save money, the business owner is the one that has to dedicate extra time to tie up loose ends because they can’t afford to hire someone else to do it. I was surprised to learn that most business owners that I talked to enjoyed being hands on and wouldn’t like to step back from their business and let it run itself or pay someone else to run it for them. They expressed concern for quality being sacrificed for quantity, which is the main reason that they prefer to be so hands-on.

I was very surprised to learn how even when a company is successful, established and self-sustaining, the owner still works long hours to keep it that way. It seemed like opportunity cost is constantly something that is being evaluated and often, time is more valuable than money, especially when it comes to spending time traveling. I also found it interesting that the business owners that I talked to aspired to step away from their business and be more hands off by age 40, but they all talked about new businesses that they would want to start up immediately after. It is almost like the hard working, successful people aren’t ever satisfied and are always aspiring to start up new companies or pursue new ideas and revenue. It definitely takes a certain type of person to be a successful business owner.