How to Build a Business Without Losing Your Family
Most entrepreneurs I know are great at winning in business and terrible at protecting the thing they built it all for in the first place: their family. In this episode of the Relentless Growth Podcast, Jack Maher and I had an honest conversation about the hidden cost of building companies, and the habits I lean on to keep my marriage and my kids from getting the leftovers of my day.
The Cost Nobody Warns You About
When you decide to go from a normal life to starting and scaling businesses, the path I chose, and the one I see most people choose, is simply putting in ten times the work everyone else does. That work is how you gain knowledge, get efficient, and build the teams that eventually make it easier. But the price that sneaks up on you is at home: the missed dinners, the marriage strain, and the version of you that walks in the door still mentally back at the office.
Building My Day So Family Wins First
One advantage of being a business owner is that I can mix family into my day more than most people get to. I do not have time to run home and hang out, but I intentionally plan my schedule so I see my wife and kids on a daily basis, even if it is only for a few minutes. A simple example: instead of hitting the gym at 4 or 5 in the morning and missing everyone, I shifted my workout so I get there around the same time my wife does after she drops our son off at school. It sounds small, but getting to greet her in the morning matters more than the extra hour of “productivity” ever would.
Closing the Loops
The biggest thing I have worked on lately is a concept my coach calls “closing loops.” It is all the little unfinished tasks bouncing around in your head, the email you meant to send, the call you forgot to make. You get home, and ten minutes later you are staring off into space composing a message that would have taken you no time at the office. Now it has stolen you from your family. So I focus on reaching substantial completion before I leave: getting enough done that my mind recognizes it is okay to turn off. That is the real key to being present at home instead of physically there but mentally gone.
Modeling the Behavior You Want
Our kids are always watching. If we do not want them growing up glued to work and missing the people who matter, we have to model the opposite ourselves. Long-term success is not about hustling the hardest in the short term and burning out the people around you. It is about building something sustainable, the long game, so the business serves the family instead of consuming it.
A Quick Project Update
On the construction side, we got a fun update. About five years ago we started doing rehab, development, and new construction work in a little pocket of a Central Arkansas community that was rough when we began. A handful of vacant lots where houses had been torn down sat empty because the seller would not sell. Recently he listed them all on the MLS, and we went under contract to buy most of those lots. It is not earth-shaking, but finishing the redevelopment of that area is exactly the kind of work I love.
Build Something That Lasts
If you are a homeowner or investor in Little Rock, Conway, Bryant, Benton, or anywhere in Central Arkansas planning a build, renovation, or development project, we would love to help you do it right. Give us a call at 501-850-6364 or request a quote and let us build something that lasts.