What’s it like owning a small business?
To be honest, that’s a pretty loaded question I get a lot more than I ever thought. And there is no simple answer. There is no cut and dry of it’s amazing! Though most days it is, and I truly love what I do, there’s a lot that many don’t see that make some days really long.
I’m a single mom to three kids, in more sports than necessary despite my early parenting vows to never let them do more than one sport per season. They have homework, and schoolwork and friends too. So, managing their schedules, along with my professional and personal schedules, can make for some pretty hectic days. I’m thankful that I have a tribe of friends and family surrounding me to help, but at the end of the day, it falls on my shoulders.
Running a small business (three actually and soon to be 4!) requires a lot of behind the scenes, unpaid, gritty work that is required to be put in to make the outside a beautiful presentation for others to see. Not many people realize that before an event for Tap Truck, there is about 6 hours of prep work for EACH event. So last summer when we did 8 events in 11 days, that’s an extra 48 hours that went into my work week on top of the 5–6-hour events. And this was during the height of soccer and lacrosse seasons too for the kids and me as coach.
We pride ourselves in putting the best foot out there, but I’m incredibly transparent when I mess up. Hey, I’m human, it happens. And I’d feel like a jerk if I couldn’t admit that.
If I could tell people one thing about small businesses, it would be to be kind to the owners and the workers. We’re doing our best to make things cost effective for our customers, but also turn a profit. Don’t be mean and nickel and dime. Be transparent with what you expect and if things don’t align, that’s ok too! We’re all just trying to do our best is some really strange times.