True story…
At a recent corporate event, I overheard the owner of the company say: “I’m now semi-retired, I’m only working 40 hours per week.”
If your an entrepreneur or enterprise leader, then you defiantly relate to the comment and how your passion and commitment for “the work” at times takes over your life!
In this case, the size of the company had outgrown the definition of an incubator business. It had scaled to over 100 employees with many talented individuals responsible for various aspects of running the company. The founder, was doing what he loved best: sales and meeting customers.
We began a discussion around the personal commitment when starting a company and how long it takes before you transition from full-time to part-time and embrace the idea of “retirement.”
“I love what I do, I’ll never retire!”
“I wouldn’t know what to do if I sold the business.”
“I’m just going to cut down on my hours, work, part-time.”
The business is their “baby.”
At the core, every successful entrepreneur has a vision which started as an incubator business. As the founder, they find the fuel that inspires them to be the best they can be and as they grow, every business mogul remembers the days when they started in the trenches with a great idea!
It’s hard to let go of the reigns and just sit back and enjoy the ride. Once you’ve been in the drivers seat you’re not interested in being a passenger.
As long as you have your health, working most often will fuel your passion with a jest for life, fulfilling your purpose and connecting you with your community.
The hours of “work” vary based on the corporate culture that is harnessed by the leader of the team. I’ve had clients that feel they “coast at around 30 hours per week” while others are still burning the midnight oil. At the opposite end of the spectrum are those who are beginning to think of scaling back rather than up. When the “r” word becomes part of the discussion they usually commit to keeping an average number of hours per week as they begin to distance themselves from the day to day operation of the company.
It is a great time to wrap your head around what the next phase or chapter of your life will look like and how you are going to be able to walk away from what for most has become a driving force in their everyday life.
I often refer to the 3-D’s; drive, determination and discipline as characteristics for every successful person in business. At a different stage in the career process , we are redirected to the concept of finding a way to refocus our time and energy on the idea of semi-retirement before we entertain and move to the last stage in development: retirement!
A necessary right of passage for every business owner.
Regardless of the number of hours you choose, the most important message is how we change our mindset as we transition to a new chapter for both the business and founder.
It starts a new conversation…
I believe it comes full circle; things begin and end with our passion for entrepreneurship.
Maybe, we need to look at this new stage as just another great idea?
Trish Tonaj is a Master Coach Practitioner, conducting keynotes and workshops on Mentorship…breaking barriers, starting new conversations and creating a new definition for success.