The day my daughter was born it changed me and my business.
Being a parent to your child and business is challenging. Despite the lack of sleep and hectic schedule, I can honestly say that my daughter has made a positive impact on the growth of my business and who I am today.
This post is about the lessons I’ve learned since becoming a parent and how it applies to my business- and how it could apply to yours too.
I’ve Learned To Appreciate The Small Wins
We are introducing solids to our daughter and I find it amusing watching her feed herself. As she finally does (after numerous attempts), she would clap her uncoordinated hands and cheer in excitement as if she was shouting “Look mommy and daddy, I did it!” Who in the world celebrates these seemingly unimportant events? Kids do! Watching how excited she gets over the smallest things is invigorating and inspiring.
As she continues to develop and achieve other tiny milestones, I’ve learned to appreciate my accomplishments. I take a big goal and chop them into pieces making sure to celebrate after each victory- no matter the size. Let’s face it, running a business is like a roller coaster; you will have your ups and downs. Appreciate the small wins. They will keep you motivated and moving forward.
I’ve Learned To Move Past Failure
One of the things my daughter taught me that helped me with my business was her ability to get over failure. One minute, she’s crying because she fell down from learning how to walk and the next minute, she’s right back up ready to try again. For many business owners, the thought of failure is a nightmare. In reality, failure is just part of the journey, you cannot succeed without it.
If we could stop worrying about falling once in awhile, how much more could we have accomplished? Nowadays, I care less about failing and more about taking smarter risks. It’s not the end of the world if my business fails. I will just pick myself up and try again. If my daughter can do it, so can I.
I’ve learn To Try New Things
I love observing my daughter. Lately, I’ve been watching her learn how to problem solve and it’s never a dull moment. Her persistence and determination is contagious and one day, she’ll make a great entrepreneur. During our playtime, I would place her favorite toy behind a standing book. She would look around the book to see if the toy was still there and knock it down to reach her toy. The second hurdle was me, lying on my back next to her toy. At first, she would attempt to push me out of the way but after a few tries, she became frustrated and began to whine. I didn’t budge in hope that she would find a way. After poking me a few more times , she found her way and climbed over me to reach her prize.
So how were her actions applicable to running my business? For one thing, sometimes you have to try different tactics through trial and error. In my daughter’s case, she tried pushing me aside before figuring out there are other ways of reaching your goal. Similarly with any business, you have to learn new ways to embellish your business. So get creative, the key is to constantly learn new things so that your business doesn’t become stagnate.
Raising an infant requires incredible patience and sanity. As much as I worried about the impact kids would have on my business, my daughter have helped me become a smarter business person and stronger man.