Off to School Camp


This week I am off to my youngest son’s year 6 camp at Camp Adair. I know it will be busy and tiring, there will be objectionable kids that will try my patience, I will miss my red wine at the end of the day, but I am strangely looking forward to it.

I have helped out at my 2 older kid’s year 6 camps, so feel morally obliged to help out for number 3. Business is busy and it would be very easy to say, “I can’t go as my clients need my help and I have a couple of good prospects in the pipeline that I would like to progress”. All of that is true, but I have to remember why I went into business for myself and what is most important in life.

Business should serve your life, not the other way round. It is too easy to become a slave to your business and so a specific goal should be to systemise the business sufficiently that you are able to take a week off and focus totally on the needs of your children (and 90 others) for once. It is a grounding experience to be with them in such an environment and watching them grow emotionally as they challenge themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. Pick an event yourself that will take you away from the business, set a goal to be there for someone else’s benefit and put a plan in place to arrange your business to accommodate it.

Put Documented Systems in Place

It may take a while to develop the systems required to free up some time, but not only will you benefit emotionally from the break, the business will be more valuable due to the systemization process. I can help you with that process.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking, “I MUST be there because the place won’t run without me”. If that is TOTALLY true you don’t really have a business and questions need to be asked if what you are doing is good for your long term future. I have to shuffle around client meetings and ask another advisor to cover some urgent stuff that can’t wait. Explaining to my clients that I am doing this for my child’s benefit and is a moral commitment that I have made typically receives understanding (and even grudging admiration). I think you will find the same.

My next post will be after the camp….if I survive! :)