"Holes in my Fence"

Boy, its been a crazy week---I always think that way when its time to comment on the business practices I’ve encountered all week long. “Holes in my fence” speaks volumes to the many obstacles that today’s micropreneur comes up against. Back in my college day’s I read an article in Entrepreneur magazine on alternative businessperson’s who manage and create business with the mindset that they will always run the business, the business will never run them. Today while web surfing I found a commentary on MSN Money dealing with the same viewpoint, but updated. This article spoke of the new and frugal millionaires or YAWNS---meaning, young and wealthy but normal. This online article written by Erin Burt for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, enumerated the various ways in which this group of modern millionaires don’t allow their wealth to rule them. There is Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest people in the world and he lives in the same home he purchased 50 years ago.

 

 So what does this have to do with the “holes in my fence”, a great deal, because new business owners can get weighted down doing fence repair work.  A fence can symbolize the boundary of what a business owner is naturally good at, such as designing products, or selling, or just working within his belief system, stuff like that. Holes are the things we forget to delegate, or to ask for help with, and end up spending a great deal of time trying to “fix”, trying to live up to someone else’s idea of success, which means you get into situations that leave the truly important undone. This makes the image of being in business pretty dismal; the business begins to run the owner, instead of him/her managing the business.  So it’s the same old song and dance, of going overboard until you are floundering, because you have lost your perspective. Whether you are a micropreneur, a YAWN, or going for corporate gold---if you don’t start early with achieving what you specifically want, according to your own set of standards, you will spend a great deal of time “fixing holes”.

 

Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldeth go.

                                                                        Isaiah 48:17