When is the best time for Entrepreneurs to take a break from thier Business?

Dear Friends, Members and Readers!

So many Entrepreneurs are like sticks of rock and if you were to cut them down the middle I am sure that it would say “Workaholic”, but at what time should Entrepreneurs take a break from their business before they become counter-productive?

Speaking personally and after going though what I can only describe as the most gruelling three years of my life, I decided to take a well earned 7 day break with my partner. Having four children between us, another one on the way coupled with a fire breathing dragon of a business, I should have taken it earlier.

Thinking about, creating, growing and running a business, especially in the first two years can be a very draining time for any Entrepreneur. Many of us work very long hours, for little or no pay as we try to make our dreams a reality. I experienced feelings of:-

“I cant get away just yet, the business needs me”
“There is too much to do and no one else can do it”
“I’m afraid to leave just in case I miss something”
“I cant afford to get away”
“What if sales drop”

I have learnt again from my own experiences and although many of you will have more common sense than me and will recognise when you MUST take a break from your business – I in fact left it way too long and should have gone a long time ago!

I did take a break finally last week and went to Corfu with my partner Emma and for the first time in 3 years relaxed totally (well at least two days of the break). I turned the laptop on after two days and because I was two hours ahead of the UK managed to get my emails done before the UK office opened

Entrepreneurs must take time out from thier Businesses

After returning from holiday, I feel refreshed once more and am ready to drive through the remainder of 2009. I have had a chance to look at the business from a holistic point of view and gather my thoughts and prepare myself for the next steps.

What an amazing view of Nassaki Hotel pool

What would we do without our lovely ladies?

What would the ladies do without thier lovely men

Thanks Emma 143 from the "Boy next Door"

If you are totally immersed in your business and you do not take a break after working long hard and mentally draining hours then you will be no good to your business and no good to your team. Take a break and come back fresh, invigorated and ready to give 100% focus , effort.

Thanks Roman it was a pleasure meeting you

Take a break!

Kind Regards Bradley Chapman
www.millionimpossible.com

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Could Chapter 11 be coming to Britain?

Given the current state of the economy and phrases like “Credit Crunch” being mentioned as well as rumours of a looming, full blown recession I was glad to see that the Richard Report is looking for ways to help small businesses and entrepreneurs with a number of recommendations to the government.

Parliament’s Business & Enterprise Committee includes Doug Richard (the author of the Richard report) along with James Caan and Rachel Elnaugh, and although criticised for having sympathies with or involvement in failed businesses in the past, it is obvious that they know what difficulties small business owners encounter in their day-to-day business lives.

The committee made a number of recommendations including:-

Enterprise skills being woven into the education curriculum to encourage entrepreneurism and formal enterprise qualifications to be sponsored by the government to encourage banks and other backers to more more willing in financing individuals if they see they have had proper business training.

They also commented on the need for government not only to open procurement to small businesses but to provide encouragement through incentives where entrepreneurs can create new products or services to solve areas of concern in the UK. It was also recognised that the the role of banks needs to be reviewed. All too often start up businesses are not given the support they need and should consider other options rather than “Pulling the Plug” when a small business comes into difficulties. it was suggested that they should be made as culpable as a companies directors in any post business failure review performed by DBERR.

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) being improved to give bigger tax breaks for people funding small business. Thatchers Business Expansion Scheme gave investors 100% tax relief for investment into small business in the past and the committee thought this should be a consideration in the future.

It was recognised that our attitude towards failed businesses was still very different to that of the US. In the UK a failed business carries a certain stigma where in the US failure is regarded as losing “Your Business Virginity”. The committee thought we could learn from the US system with Chapter 11 and safeguarding a persons home in the event of a business failure being considered.

Chapter 11 is a chapter in the US bankruptcy code. It allows a company in the US to reorganise their affairs. Chapter 7 of the code enables a company to cease trading and a trustee sells the companies assets with the funds being distributed amongst its creditors. Chapter 11 allows an attempt to stay in business while the bankruptcy court supervises a reorganisation. The rationale behind this is that in some cases a business is worth more is greater if reorganised and sold as a going concern than if it is reduced to the value of its remaining assets.

Some criticism has been aimed at the chapter 11 system, saying that it is a lenient “escape hatch” that encourages incompetent management an easy way out when encountering difficulties and damaging the efficiency of the US economy by allowing poor managers to continue in their roles. These same critics have noted that bankruptcy laws in Europe are far less lenient for failed businesses.

Whether all of the committee’s recommendations are taken on board, it can only be seen as encouraging that key members of the committee come from a truly entrepreneurial background with James Caan and Rachel Elnaugh (Who have both experienced business failure in the past) having key input from the point of view of the business owner.

Rachel Elnaugh is giving regular updates on her blog and will be contributing to Million Impossible’s online magazine which will launch with its first edition in the middle of August.

Regards Bradley

Thread written by Colin Stroud