Creating a lifestyle within your small business

by Melanie K

In many of the books I've read about women and business, a common message has been the use of money as a tool, not a measure of success. One of the non-monetary benefits of operating your own small business is the opportunity to mould it around particular lifestyle choices. This is the Working to Live rather than Living to Work philosophy. These benefits will keep you motivated at times when the financial benefits are thin.

This made me think about what success means and what non-monetary benefits that I want out of my own small business, and what I need to do in order to ensure those benefits are maintained.

Here is what I came up with:

1. Success means providing services to clients and having them tell me so
2. Success means producing services or products that are in line with our values
3. Success means having enough assets (and low debt) to protect us from economic downturns

Here are the non-monetary rewards that I'm going for:

1. Time to exercise weekly
2. Time for vacations yearly
3. Professional development when I want it, and where ever it's delivered
4. Networking when the opportunities arise and where ever it's being delivered
5. Flexibility to pursue new ideas for generating business income
6. Freedom to manage multiple income sources

Women in Business: Have you put any thought towards what business success means to you? What non-monetary benefits are you striving for?