You may have heard the term ‘lifestyle business’ being bandied about and you’ve nodded sagely without really knowing what it means, but with knowing that you didn’t want to ask and sound foolish. If that sounds familiar, then this post is for you. We’re going to take a look at what exactly is meant by ‘lifestyle business’ and why it’s such a desirable thing.
First things first, we’re not talking about businesses that sell lifestyle products or services. This means that when we say ‘lifestyle business’ we’re not talking about surfing tour operators, fishing charters or the sellers of tiny umbrellas to be placed in delicious drinks. That being said, these three may actually be lifestyle businesses, just not for the reason you’re thinking.
So, if we’re not talking about selling tiny drink umbrellas, what is a lifestyle business? A lifestyle business in one that provides a desirable work/life balance for the owner. This means that the owner is not at the beck and call of clients and staff 24/7 and it means the owner can take a holiday and not come home to an empty bank account. Effectively it means a certain level of freedom (with money and time), a freedom that many owners of small-medium businesses have in mind when they first opened shop.
It comes back to a tough definition of business that I find quite useful
A business is something that makes you money whilst you're not there.
The unfortunate reality is that the journey from starting a small business to eventually owning a lifestyle business is a long and difficult path with the goal becoming elusive for many. A true lifestyle business needs to have a few things in order to function properly and these include:
Solid processes for everything that goes on inside the business.
Great management team capable of standing on their own two feet.
Reliable marketing and pipeline of new work.
Rounded customer mix.
Profitability.
With these things all in place you’ll be well on your way to securing that most elusive of dreams for yourself – a lifestyle business. One that rewards you with less stress, more time with your family, more time on holidays, less time glued to your phone and more time to spend on yourself. Sounds good, doesn’t it? The good news is that it’s an attainable dream and we’ve put together an ebook to help you on your journey – head over to our resources page to grab your free copy today!
If you’d like to talk to someone about converting your business into a lifestyle business, why not get in touch? We’ve helped countless business owners climb above the day-to-day of SME ownership to really see what’s going on and make the changes necessary to create their own lifestyle business. We’d love to help.