[The Honey Chronicles] Canines & Career …

This morning as I was out walking our new Australian Mini-Labradoodle puppy, Honey, in the light drizzle, I was struck by the similarities of owning a dog and running a business. I was dragging my feet on walking Honey. I’m tired and my hubby is out of town which means I’m 100% in charge of everything. With two teenagers, a thriving business and a new puppy thrown into the mix (yawn), there are days when I wake up wondering where I’ll find the energy to get it all done. Sound familiar?

Watching the light drizzle and gazing at the gray skies outside, all I really wanted to do after carpool was crawl into bed and take a nap. But I didn’t.

Dog ownership (like business ownership) means you have a responsibility. Yep, the day you started your business just like the day you brought your dog home, you took on the responsibility to care for your business, to nurture it, to love it and commit to what it takes to grow into a healthy, profitable venture from all your hard work & labor. Arrrgggh…the labor! That's the hard part sometimes isn’t it? But necessary if you want to make a go of it. When I brought our 8 week old puppy home, I had no idea what was really involved. Yes, I read a book about raising a puppy – – just like you may have picked up a copy of a business magazine and read an article about running a business. But it’s never the same as actually doing it yourself. You have to experience it – – make mistakes (some bigger than others) and course-correct along the way.

You do have to take the responsibility seriously. For example, you have to take the marketing of your business seriously. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself in a position of inconsistent cash flow month after month which is about as much fun as skipping out on the dog walking and having a fired up puppy who has a case of what I call the ‘zoomies’ all day – running wildly around in circles all over the house!

I’m toying with the idea of making regular blog posts about the relationship between caring for a canine and the evolution of the entrepreneur. Thoughts?