Does your life include personal events and demands that must take place at specific times? That might not always work so well with a schedule set by an employer.

In 2022 and 2023, thousands of layoffs were announced month over month. The work performed by those people did not simply go away. It was shifted onto the people who got to keep their jobs, robbing them of their own personal time. This certainly made it difficult for employees to manage important family demands in the best way.

Is it surprising then that many people who start their own businesses do so in order to have more control over their schedule?

Maybe they need to spend specific hours supporting their children or family elders. Perhaps they are working around their own education schedule. Whatever the reason, the need to control schedule is a driving motivator for many people to choose entrepreneurship and to start businesses.

Are you considering business ownership? This short Google Form can help you think of some of reasons to start the learning process: https://cfonialinks.com/Ownership-Interest

Here are some examples of how some owners considered impact of schedule when choosing brands that would give them more control:

• A Frios Gourmet Pop owner uses her ice cream truck once a week at the Soccer Fields and by appointment for special events. She likes to run her business as a part-time venture. She enjoys the smiles on the kids’ faces as they open their ice cream pops.
• A Boulder Designs owner who lives in a rural area manages the B2B networking and the work of the business around the demands of home schooling his teenaged kids. The kids are learning all aspects of the business as part of their education. The whole family understand how the Boulder markers provide immense customer satisfaction when they are delivered and put into place.
• A Clothes Bin owner has a brother with a box truck. She and her brother shift the bins’ bags to storage facility once a week. About once a month, she pays hourly contract helpers to load the bags from the storage facility to an 18-wheeler.

When considering business ownership, consider first your lifestyle goals for the next three to five years, including how much control you need over your schedule. These factors will point you to the brand. It would be a mistake to target a particular brand and to assume that it will match what you want for your life.

Why Business Ownership Can Be a Desirable Path

For many people, business ownership becomes that vehicle—not because they want to run a pizza shop or clean carpets, but because ownership allows the owner to choose the goods or services provided to a local community, to create jobs, to fill identified gaps, or to create a means to create a legacy for the family.

Franchise ownership, in particular, can be very useful because:

• The systems are already built.
• The business can work for them, not because of them.
• It can be scaled, sold, or managed by someone else.

You don’t have to start from scratch to build From Purpose or For Purpose.

Dreams are the possibilities you imagine when you allow yourself to think freely and emotionally – without limiting beliefs, logistics, or external input. Dreams provide energy and desire. They answer, “What if?” They help you picture the life you want before it’s practical or defined. They stir hope, creativity, and aspiration. Be careful – dreams without grounding can lead to fantasy, entitlement, or delayed action.

Dreams can include:

• “What if I could take Fridays off forever?”
• “I dream of having manager-run businesses in places where my family vacations.”
• “I’d love to write a book or start a foundation.”
• “I want to earn more while working less.”

Vision is the directional picture of your future. It connects your dreams to strategy by defining where you’re going and why. It is Vision that turns dreams into measurable, time-bound outcomes. It informs your business model, investment choices, time allocation, and relational commitments. Be aware that Vision without values may lead to misaligned decisions or hollow success.

Vision statements are like these:

• “Within 5 years, I want a business generating $250K net income and no more than 30 hours/week.”
• “I will lead a team that operates without me by year 3.”
• “My spouse and I will co-lead a service-based franchise that funds youth sports programs in our community.”

Values are the non-negotiable truths that shape your character, decisions, and leadership. They reflect what matters most – spiritually, relationally, and ethically. Values shape how you earn, give, lead, and live. They determine which opportunities are in bounds and which ones, even if profitable, are not aligned. While values help people define their Non-Negotiables, values without Vision can lead to stagnation or passivity.

Examples of Values include:

• Faith, Family, Integrity, Simplicity, Excellence, Stewardship, Freedom
• “I will not compromise time with my family to grow faster.”
• “Every dollar earned must also represent a life served.”
• “We don’t partner with companies that mistreat employees.”

Some of us don’t have that dream and vision. Start there and envision what your life would look like if you had more control of your time. What can you accomplish, if your life has that much free time? Now what job or business model would support that vision. And remember, if learning about options and getting help to assess that vision is FREE, why would you do it yourself?

To explore businesses that can be managed part time or in off hours, set an appointment with Knabb Consulting using this link: http://calendly.com/cath-01/30-minutes.