Employment laws don't apply to husband and wife business owners that will generally work 7-days and if they are honest with themselves, sometimes this may be below the minimum wage for their efforts.
Although they work hard, the husband and wife business owners are passionate about what they do (at least in the beginning) so are motivated to succeed. It's amazing how highly motivated someone becomes in order to try and stay afloat after borrowing a large wad of cash from a bank to purchase a business.
Working alongside your significant other does have its advantages and when it works, it's a formidable force against other business combinations. The trouble is when things go wrong and rational thinking gets thrown out the window. Unfortunately over the years I've seen many examples. Often it's hard to fathom what came first - was it the break down in the relationship? Or was it the business starting to struggle over hard times?
Most people can compartmentalise their lives by separating their marriage, family and business. When a husband and wife purchase a motel, the lines are blurred when suddenly everything is brought together under one roof - for a small majority this has the makings of an explosive outcome.
Sometimes a little clarity and balance is required from an outside source.
Stef Haami from The Motel Guru runs an innovative motel training company that provides moteliers with support and training from buying a motel through to running it successfully and exiting smoothly.
Stef has kindly sent us a little bit of her inspiration that we're happy to share:
Are you in the happiness waiting room? Are you waiting for that big break before you can be happy?I hate to admit that I’ve found myself in the waiting room many times over the past few years. I say to myself “I’ll be happy when I lose 10kg….I’ll be happy when I have a baby….I’ll be happy when I have more money”. I’m pleased to say that I’ve finally figured out that if I’m not happy “today” I’ll never be happy. I’m now happy with every part of my body – tree trunk legs and all! I’m happy with my bank balance and I’m sure you can all guess what’s in there – I’m a shareholder of The Motel Guru. I actually think I would’ve made my fortunes by now if I’d asked every person for $1that advised me “moteliers won’t pay for training”.Abraham Lincoln said it best “You’ll be as happy as you make up your mind to be”If you want to make changes in your life, at some point you have to decide that, rather than suffer anymore, you are going to live in happiness. You are the only person who can do that and guess what? The fantastic thing life gives us is a “choice”. You can choose to have a happier life today or put it off until tomorrow. You can choose to look for the things in life to appreciate, no matter what. It’s your choice.When you’re deciding whether to be happy today or not, remember happiness doesn’t come from big pieces of great success, it comes from small daily achievements. Find the small things in the day that make you happy. I’m happy if I get through the day with only making one visit to the coffee cart! We must be happy with what we’ve got while we’re in pursuit of what we really want.Whether you’re on your way or you’re already there, you’ll be as happy as you make up your mind to be – right now.
Here’s to your happiness!
Stef
