Many times people who go into business start out by saying don't just want a job. Then they end up with their own business which consumes 75 hours a week and they still struggle financially. That is not a life. Not for you or your family.

Before you start a business take some time and really visualize how you would like to live. Put all the elements in your life that matter. Decide how much time that you would like to spend with the people in your life, and whether you will work weekends too. Visualize the ideal commute to and from your business. How much money will you need to bring in per month to have a balanced life financially?

In essence you are planning how many hours of work you would like to work and still be financially solid. Then plan your business and choose opportunities that are in harmony with those goals. Focus only on those opportunities that are in line with the over all quality of your best life.

For an example in my neighborhood there is a little convenience store that has been run previously by two different families and both shop owners finally sold their business because of extremely long hours, seven days a week. The third owner has recently bought that store one month ago and he and his wife are already experiencing dissatisfaction and signs of fatigue for the very same reason.

When they mentioned their plight to me I told them to close one day per week and close the store at 9 pm rather than ten. Their answer back is the people expect the store to be open --We even worked Christmas!! But new owners can decide new hours and new rules. Now is the time to secure a day off not after several months when customers become used to a habit of the store opened earlier and closed late. Even if they wanted to I'm sure that they could close Monday and Tuesday and work Wed-through Sun. But they would need to budget their money to accommodate those two days off.

But if you visualize and plan your business up front you might make different choices of a new business. If you don't want to work weekends or nights you would not make the choice of Real Estate or Retail as your choice of a business. No matter how much money is promised.

This is the other thing that you have to consider. Working any business takes time to establish and to make the money that you want. Working a profession like Real Estate could take you years to make the kind of money that would be considered good money. To be successful is time consuming. Year after year you have to work those hours and once your there that's all you know.

So why not make a little effort up front and choose the quality of your life before you become entrenched in a business. Perhaps your business will then become a synergy of all the elements that are important to you and not just the money. Work the hours that you would like to and focus on opportunities that will meet your financial needs. Choose carefully, plan and budget and simplify your life and business choices. Keep your quality of life clearly in your thoughts and keep on that path and you will find that you have harmony in business and life as long as you want. Good luck. Make it count.