Community Volunteer Makes Good on Promise to Family

When you first start your own business there never seems to be enough time. I certainly was no exception to this entrepreneurial mantra. What the truth really is; once time is gone it can never be reclaimed. One of the reasons I got into business for myself was not only for a more affluent lifestyle but also to spend more quality time with my family. However, what I quickly found in my first few months is, that all my time was used primarily to build my business and my family came second. The daily up hill climb which required me to make a success of my business so I could deliver on my promises to my family blinded me to the fact that I was not living in the present. That time was in reality passing me by and, by the time I did make the business a success my family might be too old to want to spend time with me. Something needed to be done to balance work and family.

What I chose to do to remedy the situation is volunteer to coach my son in baseball. Now, you are probably thinking to yourself, how can I find the time? Easy! I had a baseball schedule that became integrated to my business schedule just as you would book any business appointment. Surprisingly for me at the time, with the rare exception, I made all my appointments.

The obvious benefit is I now had more time with my son but, I also had more time with my daughter and my wife. We went to all the games together and enjoyed watching all the young boys play baseball. In the following years my daughter played baseball and both kids played soccer. We always had the time.

Now here is the not so obvious benefit, my company grew customers and suppliers to my business through my contacts in baseball. As the years went on I became a coach for Double A baseball, then Triple A and then took over as a Manager of a Double A Team. This led to me sitting on the Board of Directors of Rep baseball. In other words, my time commitment for volunteering increased. You would think my business would suffer. It didn't.

One Sunday night at a Rep Baseball Board meeting we starting talking about all the coach/manager volunteers being in most cases in their own business. We deemed this to be normal as we have more control of our schedule than someone who is in a job. And then it occurred to us that we are missing out on a great networking opportunity. Our Baseball Association had over 100 Managers, Coaches and Coach Assistants. We decided to have a Business card Swap Night.

The idea was well received and greatly attended on a Wednesday night at our Club House. Each person had 3 minutes to do their Elevator Pitch (A speech about you and your company that is short and to the point and equivalent in time to the ride on an elevator when someone ask you what you do for a living). All Business cards were left on a table and in a no pressure environment you could help yourself to a business card.

For me it was a boon to my business. I secured my second largest client and found new contractors who performed better at better pricing than my current contractors.

The lesson to be learned here is Volunteering has many benefits to your family, the rewarding emotional good feeling of helping other children who may be in broken families and, needless to say, the success of my business.

Time can not be reclaimed but it can be spent wisely.