Starting a Company While Raising a Family

When I decided to start On The Spot Games, one of the first thoughts that came to mind was the impact it would have on my family. While I was prepared for changes and challenges that accompany the start of a company, what frightened me most was the impact on my wife and our two sons. There aren't many business books that deal with that.

Time management and finances are the two areas that require the most attention. We are fortunate that my wife has a good job as a programmer with great benefits. While the basics are covered, many of the "luxuries" we had become accustomed to have been put off for a while. No air travel to visit family on the East Coast this summer and ski lessons for the boys have been put off for a couple of years. Sacrifices such as these are easy to identify and rationalize.

Things get tricky when time management enters the picture. Working from home, my work calendar and family calendar invariably become intertwined. Both are very fluid and I'm constantly shifting my workload and family responsibilities to address the hot issues of the moment.

It's most interesting to watch TJ and Jason (age 8) react to the changes they see taking place. I make it a point to explain business developments to them in terms that they can understand so that there is a story to go along with the changes that they see going on around them. For example, when I received my first shipment of games from China we got out the map and traced the journey from the factory to our garage. That's a pretty straight forward example, but try explaining what a trade show is to an inquisitive 8-year old. I believe the Q&A lasted about 3 days on that topic!

At the end of the day, whether my company succeeds or fails I want my boys to understand what I did and why I did it. It's important to me that they appreciate success and the hard work necessary to achieve it. Conversely, if I fail (hah!) they should realize that it doesn't mean it wasn't worth trying.