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Lesson #5: You Need Balance To Maintain A Business

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Lesson #5: You Need Balance To Maintain A Business
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“Honestly I felt and still feel guilty all the time,” says Aigner-Clark. “Even now, I feel like I never give either my company or my kids enough attention. It’s really a battle when you have your office in your home.”

Aigner-Clark might have started up what is now a billion dollar company, but first and foremost, she is a mother. Striking a balance between CEO and mom was a difficult task at times, but one that Aigner-Clark knew was important for the long term success of her company.

“When my company started really growing, I didn’t have any help in my house at all,” says Aigner-Clark. “I had the upkeep of my daily life, I had a one year old and a three year old, and I had my house. So I had to prioritize.”

The first thing Aigner-Clark decided she had to do was eliminate those tasks she dreaded doing most. She loved running her company, so that was not going to go. And, she loved taking care of her kids, so she was not going to hire a nanny. But, the one thing she did hate doing was housework. “So I hired someone to help out in the house,” she says. “That along with my really excellent husband has made all the difference.”

But Aigner-Clark’s days at home were still long. They began at 5:30 a.m. when her kids would wake her up and they would stretch long into the night. “At ten o’clock at night, I’m still working,” she says. “If I walk by my office, I can’t resist going to my computer to check my email.” Now that her daughters are at the age where they can go to school, Aigner-Clark has begun to think about getting an office outside of the house in order to separate work from home.

While Aigner-Clark still struggles to maintain a balance between her two lives, she always maintained a clear understanding of which was to take priority. “When the company was doing $23 million in sales, it was beginning to consume all my time,” she says. “In order to take the company to the next level, it would have required much more of my time and commitment.”

As the company grew, Aigner-Clark began noticing much more competition in the marketplace. “Because of that pressure, life was not what we wanted it to be,” she says. “I had left teaching because I wanted to be with my kids, and I was finding I had less and less of that.”

It was around that time that Aigner-Clark began to think about selling her company to Disney. “It was more important for me to spend more time with my family and be with my children,” she says.

Today, now that the company is worth over $1 billion, many have asked Aigner-Clark whether she regrets selling her company. “In terms of regrets, I do not really have any,” she says. “I have been able to be with my family much more than I ever could have for the past five years.”





Lesson 5 You Need Balance To Maintain A Business

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Cheryl Matthynssens

Cheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur.  Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well.  A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles.  She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide-  to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being.  Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com

- Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website

David Barr
David Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website

Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website

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Casey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website

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With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website

Jeff Foster
WebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas.  We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing
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David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website


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