You Can Rebuild a Business. You Can't Get This Time Back | Episode Twenty One
An unplanned, slightly chaotic episode — recorded at 4pm with the England pre-match build-up on in the background, because Rob left the original recording on the SD card at the studio. Classic. But amid the chaos, a genuinely honest reflection on what being your own boss is actually for.
The Accidental Home Studio Rob forgot the SD card. So he's cobbled together a setup at home — microphone straight into the laptop, sitting by a sunny patio door — and is recording with England kicking off at 5pm. The irony isn't lost on him.
Why He's Working From Home More Often Rob's partner returned to work a couple of months ago doing two days a week in clinic. To avoid paying for childcare until funded hours kick in September, Rob looks after their daughter — now nearly 11 months old — one day a week. His partner's mum covers another day. Between them, they've carved out a solution that saves money and, more importantly, gives Rob time with his daughter that he'd otherwise miss.
When she's awake, the laptop is closed. He's fully present. Work happens in the nap windows. He admits it adds some stress — his output is lower on those days — but the trade-off is obvious to him.
The Real Reason to Own a Business Rob pushes back on the culture of bragging about absence. The business owners who wear it as a badge of honour that they haven't seen their families, missed bedtimes, skipped breakfasts for meetings. His take: that's not success. That's a priority problem.
His daughter won't remember these days — but he will. She'll see the photos and the videos and know he was there. And that, to Rob, is a bigger flex than any business win.
You can rebuild a business. You can restart a career. You won't get the first year back.
What Entrepreneurship Is Actually About Not just money. Not just growth. Time. Flexibility. The ability to solve a childcare problem by showing up. That's the real upside of being your own boss — and it's easy to forget when you're buried in the doing.
Being present isn't a weakness. It's the whole point. If your business can't survive you being a parent for a day, you've got a leadership problem — not a family problem.
Massive thank you to my partners - make sure you give
them some love:
Paragon Creative Studios - www.paragoncreativestudios.co.uk
monday.com - https://try.monday.com/9fu602qtcgca
Xero - https://referrals.xero.com/i5kqkglg3n3w-nx0cim
Apollo.io - https://get.apollo.io/b3kjbubqrsvl
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