Closed for vacation
Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It is about taking risks and loads of responsibility. The risk taking comes with the job because the entrepreneur will swim himself daily in a sea of uncertainty, investing his entire capital (financial and human) and working hard to get the best return he can on that capital. Likewise, responsibility is gigantic. Family, employees, customers, suppliers, communities, state – all depend (at various degrees) on the decisions he makes.
All long-lasting small business entrepreneurs that I know share one thing in common: plain, old fashioned, highly unsexy hard work. They only rest in that day of the week that doesn’t end with an “y”. Their family weekends are rare and short. Their nights are haunted by bank mortgages, rents and IRS officers. Addressing their clients’ needs is their mantra.
Therefore, rarely (if ever) did I see the sign “Closed” during workweek on a small business door, let alone a “Closed for vacation” sign. Last week I saw two of them. This made me think of easy money and moral hazard (when somebody has an incentive to take risks without taking the responsibility). Obviously, it could also mean that it is August and it’s the holiday season in Confusion Land.
