Work, Life, Pubs & Tractors

Both pubs are excellent, both are run by extremely hard working couples, although I often wonder how they find time for their families when they work from early in the morning till…er…early the next morning. Not that I know that first hand of course but I’m told the nocturnal hostelry activity in our village is akin to the pub scene in Hot Fuzz!

Yesterday I got a note from Alex Fallon at The Fox to say that she’d also taken over the Strickland Arms in Ducklington. Now I’m really impressed, not just with the ambition, but having seen the great work Alex has done getting the Fox back on its feet I can’t wait to see what innovations and great ideas she has for the Strickland. You see, Alex is a grafter and she epitomises everything needed to get a business off the ground.

When I talk to aspiring entrepreneurs or business people, often through TBAC, I’m frequently asked what the secret or short cut to success in business is and I think the answer’s simple. Hard work, determination and maintaining some sort of work life balance – and in that order.

When we all start out it’s usually because of opportunity or circumstance and either way our determination to succeed at all costs is generally tolerated and often supported by those around us. I found that I was actually driven to succeed by the fear of failure and that making money was a welcome by-product of this fear. So many people told me that I was going to fail I was determined to prove them wrong. I remember getting up and going to the office in the middle of Oxford at 3am to write quotes because that’s where the computer was. Thankfully technology now allows us to work pretty much anywhere – I’m writing this whilst watching the second day of the Ashes – and it therefore becomes easier to enjoy mealtimes, evenings, holidays and quality time with the family.

Getting that work/life balance is the hardest thing, especially if your sole focus is making the business work, and we all know horror stories where marriages have broken down as a result of the sacrifices. I’ve been very lucky – especially as it took me at least 5 years to realise this – in that I reckon I got a yellow card when others get a straight red….and I listened.

Looking back, my mate Dave – who started and runs a very successful business – got the balance right very early on. Don’t get me wrong, he works very hard, but he’s countered that from day one by doing things that benefit the whole family and taking several holidays each year – he’s actually taking the family to the Ashes rather than watching them on TV like yours truly. Although he did recently buy a tractor to ride up and down the field that he’s also acquired, but this is more mid-life crisis than work/life balance. Either that, or there’s a tax break for Farmers – shrewd man Dave.

I also read last week that divorce rates are at a 30 year low – how does that work in a depression? Perhaps we’re just becoming a bit more tolerant and employers are certainly becoming more flexible, not just because of legislation but also because they need to employ the best people. At STL we have a multitude of start and finish times, many of which have evolved over the years to accommodate people who we really wanted to keep.

It’s all a bit obvious I know, but if you can reach a point where you work to live, and not the other way round, then everything else becomes so much easier. If you’re going to put everything on the line you really need to make sure you’ve got someone to share the benefits with when you succeed. You’ll probably become opinionated, always right and downright unemployable but if you wanted a job you wouldn’t have started your own business anyway!

If I go on my bike I reckon I can add the Strickland to my Friday night pub crawl!

See you next week, Brendon

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