“I am confused about where to put my energies.”

My client has owned a tourism business in regional South Australia for the past eight years. In that time his focus has been on improving the business, which has resulted in a doubling of the revenue of the business. He has the plans in place to grow the business even further in the coming years.

However, in the past year he is in a relationship with a woman based in Adelaide. He wants to take that relationship to the next level.

“I am sick and tired of being on my own at the end of the day. I want to improve my work-life balance without giving up my dreams of what is possible in the business.”

I challenged him: “Does this have to be a binary choice between your partner or your business?”

He went quiet, crossed his arms, leaned back in the chair and stared out the window.

I continued: “Can you structure your business in a way that means you spend more time in Adelaide with your partner without hurting the business?”

Silence again. Same reaction.

After what seemed an eternity, he leaned forward and somewhat hesitantly said: “I could employ a manager to work full time in the business. This would allow me to move to Adelaide to spend more time with my partner. Can I do that?”

My response: “Who is the only person who can make that choice?”

“Me”

I continued: “Exactly. You built a business that can operate without you. Your choice is to let it!”

He leaned forward excitedly: “My way forward is clear. I will speak to my partner about how I am going to invest in our relationship while at the same time retaining the business. If she is on board, I will start the search for a person to manage the business.”

My client came in confused about choosing between his partner and the business. He left understanding it was about giving himself permission to have both.