Why is entrepreneurship important? Entrepreneurs take on risk and create change, despite markets full of uncertainty. We create goods and services, and these new creations become investments in the communities where we live, rest, work and grow. In short, entrepreneurs are integral to the economy.
How can small business owners and social entrepreneurs like myself make more sustainable choices about our time and energies? Can we find a balance between making an impact in our communities and time spent on driving our business goals?
How we value time
Time is money, or, does money cost time? I’ve been asking myself this question when faced with decisions about time.
When I speak to other entrepreneurs, I often hear of fear or scarcity. There’s never enough time. Or, time is always running out.
When I started up my business, I faced decisions about time and what to charge for my services. Every self-employed entrepreneur who offers services must tackle this question–how much will clients think that my services are worth?
A seasoned entrepreneur, friend and founder of Confluence Lab invited me to flip this question around, and asked, “How much time will you invest to earn what you need?”
From then on, I started to see my work as an exchange where I got to decide how to limit or expand time spent working to meet financial needs (economic wealth) and time spent working to bring abundance to my personal and community economies.
“Relational wealth is not an alternative to economic wealth but in fact the key to it,” writes Kerry-Lyn Stanton-Downes.
Stanton-Downes then goes on to describe the importance of aligning our time with four values that aid in our ability and capacity to be of service to others.
The four values of relational wealth
- Reciprocity mutual exchange and interdependence leading to healthy and sustainable relationships
- Self-awareness building capacity for reflection to understand our impact on others
- Effective communication clear, open and honest communication for maintaining healthy relationships
- Empathy commitment to understanding another’s experiences and to respond with care
What if we extended this mindset to generosity, with the idea to share what we have? How might this shift our thinking from scarcity to abundance when it comes to time and money?
Sustainable use of our time and energy
Just like our time, our energy is limited, but it can be replenished. To navigate common fears about our limits and lack of time, let’s shift our attention towards cultivating a more sustainable use of our energies. The practice of energetic sustainability gives us a way to achieve this.
Each of us have unique experiences and wisdom about what nourishes and replenishes our energies and fills our cup. It isn’t just about the right foods and movements that fuel our bodies and reduce stress that contributes to physical and mental health problems.
Energetic sustainability is about finding balance in physical, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. It’s about integrating the practice of re-energizing into our everyday life, holding that time sacred, as a key action we can take to being and becoming well.
When I approach each day with my own health and wellbeing at the forefront, I can practice making better choices about my time and how I show up in my work. When I prioritize wellbeing, I am also a better human being and of service to my family, my colleagues and the communities I belong to.
When we–the Digital Entrepreneur community–practice energetic sustainability, we can make more meaningful contributions to our work and communities who are part of our everyday life.
The economy, entrepreneurship and the art of household management
The economy is about so much more than financial health and wealth. Author and Doughnut Economics Action Lab co-founder Kate Raworth says that economics refers to the “art of household management.”
Likewise, Eli Enns, co-founder of the IISAAK OLAM Foundation, urges us to reclaim the true meaning of economy “the wise and prudent management of the house” as described in this video Indigenous protected and conserved areas and economies of abundance and generosity.
The word economy has Greek roots that foreground this meaning: it stems from the Greek oikos (household) and nomos (rules or norms).
Taking lessons from these social entrepreneurs and innovators, I see a healthy economy as something that takes place both inside and outside the home. To provide for our lives at home, we engage with the economy through external markets at all scales–within our communities and regions, between nations and global markets.
A capitalist economy is also about choices–both parties in the exchange are making choices about how and for what to exchange time and money.
I choose to navigate our capitalist economy by making decisions that positively impact my personal and household management, while allowing me to contribute externally in my community.
As an entrepreneur, I can define my time commitments and operate my life and business with more autonomy than if I were an employee. In applying the values of relational wealth to my community works, I strive to be clear in communicating my boundaries (limitations on time) and my capacity to be generous in service to others in my community.
Energetic sustainability–finding that balance for exchanging my energies–is the primary reason why I chose to operate my own business. In deciding when and how to work, I am balancing my commitments to serve clients and my responsibilities at home and in my community.
On any given weekday, I might need to be responsible for taking a family member to a medical appointment. Or, I might choose to beat the long weekend rush to travel early and re-energize my relationships with the land and waters near my community.
I can choose to prioritize work during the rhythms when my mind and body will be well-rested. I am self-determining my optimal times for work and rest, and I bring in iterative learning and self-awareness of these rhythms.
Energetic sustainability extends throughout our work life and home life, and if we value our time as entrepreneurs, not just in words, but in actions, the economy would do well to embrace this more holistic and health-full approach to energy, time and money.