Small lifestyle business

So many of my friends dream of their small lifestyle business, sometimes an Internet project, the provision of services, but mostly about their cozy place: a small shop, coffee shop or book shop … or combine everything together! And very few people say that in fact the romantic picture of such a business, visible from the outside, most often brings the owner just the salary comparable to that which he would receive in the office.

Of course, at the same time, the owner of such a business would do the things he loves and would live a much more fulfilled life, but, believe me, this is often a life full of stress and the dreary counting expenses. I am talking from the experience of a few of my friends who have started such a business. 

There are wonderful rare happy examples, people whom I admire (and maybe because I see only a public picture and I am not familiar with them so close as to know how things really are). I don’t want to dissuade anyone from dreaming or to claim that any such undertaking is doomed to failure, I want to talk about something else – how important it is to support any projects that you like. If you see a cozy cafe you like, why not visit it at least once a week? 

When I started my own business, it was closely related to the business of my husband, so we from the start supported each other’s businesses. Otherwise, it would be very hard to start from scratch. I know how it is important to support small business owners, and each time I see that any of them is closed, it hurts me because it means someones’ dream failed. 

© Fortune, 2020