If you know me at all; then you will know that I have a love affair that has been going on with Prince Edward Island for about ten years now. Over the years I have visited PEI, lived there, been part of a small business that operated in Summerside and have generally come to consider myself a Part Time Islander By Choice. There is little doubt that PEI is my second home. So when @peihouses and @aprilennis (in above picture) began to coordinate the PEI Tweetup events, it only seemed to make sense that I would hop on a plane from Vancouver to be there. I enjoyed having the chance to connect with so many of the people that I know or consider to be friends on the Island and felt it was a worthwhile investment in building face to face relationships.
Fast forward to today, to this PEI Tweetup, and you'll find that I won't be there in person tonight. Why? Well, that is because life is full of hard choices; especially when you are the owner of a small business. Having recently made the decision to shift the focus of much of my work and to truly dive into tasks that are necessary, I realized that I would be smarter to invest my time and energy directly in my new business goals and the related planning. I actually calculated the number of hours that I would lose by flying, sitting in airports and then recovering from the whole travel whirlwind and came to understand that the smart move would be to say "No" for this time. Not an easy decision due to my strong connection to the Island and to my colleagues and friends who are there. No, not easy - but smart for me and my business. So for tonight, I will be content to follow the #PEITweetup hashtag and feel good thatwww.aprilandjane.ca helped to sponsor the PEI Twitter Awards for 2011. I will also feel content knowing that I made the right decision for me and my business.
Are you the owner of a small business? What hard decisions have you faced when trying to manage your business?
