We’ve heard the advice for eons – don’t mix business with pleasure. But many entrepreneurs would disagree with that. In fact, some of the work social dos can actually be hugely beneficial to you, your networks, your business and the products you sell. “It’s a well-known fact if you love what you do, work becomes less onerous and more enjoyable,” says Zaki Ameer, entrepreneur and founder of Dream Design Property (DDP), a unique wealth creation mentoring program that is designed to help Australians gain financial freedom. “However, we are continuously told not to mix business with pleasure.”
Zak says most of us are conditioned to believe there is a time for work and a separate time for play. “From running my own business I now see it’s possible to simultaneously enjoy both without compromising my productivity, and I like to call this bleasure time,” explains Zaki. “This parcel of time is a prerequisite to generating wealth, both financially and personally, and it ultimately leads to freedom, which for me underpins personal happiness.” Here, Zaki shares five tips to successfully mix business with pleasure…
- Business Is Personal. “For an entrepreneur, you are essentially a part of your business and in some instances you are what you sell, as people are buying a part of you in addition to the product or service,” explains Zaki. “If this is the case, you will need to show who you truly are to your customers, and it will be essential for you to feel comfortable with your business in order to show your private life, and vice versa. Transparency is crucial here, as it will allow your authenticity to come through.”
- Planning & Strategising. “Partnering business with pleasure may seem like a simple concept in theory, but in practice, being able to pair the two continuously and seamlessly with success is a task that is only achieved through consistent work and guidance. Once a business or individual decides they want to make this kind of transition, it’s important to put the time in to thoughtfully develop a strategy that will make this plan a reality. Along the way, acquiring new skills should be a constant habit to ensure you are well equipped for what may lay ahead.”
- Expect The Unexpected. “When following this plan of bleasure, going against the grain and mixing these two normally separate areas of your life into one trajectory, you’re bound to be presented with some interesting side effects as a result. What I’ve learnt is that when you’re following an unconventional route, things can change at the drop of a hat, as the range of possibilities you are exposed to are tenfold in comparison to following a traditional career path where you don’t hold as much decisive control.
Remember that each person in your life is important as they all open up new avenues, so always being open to what they might have to offer at either end of the business-pleasure spectrum, and being flexible and willing to change direction at a moment’s notice is essential. Spotting the potential and running with it is what will make the difference in the long run between stagnancy and progress in both areas of your life.”
- Make Passion Your Profession. “We’ve all heard the saying ‘follow your passion’, but in reality having passion is not enough. There is a significant difference being enjoying a particular activity and being able to adapt it into a successful business or career. You may have a great business idea but that means next to nothing if you don’t have a clue how to realise it. Differentiating between what your passion is, what your instinctive gifts are, what skills you currently attain, and what skills you will need to gain, is fundamental in fuelling a career that combines business with pleasure.”
- Find The Balance. “Successfully mixing these separate areas of your life will require you to find the right balance between the two. Essentially it’s a mix between logic and emotions, in other words, business and people, respectively, so finding an equilibrium early will ensure that business doesn’t outweigh pleasure and vice versa.”
Zaki Ameer is an entrepreneur and the Founder of Dream Design Property (DDP), a unique wealth creation mentoring program that is designed to help Australians gain financial freedom and Dream Design Property Developments, offering clients a cost effective way to purchase off the plan properties.
Main image by Francois Duhamel – © 2014 Warner Bros. ‘The Intern’.
