Josh Bob: Tips for the Juggling Act of Life as an Entrepreneur

Life is no more a box of chocolates than Tom Hanks is a mentally challenged man who mooned the president. Life is, however, a juggling act, in which you are constantly engaged in keeping certain things up in the air while focusing on others that need to be handled immediately. The key isn’t making sure nothing drops; that’s nearly impossible. Instead, the most crucial thing to know is what can bounce back if you drop it and what can’t.

What’s In The Air

First, please note that what you’re about to read is by no means completely original; the concept has been attributed to various people, including a former CEO of Coca-Cola and a late Supreme Court justice. This is just my own spin on the analogy and how it relates to living the startup lifestyle.

When you learn to juggle, you learn that the key isn’t paying attention to the balls themselves, but rather to where you’re placing them – knowing where they’ll land before they leave your hand. Try juggling two balls with two hands; it’s easy as can be. Try three, and it starts to become difficult. By the time you reach four, it’s all but impossible unless you’re extremely focused – and have years of practice.

As entrepreneurs, we’re constantly maintaining a minimum of ten balls in the air at once. Think about your responsibilities: plan for the future, reflect on the past, learn from the present, plan the website, build the product, talk to customers, sell to prospects, handle partners and employees, work with suppliers, market your company. How about thinking not just as a business owner or manager, but as a human being: there’s family, friends, significant other, children, your health (including diet, exercise, and sleep), and just having fun to distress.

Learning the Difference

Most versions of this analogy divide the priorities above into two categories, rubber and glass, but I like to add a third: metal. When you’re juggling rubber balls and one drops, it bounces right back up to your hand; these are the priorities that you can drop without too much worry. It may disrupt your routine briefly, but since the ball ends up roughly where it started, you can reintegrate it without much trouble. Think about these as the things that you can let slide temporarily, like some of your business responsibilities, and most of your friends. If you accidentally forget to respond to a pal’s phone call, or miss an email to a supplier, odds are you’ll soon be given the chance to redeem yourself.

Then there are metal balls, which are slightly heavier than rubber – and don’t bounce back at all. These cause a serious disruption in the flow of things, because you have to stop and pick them up, but you’re still able to carry on with the show. Any given customer (except perhaps your few biggest) can be considered a metal ball; lose one and you can usually replace them, but it’s not easy or ideal. Most family falls into this category, too, since your brother won’t be happy if you don’t respond to him, but enough apologizing will usually get him to forgive you. Even your wife or husband will understand if you let them down once – just don’t make a habit of it.

Finally, there are the glass balls: things that will chip, crack, and perhaps even shatter if you drop them once. Your investors, your best customers, your health – and, if you drop them more  than once, your close family – are all examples of things that you don’t ever want to drop. Let your health go, and it’s hard to recover; upset your investors, and you could find yourself coming up short on payroll. Learn to see the warning signs that one of these balls is falling, and make sure you catch it – even if it means dropping a few of the rubber ones.

Take Care of Yourself

You can talk all day about Executing Like a MoFo (yeah, that’s what #ELaMF means), but if you’re laid up with bronchitis, you’re going to be Expectorating Like a MoFo. Learn to see the early warning signs, figure out what you need to do to stay happy and healthy and keep your business humming, and remember that very few people make it through life without a support system – so take the time to show your appreciation to those who love you. 

Josh Bob is the Founder and President of Textaurant, a company that is changing the way people wait. Previously, he managed a staff of 15 running Northeast operations for a national sports league. He has an MBA from Babson College, and really likes baseball and gadgets.