Sunday, 09 February 2025
The Restless Native The Restless Native

Can’t Buy Me Love

Written by  Sep 22, 2016

“Love” seems to be an important word in my life lately. It is the reason behind many decisions I've made and paths I've taken. Perhaps too many. When it comes to personal relations, love is an excellent guide and helps define goals better than any other feeling. On the other hand, when you let it affect your business life as well (and I do that often), things can get complicated.

My wife and I own a company in its second year of business which is quite an uphill part of the business development process. Yesterday morning we went to see our business banker and for the remainder of the day, when someone would ask me “Hi, how are you?” – I would reply “I’ve been to the bank this morning.” – to which most of them would just go quiet and nod their heads as if to say they understand the struggle.

Our business is an absolute labour of love, but since we love things that are a bit out of typical mainstream, we are not making as much money as we could considering the work hours and level of knowledge we put into it. This is the realisation I’m living with for a while now, and I can’t say it doesn’t bother me. My profession is management. There is no nobility tied to earning less in this area of human endeavour. Also, modern day Croatia and certainly Dubrovnik are societies that put plenty of emphasis on the importance of earning money, sometimes even to the point where dishonest practices are painted a pale shade of grey. This constant pressure for validation through one’s bank account makes patiently waiting for one’s work of passion to come to fruition that much more disheartening.

“Do what you love and you will not work a day in your life.” – reads a popular saying. It’s not true, don’t fall for it. If you are in it for the love, you will be working your butt off. So much it will damage your health and your relationships, at least a bit. This is one thing you can be sure of. There is no successful business built from the ground up that didn’t involve a whole lot of work.

So, to summarize, love will make you do all sorts of silly things in life, but in business it can make you work very long hours, risk your financial future, and make you seem crazy in the eyes of those around you. All this just so you can have a product or service of your own that you can be proud of (and maybe sleep in on Monday every once in a while).

So, why do it? Because you can’t force yourself not to. You see, when you are running your own business (that you feel passionate about), you get hooked on a very special feeling. This feeling is one of freedom and you get to feel it during those short quiet-before-the-storm moments when you get to relax, take a deep breath, and realise you are actually working on making your dreams come true. Nothing money can buy is a fitting replacement for that feeling.

Besides that, sometimes you do get to sleep in on Monday.

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Bozidar Jukic, AKA The Restless Native, is a Dubrovnik local with too many interests to name them all, with writing being at the very top of the list. He is a lover of good food, music and film, and a firm believer in the healing power of laughter. His professional orientation is towards tourism and travel so it comes as no surprise he spends most of his time alongside Mrs. Jukic running their own local tour company. Their goal is helping travellers from all over the world get a more intimate experience of Dubrovnik and what it has to offer. To find out more about their work, visit their website or Facebook page.
www.insiderholidays.eu
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