Fatherhood and Business

I have no doubt that every father wants the best for his children, so we have to ask ourselves what does the "best" actually mean and what is it going to take to get there.

My Business partner and I started our first Business three years ago, we were enthusiastic, ambitious and at that stage had the support of our wives. We had nice offices, great staff, great clients, flash cars and Business was going well, that was until the collapse of the Finance industry. With creditors trying to kick our door down the pressure came on big time. At that stage I had two children aged 1 & 3.

In short the Business fell over and I was broken, we sold our house to fend off creditors, my marriage was suffering and my wife just gave birth to our third child. In that same week we found out that my father in law was diagnosed with cancer and had 4 weeks to live.

I remember getting out of bed around 2am opening the sliding door looking up in the sky and saying if you are there God then please help me. As a father and husband I had failed, my wife was trying to put on a brave face but I know deep she was devastated. Four weeks later my father in law died, it was an emotional time for us and one that I will never forget.

Looking at my wife with our three young children at the coffin of her father was the turning point for me.

Instead of getting a job which guaranteed a steady income I got with my Business partner and we started another Business. This was it for us we would work harder then we had ever done before. The lesson that we learnt with our failed Business was critical to the success of our new venture. With no money we began to pitch our new Business to whoever would listen. We started to land some big clients and the momentum began to swing our way. I could actually afford to take my wife to the movies and my children to McDonalds. I felt that God started to answer my prayers.

One Year on and the Business is doing great, my wife is happy and my children are just the best. At times we often feel there is no way out, and as a father this is the worst position to be in. I would often remember a quote by Martin Luther King Jnr that was very powerful.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy".

My advice to all Fathers is to always seek wisdom, work hard on your marriage and love your children.

Nigel Lewis