WEEK     JOB: SMALL-BUSINESS OWNER

LOCATION: ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA

I STROLLED THROUGH the warehouse of SnorgTees, a young, hip company that sells funny T-shirts through its website to customers all over the world. The company was started by three friends in their early twenties in the basement of one of their parents. By the third month in business they were profitable and had recently moved into their own office/warehouse space.

The warehouse held about seven rows stacked high with inventory of more than two hundred T-shirt designs. I picked up a green T-shirt featuring the image of a fat jolly Buddha that said, I HAVE THE BODY OF A GOD. The one next to it bore an image of the moon having a conversation with Pluto: IT’S OKAY, PLUTO. I’M NOT A PLANET EITHER. Others referenced movies: THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID, I LOVE LAMP, I AM MCLOVIN’.

Matt, president and co-founder, said that starting the company was a huge undertaking, and what allowed him to keep moving forward was breaking it down into small achievable steps. First step? Learn how to print T-shirts.

“When you come in and look at a business, you’re like, ‘Oh, this is how things work.’ It just seems that everything flows smoothly,” he said. “In the first few months, we put up the website, then thought we were going to run a few ads and stuff would just start flying off the shelves. Well, that didn’t happen.” He smiled, shaking his head. “The key was to keep the bigger vision in mind, then focus on the smaller steps that would eventually lead us to that end goal. Every month it gets better and better. It becomes more comfortable, more fun, and starts to feel more like what you expect.”

There was a casual atmosphere at the office—except for “Formal Fridays,” when employees dress up in business attire. People often write to them with T-shirt ideas, and so once a week the staff will get together in the boardroom to judge the ideas based on the very efficient thumbs-up, thumbs-down rule.

“The idea can’t be too clever,” Matt said. “It’s gotta be something that will make people laugh when they first hear it.”

If an idea receives a thumbs-up majority, the concept is forwarded to one of their designers. The designer creates the artwork, and then it’s sent to the printer. As a thank-you, the person who sent in the idea gets $150 plus a choice of a free T-shirt.

In the previous thirty weeks I had had the opportunity to work with many people who owned businesses. Most of them said that they love the freedom, they wish they’d done it sooner, and that they’d never again work for someone else. I can appreciate that, but with that freedom comes more work and pressure. I found that most small-business owners work very long hours and don’t have much time for themselves. It’s true that they make their own schedule, but since their input is directly related to their bottom line, it’s a challenge for them to ever stop thinking about work.

Most nights Matt worked at home, trying to stay on top of everything. I imagine it must be difficult to simply relax, take a vacation, enjoy a movie or a book, when there’s always something that could be done. It must become even more difficult when you actually love the job.

“We’re raised thinking that we’ll end up working for someone else,” Matt said. “So when you work for yourself, you’re kind of like, ‘Well, where’s my paycheck?’ But, you pay yourself, so it’s all up to you.”

Being a small-business owner takes a certain type of personality. It requires a lot of hard work, long hours, and the ability to manage risk and put off short-term gain for the potential of long-term freedom. It’s not for everybody, but Matt’s positive that it’s for him. “Having had a taste of owning my own business and working for myself, I can say that it’s definitely what I want to do the rest of my life.”

As for me, I’d like the challenge and opportunity to create a successful business. But I question if I’d be able to manage the same risk and commitment required if a family was involved. All of a sudden, the outcome of my decisions would affect not only me but the future of my family. The challenge is finding that healthy balance.