Too many business owners don't treat their babies like, well, babies.

My dear friend Tony Conza, the founder of Blimpie Sandwiches, has wonderful perspective on business and entrepreneurship.

"Starting a business," he says, "is not like a mutual fund. It's more like having a baby. When you invest in a mutual fund, you give your money to some financial outfit, then sit back and hope that it makes money for you. Having a baby of course, is different. Once that baby comes into your life, it never goes away. If you nurture the baby, care for it, and help it grow, one day it will take care of itself - and maybe even take care of you."

A child is a living, breathing organism.  We all want our kids to grow up big and strong.  We all want them to be successful and self-sufficient.  And the decisions we make prove it.  We invest in their educations  - a huge short term liability with massive long-term potential.

How would you treat your child if you only cared about keeping them healthy for the next quarter?  Vacations probably wouldn't factor in.  Soccer practice and ballet lessons would be out - clearly there would be no benefit to them over the next 3 months. 

Why do we change our strategies just because we're operating in a bad economy.  Once you have a baby, that's it, the commitment is made.  You're in it for the long haul.  You don't adjust how you're going to raise your child with the ebb and flow of the economy.  Companies, too, are living breathing organisms.  They need food and they need education.  They need to learn things for themselves, try and fail and get back up.  Long term strategies, inherently, mean that ALL decisions are made with an eye to the future - 20 years, not next year.  That doesn't mean you can't make adjustments to deal with short term pitfalls (like buying generic brand Cheerios instead of the high-priced organic stuff for a short time).

Even in big companies - innovation is treated as a short term bet: prove value in the next quarter to a year or the project is scuttled.  Edison took longer than that to develop the light bulb.  The Wright Brothers took a few years to get their flying machine to work.

In big business or small business, executives of all kinds should hang a picture of a baby to remind them what they are managing - what they are parenting.  Treat the business right and Tony's prophecy becomes a reality - after a while the business will look after you.