Owners, presidents, or CEOs of small businesses might have the toughest job. They feel they have to do everything to keep their businesses going (and growing) and financially support employees and their families. But there are times when it just seems too hard. These people force themselves through the hurdles and adversity in front of them every day, and often they can get overwhelmed.

It seems sad news comes in waves. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve found out about many people in my sphere who have either died too young or have serious health issues. This kind of news can force you to reevaluate your choices and take a fresh look at where you are and where you are going. Work/life balance talk is ubiquitous, and the Millennial generation has embraced it. But for most small business owners, their company is their life. They have a vision, and they assume they will stay in good enough health to achieve that vision – whether it is to pass the business on to their family, to improve their financial situation substantially, or to retire comfortably. In retirement they hope to do all the activities they have put off in earlier years. I think this is true of many people, but for small business owners the business is their biggest asset that will provide financial freedom.

This week there was a big splash made about Sheryl Sandberg’s new book Option B, focusing on resiliency. I work with small business owners, so my first thought is for them. Ironically, most small business owners don’t have an Option B; they have all their eggs in one basket. Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, released her book Lean In in 2013. She said that she was “tone deaf” when she wrote Lean In, and I agree. She gave advice, heard mostly by women, which encouraged them to strive for more professionally. Work/life balance was not the message.

Since she wrote the first book, her husband died suddenly, and she found she could not Lean In. She realized that her advice did not work for many who did not have a corporate job and a nuclear family. When she wrote the book, she had a husband, two young kids, and about a billion dollars. She wasn’t just in the 1% - she was in the 0.00002% financially. With that net worth, her problems are quite different from most small business owners, but work/life balance was still an issue. Now in her recent talks she asks, “How you would live if you knew you had 11 days left?”

Should SMB owners live like they only have 11 days left? Are they so passionate about their mission that they’d go to work as usual? I doubt that most would, and the decisions made under that kind of pressure may not be good for the company. But the notion of looking at the big picture of your life is a good one.

I admit that I was a workaholic in my 20s and 30s. I thought I had my whole life to do the things that I wanted to do. I’m now nearer to the end of my career than the beginning, and I’ve seen video of the moments that I missed with my kids when I was traveling and working those long hours. They are in the past, and I have to be OK with that. Everything is a tradeoff. I made the conscious decision to be more present when my kids were in middle and high school. I spent a lot of time with my Millennial children, so I think I understand their generation to a large extent.

My advice to the entrepreneur is to push hard before you are 40 to get to at least 12 employees and have a second in command with leadership skills and passion for the business. Create a culture where people can take time when needed, but operate efficiently and effectively when they are working. Then you can delegate your daily tasks when unavailable, and your people will make you money when you are gone. Honor the balance between work and a personal life.

It is common for me to work with business owners in their 60s+. They all would rather not be working so hard now. They have seen their peers, friends, and spouses with serious and terminal health issues. Rarely is there a warning before it happens.

The Millennials have it right: don’t sacrifice your life for work, work for a company that has a purpose you believe in, and create a work environment that you enjoy. They have to search for that situation. The great thing about being a business owner is that you can create that situation for yourself and everyone else who works there.