Strategies: Who's up for some fun? Bueller? ... Bueller?

— -- This is supposed to be fun.

There's a dirty little secret most of us in small business rarely admitted: we were enjoying ourselves. Sure, we had long hours and uneven income. But we scoffed at our friends, sitting in rush hour traffic or stuffed into buses, commuting to jobs with demanding bosses, endless meetings and ridiculous reports. Meanwhile, we had work we actually liked, spent our hours productively, then slipped off to the gym in the middle of the afternoon if we felt like it.

But with the recession, those of us who own our businesses have hunkered down. We've kept our nose to the grindstone, bogged down with administrative tasks, juggling expenses, stretching income, demoralized when we've had to lay employees off.

None of that's any fun.

Well — it's time to get serious about having fun in your business again. By fun, I don't mean going to the movies instead of making sales calls or exchanging your conference table for a ping pong table (though that might be a good idea...), I mean finding ways to get greater enjoyment from your day-to-day work life.

Yes, I know these are tough times. All the more reason to find ways — inexpensively — to get greater non-financial satisfaction from your small business. Heck, if you're not making as much money, you should at least make the most of the other benefits you can get by being self-employed or running your own company.

People often use the term "lifestyle business" to derisively describe a small business. But why not, in these challenging times, embrace it? Why not create a lifestyle of your own with your business and forge your own path?

For example, I love dogs, so I chose to have a dog-friendly office. That means I get to work with my dog Cosmo every day and a charming three-and-a-half pound Chihuahua named Coco. Having dogs in the office adds immeasurably to my work satisfaction.

Now, we're taking that one step farther. Both my office manager, Rosa, and administrative assistant, Petra, are pregnant. When they return from maternity leave, we're going to try having an infant-friendly office. We're bringing in a crib or two. Heck, if we can manage with two dogs, why not see if we can manage with babies? Of course, the same rules apply — they'll have to be relatively quiet, not take too much time away from work, and no pooping on the floor.