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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know . i i i . – t ’ a l y n t k News India Times (February 7, 2026 - February 13, 2026) February 13, 2026 26 Business / Community A Business Model That Respects Family, Festivals and Mental Peace I n Indian and many Asian cultures, success has never been measured solely by income. It is also defined by responsibility, family stability and presence. Being successful means showing up — not just as a provider, but as a parent, partner and community member. Yet a contradiction has long been accepted: To take care of family, one must sacrifice time with them. Long hours, constant stress and missed cel- ebrations are often treated as unavoidable costs of building a business. Exhaustion is worn as a badge of honor, rarely questioned. For years, I believed this was normal. I grew up with the assumption that business owners work around the clock and that entrepre- neurship requires pressure without pause. Family life, I thought, had to adapt to business demands, not the other way around. In many of our communi- ties, hard work is deeply respected, but its toll on mental health and relationships is rarely discussed. We say the struggle is “for the family,” even when the family sees us less and less. My perspective began to change when I entered the world of franchising. When my wife and I launched DNA Franchise Pro and I became part of the International Franchise Profession- als Group, I found myself in rooms filled with franchisors and franchise owners from diverse backgrounds. What stood out was not their revenue or scale, but their em- phasis on balance, structure and sustainability. Business conversations included discussions about planning vacations, protecting weekends and intention- ally scheduling family time. Conferences focused not only on growth targets, but on how to build businesses that could endure without burning out their owners. It was the first time I saw business ownership presented as something that did not require sacrificing personal well- being or relationships. This idea matters deeply in Indian and Asian fami- lies, where togetherness is central to life. Shared meals, religious rituals, weddings, festivals and weekly gather- ings are not optional extras. They are the fabric that holds families together. Traditional small businesses often make these mo- ments difficult. The owner becomes the system. If the owner steps away, operations slow or stop. Every absence carries stress and guilt. Franchising, by design, works differently. A franchise operates on established systems, processes and playbooks that have already been tested. Owners are not starting from scratch or improvising daily. Structure creates predictability, and predictability creates peace of mind. I watched franchise owners attend Diwali pujas, Eid celebrations, weddings, anniversaries and school events without panic — not because they worked fewer hours, but because their businesses were built to function with- out constant crisis management. The system supported them instead of consuming them. Another striking difference was how openly challenges were discussed. In many cultures, failure is hidden and struggle is kept private. In franchising environments, dif- ficulties are shared openly. At conferences, owners speak candidly about what went wrong, what they learned and how they corrected course. That collective knowledge reduces fear and isolation. The experience reinforced a simple idea: Growth is not always linear. Sometimes progress requires stepping back to move forward. Franchising acknowledges this real- ity and builds support around it. On a personal level, one of the most meaningful changes came through professional training with Mike Handy. Rather than focusing solely on revenue goals, he helped me design my day — frommorning routines and exercise to email blocks and defined work-ending times. This level of structure was unfa- miliar to me, but it proved transformative. The result was not just improved productivity, but a better quality of life. My wife and I became closer because our time together became intentional rather than accidental. We began planning life instead of reacting to it. Meals became calmer. Conversations became deeper. Work no longer spilled endlessly into family time. For a culture that values partnership and togetherness, this shift was significant. What I ultimately came to understand is that franchising is not just a business model. It is a lifestyle framework. It allows ambition and balance to coexist. It supports mental health, physical well-being and mean- ingful relationships alongside financial growth. I did not embrace franchising solely because of its economic potential. I embraced it because it supports longevity — in business and in life. It leaves room for shared meals, laughter, family rituals and mental peace. It respects the idea that success should enhance life, not replace it. Festivals return every year, but time does not. Diwali dinners, Eid prayers, weddings, anniversaries and mo- ments like Valentine’s Day happen once in real time. They deserve presence, not postponed intentions. For Indian and Asian professionals considering busi- ness ownership, franchising offers a path that aligns with deeply held values: growth with structure, success with stability and ambition without burnout. At the end of the day, business matters. But family, festivals and mental peace are what make success truly meaningful. About the Author Pankaj Kumar is a global hospitality veteran, franchise consul- tant and entrepreneur. By Pankaj Kumar .PHOTO:REUTERS PHURBATENJING SHERPA 5 Poems For Troubled Times, From Virginia’s New Indian American Lt. Governor “We cannot respond to irrationality, and chaos, and disruption, through the norms that we’ve established for ourselves,” she said. “And sometimes it is a matter of let- ting that go, responding more instinctively.” The Death of Socrates by Jennifer Chang Like Socrates, my father wants to know what we think and why So where do I begin? Yes, the curiosity is genuine, but it is also patriarchal, I suspect. A glass, a mirror, I am not. Lest we forget, he is the son of a philosopher, and so I am offspring to reason’s offspring. A daughter-loved despite that. American-loved despite that. … – – – How fathers shape their daughters Hashmi’s final selection mirrors her own history, writ- ten by a poet who, like Hashmi, is an immigrant daughter navigating different worlds and describes the education of a woman growing up around patriarchal values. Born in Hyderabad, India, while her father studied in the United States for a PhD in International Studies, Hashmi didn’t meet her dad until she was nearly 5. “We had to build that relationship. I actually remem- ber meeting him. He was a complete stranger,” she said. He had been raised in a more traditional Muslim cul- ture, she said, but loved his daughters and wanted to see them succeed. “He had to dismantle some of his own patriarchal as- sumptions,” she said. “I watched him change and evolve over many, many decades in his own thinking about the role of women and the place of women.” The poem, she said, describes the challenge daughters can feel, navigating worlds that were not meant for them, building relationships with fathers who think differently. “That taught me how to think through arguments, how to make effective arguments and how to hold my own position,” she said. “As a daughter, you learn how to do that dance with a patriarchal figure, but that helps you to also define your own identity as a woman.” Hashmi decided to run for public office after Trump issued a Muslim ban during his first term; her father was angry, “afraid of the ugliness of the political world,” and he tried to talk her out of it. But eventually, she said, he was “tremendously proud.” He died in 2021, but she thinks he would be proud of her winning and redefining a statewide role shaped by men. “He saw me break out of certain prisons,” she said. “Many of us who are now in the government spaces, you know, we’re still breaking ceilings that way and defining our own identity.” -TheWashington Post - Continued From Page 18