Quality of Life of Lifestyle Entrepreneurs

Owners of small businesses, within the tourism and hospitality literature, tend to be labelled as lifestyle entrepreneurs (LsEs). LsEs are described with an emphasis on the style of life they want to achieve while running their businesses, in opposition to business growth and profitability. Despite an increased interest in LsEs expressed by researchers in recent years, the literature review points to a number of conceptual gaps in the understanding of this group of tourism entrepreneurs. Namely, the shortage of research on the concepts of lifestyle and quality of life (QoL) that so often appear associated with LsEs. The present research aims to build on recent work and provide an enhanced understanding of the self-perceptions of QoL held by LsEs, owners of commercial homes. To do so, the research adopts an interpretivist approach that draws on 36 in-depth interviews with LsEs that own a commercial home enterprise in Portugal. Findings suggest that there are seven issues contributing to LsEs' perception of QoL: location, personal preferences, home, finance, interpersonal relationships, occupation and self-realisation. Self-realisation and occupation are the ones that matter the most, and mirror the holistic lifestyle that LsEs aim to achieve. From an ideal perspective, a life where who they are and what they do is one and the same. Realistically, a life in which what they perceive QoL to be is not harmonious with the QoL their day-to-day activities allow them to conquer. This study offers theoretical and practical contributions. From a theoretical perspective, it addresses the lack of knowledge regarding the QoL of LsEs identifying what composes QoL from LsEs' perspective, and how it influences their management practices. The research also deepens the understanding of the label LsE, advancing the concept further and suggesting its replacement by the concept of selfpreneur. From a practical perspective, research findings inform policymakers and the banking sector on how to better support this type of small accommodation business, and provides a conceptual framework that can be used to assess the QoL of tourism entrepreneurs.