Inc.com has one of those headlines that really didn’t take a survey to find out: Business Owners Work Twice as Much as Employees, Survey Finds. Surprised? Me neither.
How much do we work?
Thirty-three percent of small-business owners reported working more than 50 hours per week, while an additional 25% said they work more than 60 hours a week, according to a poll of readers of the New York Enterprise Report. The poll, conducted throughout January and February, found that 70% of respondents also worked at least one weekend on a regular basis.
So, is there any hope for us? Here are two suggestions from the same story.
Suggestion #1: Work for a Reason
“The small-business owners who are happiest begin with an end in mind,” [said Rhonda F. Waters, a Ph.D. in organizational development and president of the Boston-based Mutare Group, a consulting firm that specializes in organizational assessment and executive coaching.] That end, she added, might be a house in Florida or money for their children’s education, but having it in focus ensures that the day-to-day challenges of an unhappy customer or a malfunctioning printer doesn’t get blown out of proportion.
Suggestion #2: Delegate with or without hiring
“We’ve quantified [that] people spend 20% of their time on what would be considered low-value work.” [said Amy Richman, a senior consultant for WFD, a workplace consulting firm based in Newton, Mass.]
Effective time assessments might free up a day, a week, or more, by cutting out work that is really unnecessary, Richman added.
Waters suggested that small-business owners who want more free time should focus on fulfilling the needs of the core clients who bring in the most money, and delegate everything that they don’t have to be doing themselves.
If you are thinking about that second point, you may want to re-read 10 Ways to Delegate Without Hiring Staff.
small biz rural entrepreneurship business
- Move Your Money and Bank Local - March 22, 2023
- Using a building as a warehouse or storage in a small town? Put up a sign - March 13, 2023
- How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores - February 19, 2023
- Check your small business website for outdated pandemic changes, missing info - January 31, 2023
- Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors - January 15, 2023
- 2023 trends for rural and small town businesses - December 26, 2022
- Local reviews on Google Maps drive enduring value - December 17, 2022
- Extra agritourism revenue from camping, cabins and RVs with HipCamp - December 12, 2022
- Harvest Hosts attract vanlifers and RV tourists, Boondockers Welcome - December 2, 2022
- Holiday 2022 marketing: Tell your founding story - December 1, 2022
