Is Your Small Business A 24-Hour Monster?

I was out to dinner with a good friend last week. We met at 7 pm, sat and talked awhile, then ordered dinner and talked awhile longer. Then her phone rang and she answered it, spending over 5 minutes talking with a client.

I had a 7:30 breakfast meeting with another business owner and a client we are both mutually working for, discussing all aspects of the product. Twice during the meeting this business owner and client both answered business related phone calls as they came in.

In both of these cases, our meetings were before and after normal business hours. Yet as a business owner, they all have been sucked into the belief they must be available at all times for their clients.

Your clients do what you teach them is acceptable.

Establishing Ground Rules

When you first started your own business, I know it was for a variety of reasons. But I'll bet that one of them was:

To have the freedom to do what I want to do, when I want to do it.

I know that was one of my reasons.

When you had a job, you worked your 8 hours per day, and went home to a personal life. For the most part, you didn't think about work once you left the office.

So what's changed now that you have your own business?

Being a business owner simply means you control the company. You tell it how fast to grow. You tell it what product/services to offer. You make the decisions.

But it shouldn't control you.

So by answering a client phone call at 8 pm, you're telling your clients you are available at 8 pm. They now expect it.

But if they call at 8 pm and here a recording stating your business hours are from 9 to 6, they can choose to leave a message, or call back in the morning after 9.

Setting Up Your Rules

When you first started your business, what did you dream it would be like? Did you dream of taking Friday's off to spend time on personal activities? Did you dream of spending the mornings with your children? Did you dream of working 30 hours per week?

What happened to your dreams?

I've been a business owner for many years. And I know dreams quickly disappear with the demands of clients and production. Take some time and step back and look at your original dreams. How can you turn them into reality?

1. Set up your workweek.

One of the first things to do is to plan out your ideal workweek. Set up normal business hours, even if you work out of your home. Your work hours don't have to match a traditional corporate structure. Maybe you work well in the morning from 5 to 11, and again from 5 to 7 at night. If you're shooting for 40 hours a week, they don't all have to be at the same timeframe. The important thing is to let your clients - and your family and friends - know how and when they can reach you. Then stick to your hours.

2. Set up different phone numbers for both personal and business.

One of the easiest ways to get caught up in always being available is to use the same phone for both business and personal. If fact I know one business owner who recently answered his business line while he was on a cruise in Hawaii because he uses his cell phone for both business and personal. Explore your options with your phone company, or with a phone consultant. In many cases you get multiple lines for a reasonable rate. Tell your clients when you're available. And return phone calls immediately when you get back in the office.

3. Set up your personal time.

My office is three steps off of my kitchen. If the phone rings, I can hear it while I'm cooking. If I have an idea, it's easy for me to run in and jump on the computer. In many ways, it's easier to ignore your personal time because your business is what brings in the money. But personal time is what allows you to enjoy the freedom. Until you get in the habit of valuing your personal time, schedule it on your calendar. Put down "work out" from 5 to 6 in the evening. Put "dinner with family" from 6 to 7. Then put everything else away, and enjoy your personal time.

4. Hire people to take over the things you can't get done in your normal work time.

Easy to say. Harder to do. But the only way to grow your business AND enjoy your free time is to start releasing the things that are your time wasters. In many cases small businesses can't hire a multitude of employees. Maybe your goal is to never have an employee. But you can still hire a bookkeeper to enter your transactions, a CPA to do your taxes, and a virtual assistant to help you with customer service. Check out this new site I found that I'll be exploring more http://www.hiremymom.com

5. Make adjustments.

As time moves along, things change. Reevaluate your business every few months and see what you can change to make it even more efficient.