5 answers
Livia
Student
Santa Clara, California
3
Questions
Asked
1275 views
Small business owners- how do you not overwork yourself?
How is it possible to start and run a successful small business without working 24/7?
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5 answers
Judith-Ann Anderson
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) at AndeersonCounselingTexas( ACT)
106
Answers
Grapevine, Texas
Updated
Judith-Ann’s Answer
Livia , you have received some great advice and suggestions. My father owned and operated his own business and as I noticed his success, I also noticed some of his challenges. One of the main ones was dealing with unsatisfied customers. Complaints that were quite frankly just not necessary really wore on my father. The other thing that wore on his was Collecting money. Collecting money was tedious in spite of his great system and generosity to put things on time, some people took advantage by not paying on time or by complaining that they just didn't have the money! All the while my father knew they did! These two things challenged him the most. To relax and give himself a break, he would take time out to play golf and try to get the complaints out of his head. Sunday, he would go to church and serve as an usher and sit with his family for an hour or so. And he always came home for dinner. He and my mom made sure the family was together every night for a meal and check in about our day. This is how he coped- he made family a priority, he played golf and went to church.
I encourage you to take a minute: decide what are your priorities, decide what you can do to take your mind off of work, and design a plan to meet your priorities!
I encourage you to take a minute: decide what are your priorities, decide what you can do to take your mind off of work, and design a plan to meet your priorities!
That’s a smart suggestion, thank you! I appreciate your experience.
Livia
Alessia Lombardo
Sales
5
Answers
Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Updated
Alessia’s Answer
Dear Livia, your question is truly captivating, and I'll do my best to respond based on my own experiences.
As a salesperson in a company that isn't mine, I also happen to be the child of a business owner – my father. He ran a sportswear shop for an impressive 42 years.
Indeed, he worked diligently and put in long hours, but one thing he emphasized repeatedly was that he couldn't imagine doing anything else.
Owning a business can be tough since everything falls on your shoulders, but if you're passionate about your work, you won't want to pursue a different path.
Of course, my father experienced fatigue and stress from his demanding job, but trust me, being an employee can be just as exhausting and stressful. What truly matters is loving what you do.
I'm sure you've come across Confucius's famous quote: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
I hope this insight helps you and inspires you to reflect on what you genuinely love doing, without worrying about the number of hours you'll put in.
Wishing you all the best,
Alessia
As a salesperson in a company that isn't mine, I also happen to be the child of a business owner – my father. He ran a sportswear shop for an impressive 42 years.
Indeed, he worked diligently and put in long hours, but one thing he emphasized repeatedly was that he couldn't imagine doing anything else.
Owning a business can be tough since everything falls on your shoulders, but if you're passionate about your work, you won't want to pursue a different path.
Of course, my father experienced fatigue and stress from his demanding job, but trust me, being an employee can be just as exhausting and stressful. What truly matters is loving what you do.
I'm sure you've come across Confucius's famous quote: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
I hope this insight helps you and inspires you to reflect on what you genuinely love doing, without worrying about the number of hours you'll put in.
Wishing you all the best,
Alessia
Thank you so much for responding!
I agree, a lifetime of work at a job you love is much better than a lifetime of work at a job you hate.
Livia
Matthew L. Tuck, J.D., M.B.A.
CEO/Managing Attorney, Greater Detroit Area
64
Answers
Lansing, Michigan
Updated
Matthew L.’s Answer
Hi Livia.
Great question! I'm so glad to see you're thinking about entrepreneurship. It's a very rewarding pursuit and really interesting.
So you know, I own my law firm and have also worked on a number of startups and other businesses.
Your question is a good one. The short answer is, it depends a lot on your individual personality, your skills and the type of business(es) you start. No matter what the business is, you can plan on spending A LOT of time on it the first few years. If you are afraid of hard work, entrepreneurship may not be for you. But it's good you're thinking about work-life balance before you start the business. When you own a small business (or a big one, eventually), it is very much like having a child. You get very protective of it and you'll do whatever it takes to make sure it survives and thrives. You will spend time on it, you will spend money on it, you will ask other people to do favors for it.
Many entrepreneurs love to work hard and they spend 80, 90 or 100 hours per week on their business. But you don't have to. Many other entrepreneurs design the business to operate mostly without them having to be there 24/7 or they hire people to run the business and they just spend a few hours a week managing the managers. You actually can own one or more businesses that operate pretty much autonomously.
One of my favorite examples of an entrepreneur who does this is Shaquille O'Neil. He is worth about $400 million and owns a number of frachizes, including Papa John’s, Auntie Annie’s, 24-hour Fitness Centers, Car Washes, and Krispy Kreme. He also owns more than 250 Five Guys restaurants. He has other business ventures outside of franchising, too, including Lyft and JC Penney. Obviously he cannot be the manager of each of those hundreds of businesses. Instead, he employs people to manage and run those businesses for him.
One of the things Shaq knows is that franchises can be a great way to own and run a profitable business. Franchises are basically like copies of the original business. Ray Kroc started McDonalds with one restaurant. He perfected the system and then sold copies of his business (called franchises) to thousands of other people. Franchises are great because they are like a profitable business in a box: the details are all figured out for you. You just need to follow the system.
If you don't aspire to own hundreds of small businesses, you can own just one or two that almost run themselves. Businesses like tanning salons, car washes, laundromats, and dry cleaning stores are often owned by "absentee" owners. They own the business, but hare a reliable manager to run the place for them. Typically they spend a few hours a week managing the money and maybe doing marketing.
One of the best books I've ever read on achieving a real work-life balance is called "The 4-Day Work Week" by Tim Ferriss. He learned it the hard way. Tim is an entrepreneur and a really fascinating guy. As I recall he left college and started a successful on-line vitamin company that making close to $1 million a year. But he noticed that he was working 100 hours a week. He realized he was getting burned out. He spent most of his time dealing with customers and fixing order mistakes and things like that. So he took some time off. To do that he realized he would have to give his managers the power to make decisions that he was making. And to his surprise, it worked. The business actually did better without him around. He put clearly written policies and procedures in place so the employees had a roadmap of what to do (clear, thorough, written policies and procedures are the most important thing you can do to make your business run well, whether you are there or not). Eventually the business was doing better than ever and Tim was working about 4 hours a week. Since then he has traveled the world chronicling the adventures of business owners who cracked the code and are able to work much fewer hours than a traditional entrepreneur while only working a few hours a week. Tim is now worth over $100 million. He has a great podcast too.
Study other business owners like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Martha Stewart. What these people have accomplished is amazing. Read everything you can on business.
But no matter what type of business you own, the most important thing it must do is to solve a problem for people that they are willing to pay for and that they will pay you enough to make a profit. Too many entrepreneurs come up with a solution to a problem that does not exist. They fall so in love with their idea and building it that they don't realize it's not actually a business. They spend hundreds or thousands of hours and a ton of money building their baby that no one wants.
So above all, make sure you create something (a good, a service, whatever), that people want and that you are interested in. If you find something people want and can offer it at a profitable price, you will never need to look for a job. Perhaps the greatest thing about being your own boss is that you can never be fired.
Look for mentors who can help you get to the place in business you want to be. Great mentors are invaluable. Find successful entrepreneurs you admire and ask them how they did it. Copy their methods and success in your own business. Also learn to network like crazy. Learn to stay in touch with people. They can help you on your journey.
Be ready to make mistakes. Don't be afraid of mistakes. Mistakes are learning experiences. Learn to get up after you get knocked down. Ignore people who tell you that you can't do it--and there will be a lot of them. They are afraid. It takes bravery to be an entrepreneur. Fail, learn from it. Try again until you get it right.
The point here is that you can design your business to be easy to run and provide you a good living. You can build it to fit your lifestyle. Think a lot about your dream life and design a business around that vision. The key is to give your business ideas a lot of thought, write out a thorough business plan, learn how business works, and keep learning every day.
Good luck! Never stop learning.
1. Work-life balance is very important. Think long and hard about the life you want to live. Come up with a business idea that allows you to live the life you want.
2. Study business and great business leaders like Bill Gates and Richard Branson.
3. Find something you love to do and build a business around that interest. Make sure you are solving a problem that people are willing to pay you to solve for them.
4. Write a business plan for a business that fits with the life you want to live. This is your blueprint. Keep revising as your business grows and changes.
5. Never stop learning. Find mentors to help you. Be ready to fail and learn from it. Try again until you succeed.
Great question! I'm so glad to see you're thinking about entrepreneurship. It's a very rewarding pursuit and really interesting.
So you know, I own my law firm and have also worked on a number of startups and other businesses.
Your question is a good one. The short answer is, it depends a lot on your individual personality, your skills and the type of business(es) you start. No matter what the business is, you can plan on spending A LOT of time on it the first few years. If you are afraid of hard work, entrepreneurship may not be for you. But it's good you're thinking about work-life balance before you start the business. When you own a small business (or a big one, eventually), it is very much like having a child. You get very protective of it and you'll do whatever it takes to make sure it survives and thrives. You will spend time on it, you will spend money on it, you will ask other people to do favors for it.
Many entrepreneurs love to work hard and they spend 80, 90 or 100 hours per week on their business. But you don't have to. Many other entrepreneurs design the business to operate mostly without them having to be there 24/7 or they hire people to run the business and they just spend a few hours a week managing the managers. You actually can own one or more businesses that operate pretty much autonomously.
One of my favorite examples of an entrepreneur who does this is Shaquille O'Neil. He is worth about $400 million and owns a number of frachizes, including Papa John’s, Auntie Annie’s, 24-hour Fitness Centers, Car Washes, and Krispy Kreme. He also owns more than 250 Five Guys restaurants. He has other business ventures outside of franchising, too, including Lyft and JC Penney. Obviously he cannot be the manager of each of those hundreds of businesses. Instead, he employs people to manage and run those businesses for him.
One of the things Shaq knows is that franchises can be a great way to own and run a profitable business. Franchises are basically like copies of the original business. Ray Kroc started McDonalds with one restaurant. He perfected the system and then sold copies of his business (called franchises) to thousands of other people. Franchises are great because they are like a profitable business in a box: the details are all figured out for you. You just need to follow the system.
If you don't aspire to own hundreds of small businesses, you can own just one or two that almost run themselves. Businesses like tanning salons, car washes, laundromats, and dry cleaning stores are often owned by "absentee" owners. They own the business, but hare a reliable manager to run the place for them. Typically they spend a few hours a week managing the money and maybe doing marketing.
One of the best books I've ever read on achieving a real work-life balance is called "The 4-Day Work Week" by Tim Ferriss. He learned it the hard way. Tim is an entrepreneur and a really fascinating guy. As I recall he left college and started a successful on-line vitamin company that making close to $1 million a year. But he noticed that he was working 100 hours a week. He realized he was getting burned out. He spent most of his time dealing with customers and fixing order mistakes and things like that. So he took some time off. To do that he realized he would have to give his managers the power to make decisions that he was making. And to his surprise, it worked. The business actually did better without him around. He put clearly written policies and procedures in place so the employees had a roadmap of what to do (clear, thorough, written policies and procedures are the most important thing you can do to make your business run well, whether you are there or not). Eventually the business was doing better than ever and Tim was working about 4 hours a week. Since then he has traveled the world chronicling the adventures of business owners who cracked the code and are able to work much fewer hours than a traditional entrepreneur while only working a few hours a week. Tim is now worth over $100 million. He has a great podcast too.
Study other business owners like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Martha Stewart. What these people have accomplished is amazing. Read everything you can on business.
But no matter what type of business you own, the most important thing it must do is to solve a problem for people that they are willing to pay for and that they will pay you enough to make a profit. Too many entrepreneurs come up with a solution to a problem that does not exist. They fall so in love with their idea and building it that they don't realize it's not actually a business. They spend hundreds or thousands of hours and a ton of money building their baby that no one wants.
So above all, make sure you create something (a good, a service, whatever), that people want and that you are interested in. If you find something people want and can offer it at a profitable price, you will never need to look for a job. Perhaps the greatest thing about being your own boss is that you can never be fired.
Look for mentors who can help you get to the place in business you want to be. Great mentors are invaluable. Find successful entrepreneurs you admire and ask them how they did it. Copy their methods and success in your own business. Also learn to network like crazy. Learn to stay in touch with people. They can help you on your journey.
Be ready to make mistakes. Don't be afraid of mistakes. Mistakes are learning experiences. Learn to get up after you get knocked down. Ignore people who tell you that you can't do it--and there will be a lot of them. They are afraid. It takes bravery to be an entrepreneur. Fail, learn from it. Try again until you get it right.
The point here is that you can design your business to be easy to run and provide you a good living. You can build it to fit your lifestyle. Think a lot about your dream life and design a business around that vision. The key is to give your business ideas a lot of thought, write out a thorough business plan, learn how business works, and keep learning every day.
Good luck! Never stop learning.
Matthew L. recommends the following next steps:
Wow, thank you for such a long and thoughtful response, I really appreciate it.
Livia
You are welcome. One trick I did pick when I was a business coach for law firms that helps maintain a healthy work-life balance is to learn to delegate. As the owner, you don't have to do everything (and should not). Assign tasks that are below your pay grade to the lowest paid person in your organization who can still do the job competently. For example, an owner should not be answering phones or typing letters. Read the "E-Myth" by Michael Gerber. Great book on delegating creating a real business for yourself and not just a J-O-B that you learn to hate.
Matthew L. Tuck, J.D., M.B.A.
Gary Petito (Veteran)
Admissions Counselor
441
Answers
Harlingen, Texas
Updated
Gary’s Answer
Great inquiry! To give you some context, my spouse and I used to have full-time day jobs while managing a business during evenings and weekends for five years. Unfortunately, we pushed ourselves too hard, which led to the closure of our business. As an entrepreneur, it's crucial to establish a healthy work-life balance. Although working extensively may result in increased business and income, it may also cause stress, burnout, and a lack of enjoyment in life. Striking the right balance between work and personal life can be challenging, but it's essential for overall well-being.
Thank you so much for replying!
I appreciate your first hand experience.
Livia
David Sulli
Manufacturing Engineer and business owner
23
Answers
San Diego, California
Updated
David’s Answer
In addition to the great aforementioned responses, I would ask, "If you were to choose between sacrificing your health while doing everything, yourself or hiring people who will allow you to have more time to maintain your health and the health of your family, with a bit less income?"
I would take the latter, any day.
It is easy to get carried away when you love what you do, but it is also easy to neglect other, very important aspects of a good life.
I would take the latter, any day.
It is easy to get carried away when you love what you do, but it is also easy to neglect other, very important aspects of a good life.
Thank you so much for replying!
Once my business takes off I definitely want to put this advice into action. Designating off responsibilities seems very smart.
Livia