7 answers
Ryker
Student
Rochester, New York
1
Question
Asked
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How many hours should I expect to work in the beginning when starting my own business?
I am just starting off and want to know what to expect.
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7 answers
Michaela Falco
President and Founder of Digital Marketing Agency
65
Answers
Orlando, Florida
Updated
Michaela’s Answer
When starting your own business, the number of hours you'll need to work can vary depending on various factors such as the nature of your business, your industry, your goals, and your personal work style. In the beginning stages of starting a business, it's common for entrepreneurs to work long hours to establish their business, build momentum, and overcome initial challenges. Here are some general considerations regarding the number of hours you might expect to work:
1. **Varies Depending on Business Type**: The number of hours required can vary widely depending on the type of business you're starting. Some businesses may require full-time commitment from the outset, while others may allow for part-time or flexible hours.
2. **Initial Setup and Launch**: During the initial setup and launch phase of your business, you may need to invest significant time and effort to establish your business infrastructure, develop products or services, create a marketing strategy, and launch your business. This may involve working long hours to meet deadlines and launch your business successfully.
3. **Building and Growing Your Business**: As you work to build and grow your business, you may need to dedicate substantial time to activities such as marketing and sales, customer acquisition, product development, and business operations. In the early stages, you may need to wear multiple hats and handle various aspects of your business, which can require a significant time commitment.
4. **Flexibility and Adaptability**: Being an entrepreneur often requires flexibility and adaptability to respond to changing circumstances, opportunities, and challenges. You may find yourself working irregular hours, including evenings and weekends, to meet deadlines, address customer needs, or capitalize on business opportunities.
5. **Work-Life Integration**: While it's important to dedicate time and effort to building your business, it's also essential to prioritize your well-being and maintain a healthy work-life integration. Be mindful of your physical and mental health, and make time for relaxation, leisure activities, and spending time with loved ones.
6. **Long-Term Sustainability**: While working long hours in the beginning stages of your business is common, it's essential to consider the long-term sustainability of your work habits. Burnout can be a risk for entrepreneurs, so be mindful of your workload, delegate tasks when possible, and establish boundaries to protect your time and energy.
Ultimately, the number of hours you'll need to work when starting your own business will depend on your individual circumstances, goals, and the demands of your business. It's essential to be realistic about your workload, prioritize tasks effectively, and seek support when needed to help you manage your time and responsibilities effectively.
1. **Varies Depending on Business Type**: The number of hours required can vary widely depending on the type of business you're starting. Some businesses may require full-time commitment from the outset, while others may allow for part-time or flexible hours.
2. **Initial Setup and Launch**: During the initial setup and launch phase of your business, you may need to invest significant time and effort to establish your business infrastructure, develop products or services, create a marketing strategy, and launch your business. This may involve working long hours to meet deadlines and launch your business successfully.
3. **Building and Growing Your Business**: As you work to build and grow your business, you may need to dedicate substantial time to activities such as marketing and sales, customer acquisition, product development, and business operations. In the early stages, you may need to wear multiple hats and handle various aspects of your business, which can require a significant time commitment.
4. **Flexibility and Adaptability**: Being an entrepreneur often requires flexibility and adaptability to respond to changing circumstances, opportunities, and challenges. You may find yourself working irregular hours, including evenings and weekends, to meet deadlines, address customer needs, or capitalize on business opportunities.
5. **Work-Life Integration**: While it's important to dedicate time and effort to building your business, it's also essential to prioritize your well-being and maintain a healthy work-life integration. Be mindful of your physical and mental health, and make time for relaxation, leisure activities, and spending time with loved ones.
6. **Long-Term Sustainability**: While working long hours in the beginning stages of your business is common, it's essential to consider the long-term sustainability of your work habits. Burnout can be a risk for entrepreneurs, so be mindful of your workload, delegate tasks when possible, and establish boundaries to protect your time and energy.
Ultimately, the number of hours you'll need to work when starting your own business will depend on your individual circumstances, goals, and the demands of your business. It's essential to be realistic about your workload, prioritize tasks effectively, and seek support when needed to help you manage your time and responsibilities effectively.
Nancie Attwater
author, Registered Nurse, Business owner
11
Answers
Lincoln, California
Updated
Nancie’s Answer
24/7. you won't get a day off at first.. especially if you don't have employees..good luck
Tara Johns
Copywriter/Content Marketer
18
Answers
Gates, North Carolina
Updated
Tara’s Answer
This is all about personal preference. There is not way to say what "the usual" or a "good" amount would be because every business and situation vary so widely. Usually when someone is starting a business, they spend every single free hour they have toward building that business. But when you love what you're building, it doesn't seem like so much because you are enjoying what must be done. So, you should expect to work as many hours as you choose to work when starting your business....That may not be the kind of answer you were looking for but it's the really the only answer there is...But all that work put in will feel like nothing once you've reached your initial goal and you'll be so glad you started when you did and saw it through.
start by looking at your current schedule and pockets of free time
If you need more time than what you currently have available, see if there are things that can be moved around, shortened, or taken out completely. This will help make more time to devote to building your business if you feel you need more
Schedule out pockets of time weekly, monthly, or whatever time frame suits you, to work on your business. Even plan on what specific areas of the business you'll be working on or tasks you'll be completing for each planned time slot
Even the smallest blocks of time (like a few minutes here and there) can be used to get some work in
Just please don't give up when it gets tough!
Tara recommends the following next steps:
Amanda Hallman
Marketing consultant
18
Answers
Columbia, South Carolina
Updated
Amanda’s Answer
All of the time! A successful business will usually always require your attentiveness. Finding good employees can be difficult and a lot of time owners end up doing most of the work. Some of the most successful businesses I know have, still have owners working in the trenches years later. It is great to be your own boss, but it means you are never off duty.
Marilyn Gansel, PsyD.
Health and /Wellness Coaching
2
Answers
Sarasota, Florida
Updated
Marilyn’s Answer
Dear Ryker:
Starting a business is an exciting adventure but it also can be overwhelming, especially as you put systems in place to allow for the best outcome. You will definitely put in more hours than ever expected but if you love what you do, it won't seem like a job. However, you need a business plan. I do not know the type of business you are starting but will you need start-up monies, do you need employees, are you licensed, are you planning to form an LLC, do you have an accountant, a lawyer, a business partner, an investor? These are some questions to consider. How much will be your rent per month and other expenses? Is this a franchise that has been proven successful? You may need to take some business courses and entrepreneurial courses, interview people in the same business to find out the challenges they had to overcome. Best of luck to you!
Starting a business is an exciting adventure but it also can be overwhelming, especially as you put systems in place to allow for the best outcome. You will definitely put in more hours than ever expected but if you love what you do, it won't seem like a job. However, you need a business plan. I do not know the type of business you are starting but will you need start-up monies, do you need employees, are you licensed, are you planning to form an LLC, do you have an accountant, a lawyer, a business partner, an investor? These are some questions to consider. How much will be your rent per month and other expenses? Is this a franchise that has been proven successful? You may need to take some business courses and entrepreneurial courses, interview people in the same business to find out the challenges they had to overcome. Best of luck to you!
Michelle M.
Entertainment Industry
1913
Answers
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Ryker !
Congratulations on planning to start your own business! I'm sure you have a lot on your mind about it, so I would like to shed some light on things for you. The number of hours you will work on it will be solely up to you and there are many factors that will determine, once you begin, as to how much of a commitment you will make.
Some of the factors for your future business that will determine how much of a demand it will be are: whether or not you will need to rent a space or work from home and if a commute is going to be involved, whether or not you will need to hire staff or work on this by yourself, the level of your dedication, how much you decide to advertise and promote yourself at trade shows or specific fairs or presentations to connected businesses, how you go about obtaining financial needs to start your business and how many clients or customers you have at any given time. It may also depend on if your business is offering a product or a service.
There are so many things to think about when planning a new business whether it is a product or a service. Right now, it is such an awesome plan so I wouldn't try to guess how your schedule will be because there really is no way to tell. You will have great successes and some setbacks so right now it's best to learn how to manage a business when there are disappointments so you can lift out of issues in a swift manner.
A great way to learn the ins and outs of business is to take courses in high school or college for Business Management. Any business class in high school would greatly help you. If you decide to attend college, I would recommend majoring in Business or Management or a closely related field. In college, you will not only learn the ropes of business but also meet contacts that may be very important to your business. You will learn about any assistance that may be out there for you, too. So consider going to college while you work on your business plans.
There are also many online classes that you can take to clear up any information you need to know about the specifics of your particular business. Do a search for them and choose courses that you like. I've left some links for you below to get you started. There are a lot more than the three links I have provided below, so it will be worth doing further searches to get additional opportunities to learn about business.
I hope that this was helpful and also helped alleviate any worry you may have. Try not to overthink or rush things. Businesses take time and you'll want to do things step by step. Best wishes to you with all your plans !
ONLINE MANAGEMENT COURSES https://www.coursera.org/courses?query=management
ONLINE BUSINESS COURSES https://www.coursera.org/browse/business
ONLINE ENTREPRENEURSHIP COURSES https://www.coursera.org/browse/business/entrepreneurship
Congratulations on planning to start your own business! I'm sure you have a lot on your mind about it, so I would like to shed some light on things for you. The number of hours you will work on it will be solely up to you and there are many factors that will determine, once you begin, as to how much of a commitment you will make.
Some of the factors for your future business that will determine how much of a demand it will be are: whether or not you will need to rent a space or work from home and if a commute is going to be involved, whether or not you will need to hire staff or work on this by yourself, the level of your dedication, how much you decide to advertise and promote yourself at trade shows or specific fairs or presentations to connected businesses, how you go about obtaining financial needs to start your business and how many clients or customers you have at any given time. It may also depend on if your business is offering a product or a service.
There are so many things to think about when planning a new business whether it is a product or a service. Right now, it is such an awesome plan so I wouldn't try to guess how your schedule will be because there really is no way to tell. You will have great successes and some setbacks so right now it's best to learn how to manage a business when there are disappointments so you can lift out of issues in a swift manner.
A great way to learn the ins and outs of business is to take courses in high school or college for Business Management. Any business class in high school would greatly help you. If you decide to attend college, I would recommend majoring in Business or Management or a closely related field. In college, you will not only learn the ropes of business but also meet contacts that may be very important to your business. You will learn about any assistance that may be out there for you, too. So consider going to college while you work on your business plans.
There are also many online classes that you can take to clear up any information you need to know about the specifics of your particular business. Do a search for them and choose courses that you like. I've left some links for you below to get you started. There are a lot more than the three links I have provided below, so it will be worth doing further searches to get additional opportunities to learn about business.
I hope that this was helpful and also helped alleviate any worry you may have. Try not to overthink or rush things. Businesses take time and you'll want to do things step by step. Best wishes to you with all your plans !
Michelle recommends the following next steps:
James Constantine Frangos
Consultant Dietitian & Software Developer since 1972 => Nutrition Education => Health & Longevity => Self-Actualization.
6338
Answers
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Updated
James Constantine’s Answer
Dear Ryker,
Reply:
When you're just starting your own business, it's typical for entrepreneurs to put in a lot of hours to get their venture off the ground. The exact number of hours can vary, depending on the specifics of your business, the industry you're in, and your personal work habits. However, it's not unusual for fresh business owners to clock in between 50 to 80 hours per week during the early stages of their enterprise.
In the startup phase, entrepreneurs often take on a multitude of roles, such as product development, marketing, sales, customer service, financial management, and more. This level of engagement generally requires a considerable time investment to ensure the business's success.
It's crucial to remember that while putting in long hours at the start can be vital for setting a solid base for your business, it's equally important to take care of yourself and prevent burnout. As your business matures and stabilizes, you might be able to delegate tasks, optimize processes, and achieve a healthier work-life balance.
In the end, the number of hours you commit to your business in the beginning will be influenced by factors such as the complexity of your venture, your objectives, available resources, and market conditions. It's vital to be ready for hard work and long hours initially, but also keep in mind the significance of pacing yourself for long-term sustainability.
Top 3 Credible Sources Used:
Harvard Business Review
Entrepreneur.com
Small Business Administration (SBA)
The information provided in this reply was compiled from trustworthy sources recognized for their proficiency in entrepreneurship and small business management.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU!
James Constantine Frangos.
Reply:
When you're just starting your own business, it's typical for entrepreneurs to put in a lot of hours to get their venture off the ground. The exact number of hours can vary, depending on the specifics of your business, the industry you're in, and your personal work habits. However, it's not unusual for fresh business owners to clock in between 50 to 80 hours per week during the early stages of their enterprise.
In the startup phase, entrepreneurs often take on a multitude of roles, such as product development, marketing, sales, customer service, financial management, and more. This level of engagement generally requires a considerable time investment to ensure the business's success.
It's crucial to remember that while putting in long hours at the start can be vital for setting a solid base for your business, it's equally important to take care of yourself and prevent burnout. As your business matures and stabilizes, you might be able to delegate tasks, optimize processes, and achieve a healthier work-life balance.
In the end, the number of hours you commit to your business in the beginning will be influenced by factors such as the complexity of your venture, your objectives, available resources, and market conditions. It's vital to be ready for hard work and long hours initially, but also keep in mind the significance of pacing yourself for long-term sustainability.
Top 3 Credible Sources Used:
Harvard Business Review
Entrepreneur.com
Small Business Administration (SBA)
The information provided in this reply was compiled from trustworthy sources recognized for their proficiency in entrepreneurship and small business management.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU!
James Constantine Frangos.