THIS IS AN OPINION
We'd also like to hear yours.
Tweet us @ArkBusiness or email us
You have only 25 hours per week to grow your business.
How will you do it?
I am standing in my laundry room in tears. “Overwhelm” does not even begin to capture my experience of launching a business at the same time my first child was born. My daughter went to a babysitter for 25 hours per week so that I could work on my business and meet with clients. I was sleep-deprived and exhausted. How was I going to get it all done in those 25 hours?
My family was counting on me to make this work. There was no option to fail.
After five years of working as a psychologist with severely mentally ill individuals in an underserved, rural area, I was burning out. I quit my job and was determined to build a business that would support my family, not just financially, but in ways that matter more — my ability to enjoy life and be present and emotionally connected with my family and clients. I was determined to work no more than 25 hours per week.
The first challenge was attracting new clients while serving my existing clients and wearing all the hats in the business: marketing, sales, service delivery, bookkeeping, etc. There were not enough hours in the week!
That’s how I came to be standing in my laundry room sobbing. In the midst of my breakdown, a powerful question arose: “If I can only get one thing done today, what’s the most important thing I can do that will move my business forward?”
I knew my answer. I did my one thing that day. That may have been all I got done on the business that day. I woke up the next day, asked myself that same question, did my one thing, and found a way to keep moving forward, even on my most sleep-deprived, stressful days.
I began considering this high-value time as my $10,000-an-hour activity. Most of us spend too much time doing tasks worth $10 an hour (e.g., checking email, posting on social media, etc.) and far too little time on higher-value activities.
Each of us has a $10,000-an-hour activity. We are doing $10K-an-hour activity when we work from our strengths and add value by doing activities that make other tasks easier or unnecessary.
Although it may seem counterintuitive, working less makes our businesses stronger. Limits force innovation and creativity. Working fewer hours per week forces us to focus on our highest value activities.
By taking time away from the business, we create another “restriction” on the business that forces us to develop systems that make the business run when we are not there.
When we encourage team members to take vacations, we are forced to build redundancy into the business, which also strengthens it.
Go ahead; put some restrictions on your time. I anticipate you’ll be surprised at what comes from that!
Sign up for Daily E-news
