As a business owner for over twenty years, I spent several years working 12-14 hour days, including weekends, because I thought that was the “normal” price to pay for being in business. As my business began to grow however, I realized my longer work hours did not usually equate into extra sales, but instead meant spending more time dealing with problems. Problems I grew quickly tired of.
I had employee problems, customer problems and vendor problems to deal with. Complaints seemed to be rising and it seemed like there were always fires to put out. Some days I was never able to get anything done because I was so busy taking care of some type of issue.
This all began to change the day I came to the startling realization that I had been working in my business like somebody who was self-employed, instead of running my business like a business owner. I learned things I had never been taught before, and adopted a new mindset towards my business. I refocused my attention on the key areas in my business and one by one made small consistent improvements that would produce long lasting results over time.
What I experienced was quite amazing, or at least I thought it was quite amazing. I was able to increase sales and improve profitability in my business while actually working less…. a lot less! In fact, I barely had to go into work at all if I didn’t really want to. This feeling of freedom was one of the greatest joys I have experienced with owning a business.