In the year and a half I've had my own agency, I am sometimes forced to question my level of dedication to it after I meet another self-employed colleague who tells me how much time he or she is investing in their own business. I've heard stories of woe of long days spent at the computer, in client meetings, traveling to and from said meetings, and nights slaving away instead of relaxing.
Now, you might argue that this level of dedication is necessary when first starting out in order to get yourself and your business established. Then again you could also argue that the same level of dedication will be needed to continue to maintain the business, and your clients, year in and year out.
One of the things I love best about being self-employed is setting my own work schedule each day and choosing what projects I want to work on and which clients I want to work with. I come into the office Monday through Friday like everyone else and put in a full day, and I give my clients and my work as much of myself as I can during those hours. And while work-related duties sometimes encroach on my evening and weekend activities, I don't endeavor to bring them home with me unless absolutely necessary.
This is what I consider to be a healthy and reasonable work/life balance. I put in my time during the work week during normal work hours and attempt to leave my evenings and weekends open for downtime, fun stuff, and/or time with family and friends. I guess I live by the "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" theory from "The Shining."
So when I hear of colleagues burning the candle at both ends, I wonder if I am less committed than my counterparts and wonder if I would be more successful by putting in longer days and more miles, albeit less happy. And if that is the sacrifice that needs to be made in order to be successful as a self-employed person, am I really cut out for this line of work, or am I better off working for someone else?
What do you think?
Tracey, I believe in the old adage, "Don't work harder, work smarter." I have been self-employed for almost 2 years now and I have ALWAYS had a strong work ethic. I believed that I had to outwork everyone to succeed and it is true to a certain extent. After a while, though, once your reputation for quality and consistent work becomes known through out the Lehigh Valley and beyond, you will notice a subtle change and shift in your business. No longer will you have to beat the bushes and run after every 'possible' client, in fact people will begin calling you and desiring to "include" you in different projects and feasible consulting events. As the money comes in, and while not any where near the 6 or 7 digit income I desire, I have to admit, I am not working 24/7 like I used to but since I have "earned my bones" in the publics eyes, their trust has made it so that I don't have to...
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ALFONSO TODD AND ASSOCIATES
Definitely a cool topic, Tracey. You go in an put your work in throughout the week. That's definitely enough, and more. As you know, running your own operation requires the type of dedication that most people don't have, or don't push themselves to create. So that in and of itself, rocks.
ReplyDeleteThe work/life balance thing. That's huge. I think our society makes it fashionable to overwork ourselves and sacrifice as much as possible which makes people think that's the way to go. I strongly disagree. I engage in activities related to business on a daily basis, like a madman, but, I think the reason I don't spend ALL of my time completely wrapped up in business stuff is because I try to focus on being as efficient as possible, while still being effective.
Just having that approach forces me to cut out any minutia and time wasting, ineffective actions (most of the time) so that I can focus on the imperative few and just.. crank them out.
Ultimately, from a functional standpoint (the brain, cognition, etc), renewal is one of THEE most important things so one could frame it like: My break times, are contributing to me effectiveness in my work times.
Great article, and awesome for you that you've earned the trust of the public.
Thanks Ryan for understanding and relating to this blog post. I struggle with the success of my business versus my dedication to it.
ReplyDeleteI feel strongly about the work-life balance and not being tied to your desk every day, night and weekend.
Last week i was kinda bummed out and then I had a great weekend and attended two local events with friends which raised my spirits. It was a much needed, good weekend. So that just furthers my theory that we need down time off the clock to unwind. And allowing ourselves that downtime shouldn't be seen as not being loyal to our businesses.