Is It Lonely Being A Business Owner?
Is It Lonely Being A Business Owner?
One of my favorite activities as an extrovert solopreneur is to get out meet, mingle, and network with like-minded people. I cherish all the resulting relationships that I get to form and nurture.
Why do I enjoy networking? Is it lonely being a business owner?
Yes, being a business owner can be a very lonely journey, especially in the beginning stages when you are building a business, working long hours, and handling every aspect of your business yourself and have no team member(s) to support you.
So, you may be wondering how many hours a business owner works normally.
How Many Hours Does A Business Owner Work?
Most entrepreneurs according to research are known to work anywhere between 25 to 60 hours a week. The amount of time you spend working on your business is highly dependent on the type of business you own and the stage (beginning vs established) that you are in.
If you have a lifestyle online business and know how to prioritize and spend your time doing the right income-generating tasks then you can be more flexible with your time and work anywhere between 20-25 hours a week and could also eventually choose to work 3-4 days a week.
Next, let’s discuss how to wisely spend your time as a business owner
How To Wisely Spend Your Time As A Business Owner
As a business owner, you must figure out how to organize, have a schedule for yourself and spend your time wisely doing key tasks that move you forward so that you can be successful at your business rather than just waking up every day and letting how you feel dictate all your decisions including what you do.
Here are 10 things that every business owner needs to spend time doing
Have A Morning Routine
Have a morning routine that fuels your mind, body, and soul, and start your day intentionally.
Include hydration, meditation, prayers, reciting strategic positive affirmations, visualizing your day going well, listening to something inspirational, learning something new, moving your body(exercise), and having a nutritious breakfast.
This routine will help you stay grounded, experience inner peace, and be better able to respond to situations that arise throughout the day.
Review Goals And To-Do List
Review your goals and your to-do list every morning. Your to-do list should be derived from the quarterly goals that you have chosen for your business.
Set 2-3 goals per quarter because it’s tough to stay focused on more than that. Focus on doing 1-3 to do tasks per day based on your weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals.
Have A Scheduled Time To Do Tasks
Have scheduled specific chunked time slots for you to work on the daily 1-3 to do tasks, weekly, monthly and quarterly tasks. Each time slot for the focused work can be between 20-90 minutes.
Experiment and decide what works best for you. Don’t forget to schedule your CEO visionary activities and other things that you value like doing daily namely exercise, self-care, vacation, and time with family and friends.
Do The Most Important Tasks First
Always start your day by doing the most important tasks first in case something else that requires your urgent attention comes up later in the day.
Have Themed Workdays
Have themed days or half a day to do similar tasks so that you do not lose time as you try to refocus every time you switch from one activity to another.
For example, do all your creative work in the morning because that might be when you are the most creative and have all your meetings in the afternoons. You can also schedule doing certain similar types of tasks in one day like research, writing, recording videos, etc.
Limit Checking Emails
Schedule time to check your email and social media accounts and limit it to once or twice a day. It is easier to get derailed and distracted from your schedule if you keep sporadically checking your email and social media throughout the day.
You will be pulled to fulfill someone else’s agenda and directive for the day rather than your own.
Have A Daily Shutdown Routine
Schedule some time for a daily shutdown and review your accomplishments for the day, reschedule the tasks that did not get done, and complete the to-do list for tomorrow so that you do not waste time doing it in the morning.
Visualize and set your intentions for how you want the rest of your day to go.
Schedule Some Thinking Time
Allow time and space for some quiet thinking time every day for few minutes or at least once a week. You can designate a special area to do this or you can also go for an undistracted walk out in nature.
You will be able to receive new innovative ideas, inspirations for future offers, guidance, and answers to the difficult questions you may have about your business.
Front Load Your Week
Always schedule and do the most important tasks of the week at the beginning of the week in case something urgent comes up that requires your immediate attention for the rest of the week.
Schedule A Review
Make it a habit to review your progress and how are you doing with your goals. I would suggest doing it weekly, monthly, and quarterly. Take the time to acknowledge your growth, lessons learned, and progress, and celebrate your wins.
In conclusion, you now know that being a business owner can be a very lonely journey, especially in the beginning stages when you are building a business, working long hours, and handling every aspect of your business yourself and have no team member(s) to support you.
If you have a lifestyle online business and know how to prioritize and spend your time doing the right income-generating tasks then you can be more flexible with your time and work anywhere between 20-25 hours a week and could also eventually choose to work 3 – 4 days a week.
You also now know that every business owner needs to have a morning routine, review goals and daily to-do list, chunk time slots to do daily tasks, plan to do important tasks first.
Also have themed days to do similar tasks, limit checking emails once or twice a day, have a daily shut down routine, have a scheduled thinking time, front-load every week with important to do tasks, and have scheduled time for reviewing progress consistently.
I hope this article has helped you implement ways to better spend time in your business.
Next, what is a lifestyle business read for further insights and tips.