Time Management: The One Lesson That Should Be Taken From Corporate America.
Kerri Lawrey-Jones | Operations. Accounting. Organization. | Friday March 19 2010When launching a business, the skill of effectively managing your time is crucial. For most, managing client needs, networking, and tending to your business fills more hours in a single day than what you traditionally spent working for someone else. Why? It is simple. When working for someone else, your time is dedicated to fulfilling a handful of specific tasks in a timeframe dictated by your employer. As a business owner, you are dedicated to fulfilling numerous tasks associated with running your business in a timeframe dictated by your clients. This means you have to make time for your clients’ needs, your business-building needs, and your back-office needs.
Initially, the thought process when working for yourself is that your time is yours – you can work when you want, go to the gym when you want, take a day off when you want, and call in sick whenever you want, right? Well, not entirely – not if you are running your business right. Do not feel bad – most of us believe we can leave the workweek ritual happily behind, but many of us find out the hard way that there is not enough hours in the day to work and play when we are starting out.
Yesterday, I was in a meeting when a brand new entrepreneur (only 5 days retired from 32 years in corporate America) cracked a joke about how early the meeting was and how he thought he would be able to sleep in now that he is self-employed. Many of us had a good chuckle because the reality is – self-employment takes no less commitment than corporate employment. To be successful you have to work time-and–a-half without overtime pay and sometimes put in weekend and holiday hours. And, most of the time, you have to work a full day, every day – only taking vacations if and when your business can survive your absence. If this sounds painfully similar to corporate America, you are right – it is.
My point is this. Your business can only be as successful as you make it. This means working that dreaded workweek – sometimes more, sometimes less to ensure you build a proper foundation. But, remember this… the beauty of being self-employed does not necessarily come in the form of free time, rather it comes with the realization that you are providing a quality service that is needed and your accomplishments and rewards were born from YOUR vision and dedication.
So… though your time is not necessarily yours to always spend in the manner of your choosing, it does grant you the flexibility of doing what you love – your way. At the end of the day you are in control of your success, and, frankly, what is more awesome than that?! If I have to choose between working a potentially 40+-hour workweek for someone else, or a 40+-hour workweek for the benefit of myself and my family, I will always choose the latter. You?
