How to Work Four Days a Week When You Own the Business

How to Work Four Days a Week When You Own the Business

Dr. Linda Hancock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Hancock has written a regular weekly column entitled “All Psyched Up” for newspapers in two Canadian provinces for more than a dozen years. Over the years, her readers and clients have said that they have benefited from her common-sense solutions, wisdom, and sense of humour. Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Medicine Hat. She can be reached at 403-529-6877 or through email office@drlindahancock.com

Published

February 12 2011

So often people who own a business work far more hours than anyone who they hire to work in the business. If you want to reduce your hours, you need to be very careful, especially if this is a new business that isn't quite established yet.

However, there are several things that you can do that would help you to reduce the number of hours you are working each week:

1. Focus on the things that bring income - If you are a therapist, the major portion of your income is generated when you are "eyeball to eyeball" with the client. The more hours that you do this, therefore, the more income you will have.

2. Consider increasing your fees - Sometimes we charge too little because we either haven't surveyed the market or built up enough confidence to initiate an increase.

3. Keep your expenses down - You do not necessarily need to have the most expensive office or the newest equipment. The less that you spend on this, the more profit you will be able to realize.

4. Keep your staff to a minimum - The largest expense for any business is usually for staff salaries and benefits. If you are able to hire on a part-time or casual basis, you will not have as large an outlay. Better yet, if there are tasks that you can automate you might be able to contract a few hours a week with an agency to book your appointments and do the rest yourself.

5. Develop multiple streams of income - You might be able to produce CDs or books or other materials that will generate income for your business without you having to invest time (beyond the initial creation of the products). I rent out my office for several days a month and therefore have income when I am not even there. Mentoring or teaching groups of individuals for a fee can be set up so that you actually have more income than you would for seeing one client at a time.

You have likely heard the expression, "Work smart, not hard". The best thing that you can do is lay out a plan that will allow you to meet the goals that you have been wishing for but not reaching in the past. Often a few little tweaks will help you to move from where you are to where you want to be. It doesn't take more time - it takes more planning.