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It's crazy how it works out that if you own your own business, you realize you need every hour you can get your hands on but when you're an employee then you ju

It's crazy how it works out that if you own your own business, you realize you need every hour you can get your hands on but when you're an employee then you just magically become more productive working only 4 days instead 5 or more.

ipaddr 5y ago
That's because you are under staffed. You decided to do the job of many people wearing many hats to save money. Once you reach a certain revenue you will hand those jobs off to other people. They will be able to focus and will do a better job compared to someone who is constantly running on fumes. The business owner isn't more productive at 5 days vs 4 but they make up for it by working 16 hours and 7 days a week.
jasonkester 5y ago
Is it possible that you don’t actually need every one of those hours? Is there something you could optimize to gain some of them back? I also run my own business and have never once felt the need to work 40 hours in a single week. It’s your business so you can design it to work any way you like.
piva00 5y ago
Because... You own the business, the buck should stop with you and if you are understaffed of course you will be having to get your hands on all the time to play all the different hats you are wearing. It's not too dissimilar from working in a very early stage startup as a very experienced engineer: you know that there are lots to do, from infrastructure to the product code. You need to get your hands dirty all the time, playing multiple positions, to beat time to market. As an employee of an organisation that you have no other vested interest apart from your salary? Yeah, this stress will only grind you, not motivate you, at least it did to me, the thought of "why am I sacrificing my life for a paycheck so someone else's grand vision [and ultimately, profits] come to them?". So yeah, as an employee I'm much more productive and creative to my employer if I have time for myself out of work and good rest. As a business owner: you are running the risk all the time, some people cope with it by overworking to not feel like they are "falling behind".

ipaddr 5y ago

That's because you are under staffed. You decided to do the job of many people wearing many hats to save money. Once you reach a certain revenue you will hand those jobs off to other people. They will be able to focus and will do a better job compared to someone who is constantly running on fumes. The business owner isn't more productive at 5 days vs 4 but they make up for it by working 16 hours and 7 days a week.

jasonkester 5y ago

Is it possible that you don’t actually need every one of those hours? Is there something you could optimize to gain some of them back? I also run my own business and have never once felt the need to work 40 hours in a single week. It’s your business so you can design it to work any way you like.

piva00 5y ago

Because... You own the business, the buck should stop with you and if you are understaffed of course you will be having to get your hands on all the time to play all the different hats you are wearing. It's not too dissimilar from working in a very early stage startup as a very experienced engineer: you know that there are lots to do, from infrastructure to the product code. You need to get your hands dirty all the time, playing multiple positions, to beat time to market. As an employee of an organisation that you have no other vested interest apart from your salary? Yeah, this stress will only grind you, not motivate you, at least it did to me, the thought of "why am I sacrificing my life for a paycheck so someone else's grand vision [and ultimately, profits] come to them?". So yeah, as an employee I'm much more productive and creative to my employer if I have time for myself out of work and good rest. As a business owner: you are running the risk all the time, some people cope with it by overworking to not feel like they are "falling behind".