Run Your Business. Don’t Let It Run You!

Time. As an entrepreneur, that is the most valuable asset that you have—especially if you’re a multi-tasking micro enterprise. Therefore, you need find ways to truly manage you time. Here’s what I recommend:

Set up a work schedule and stick to it!

There are, of course, many ways to set a schedule but if you’re handling most of the business operations yourself, consider breaking up your weekly work schedule into three main areas: (1) Prospecting / Sales, (2) Client Work, and (3) Administrative Tasks.

Breaking Down Your Work Week…

I suggest cornering off two days per week for prospecting / sales task. (Tuesday & Thursday, perhaps.) Having a specific amount of time set aside for prospective provides greater opportunities for you to meet with clients while still maintaining some order to your overall work schedule. Whether you’re on the phone making cold calls, meeting with potential clients, or networking, scheduling time for prospecting is a MUST!

Next, reserve off two and a half days per week (say, all of Monday and Wednesday, and half of Friday) for completing client work. That’s it. All you’re to do on those days (unless it’s a absolute “can’t do it later” emergency) is to crank away at completing the work you’ve already got.

Finally, the last half day of the week. If you set your schedule as described above, that would be on Friday. Invoicing should be done each day as applicable but other administrative task should be done on this half day. This will be the day to handle all of the administrative tasks that are easy to get behind on but that do not require immediate attention; things like recording mileage for meeting, paying vendor bills, entering payroll data, working on the marketing plan tactics you’ve established for your business, etc. I recommend doing client work during the first part of the day and the administrative work the second half. Customers come first, right? (They should!)

An Alternative Schedule…

If it’s not feasible for you to dedicate full days to various tasks, consider segmenting your days so that you’re able to do a little bit of everything each day. Here’s a sample schedule:

• 8a – 10a
  Complete all administrative tasks (Organizing of paperwork, invoicing, payroll, making bank deposits, bookkeeping, etc.)
  
  
• 10a – 12p
  Prospecting calls, client meetings, and appointment setting. (NOTE: This block of time may have to shift daily, depending on client / customer availability…so be prepared to be somewhat be flexible!)
  
  
• 12p – 1p
  Lunch
  
  
• 1p – 5:30p
  Work on client projects / fulfilling customer’s order
  
  
• 5:5:30 – 6p
  Plan what you’ll need to do during each block of time for the following day.

This alternative schedule does come with a warning: This route is not for everyone! Splitting up your workday in this way will take extreme discipline.

Regardless of whether you follow a day-to-day schedule or a segmented daily schedule, the key to successfully getting everything done will be being cognizant of time. There will be times that you’ll get off schedule or need to extend your workday. When that happens, adjust. However, do think about ways that you can minimize your need “adjust” in the future. Otherwise, the business will run you instead of you running your business! You don’t want schedule adjusting to become your norm instead of your schedule. You will also have to stave off distractions—from clients as well as family / friends—that may interfere with your schedule. After all, time is money so as an entrepreneur you’ve got to make the best use of your time to earn that all-important mighty dollar!