just as a means of discussion, and not to flame anyone if i describe something too close to home or if i assume anything. ... just discussing. That being said. I believe there are a few common reasons for working a ****load of hours. A. You have your own business, and you either cant afford the help or think only you can do it best. B. They are offering overtime during a companies high season and a 50% raise sounds way too good to pass up. C. Your company calls giving you a cell phone and laptop with wireless connectivity perks, only to have you realize they expect you to use them and your on the job even when your not. D. All you have is your sweat and muscle, and you are working two jobs just to stay afloat. E. Betterment, you are in school and work, or working on making life better (i.e. new business) at the same time as having a job. The underlying reason of it all being Money. What you have to ask your self is how much money is enough. If your answer is no amount is enough, Congratulations! You will live a long and miserable life. If you can meet your basic neccesities, and have time for your family and extra-laborial activities. You are rich. Secondly, anyone can be rich, because being rich is a standard we set. Answer for all above. BE RICH. Figure out what you feel you are comfortable making by week. Divide that by the number of hours you can work. Make this your hourly value. And make yourself worth that value. 90% of people who make over 100k a year work for themselves. that tells me, at least, that you are either rich, or you are making someone else rich. A company is only as strong as its weakest link right? Even if you are the weakest link at your workplace doesnt that mean something. You are what makes your company run. If you didnt prioritize and efficiently complete the objectives you had, your company couldnt accomplish what it does. That same hard work and dedication could be spent working for you. Barriers for industry? Your will power, and obviously money. The most important thing in life has just been replaced. It is now Credit. If you have no credit, bad credit, i dont care what matress mack says, you DO have a problem. if you do the leg work and keep yourself financially responsible, there are 100s of ways to get the financing you need to get in the door. This is getting long and drawn out, but i really believe some of us, me included are working way too damn much just make sure you are not doing it in vain. If you working harder then others is not a solution to you real problem, then that problem will never go away.
That's the same in my business. We're either feast or famine. Unfortunately we're in a famine stage as we've got a major project in limbo until the client figures out if they have the finances to proceed. Last summer was a feast stage and about this time I pulled a few 100 hour weeks.
No, one day i read a quote by Rockerfeller that was somewhat to the effect that he would much rather have one percent of the income of a hundred people then a hundred percent of his own.
Laptops, cell phones and wireless internet have really changed the way I work. I work a lot out of my house already but with those tools I can be working practically anywhere. If I get sick of looking at house I go to the cafe down the street and work. If I'm waiting for a doctors appointment I'm working, If I'm at the DMV I'm working and so on. Also we work closely with a group of partner businesses so we often take our laptops and go over to their offices set-up and plug into their networks and start working right away.
I'm a teacher on summer vacation. I wake up, eat a few times a day, watch the tube, do family stuff, and that's it. Basically, the busiest part of my last week was staying up until 2 in the morning playing poker for three nights straight, and yesterday playing at a playground fun park(go karts/vid games/mini golf/batting cages) for three hours for my youngest's 4 yr birthday party. Ask me this question in 3 months...I have to go plan for a trip to Disney.
Honestly, I've just made some decisions in the past year that have given me more time. I love having a successful business, but what good is it if you have no time to enjoy the rewards? I've found ways over this past six months or so to begin to cut back on the long hours. I don't expect to be part time or anything, but it would be nice if I could find time to get a vacation or take a few days off here and there.
I don't work to make money, I work so I can retire in my 40's if I want to... making money just happens to be a by-product...
14 hours this week, 12 hours last week, 18 the week before... That will all increase (possibly double) as I get out of school.
