With summer on the way, many business owner/parents struggle to run their businesses, and have their children home at the same time. The summer can be one of the hardest times of the year to force yourself to go into the office every day, but as a business owner, you may feel obligated to be there.
Ironically, one of the often discussed perks of owning your own business is the opportunity you have to create your own schedule to do the things you want to do. Don’t let the pressures of work keep you from taking advantage of being your own boss! Here are some tips to help you manage your workload and still find the time to enjoy life.
1. Invest in On the Go Mobility.
New businesses don’t usually have the established infrastructure of more enduring businesses and they certainly don’t have the experience to deal with any kind of situation that may arise. As a new business owner, being out of the office for a day means that you will probably need to check in every few hours or so and be available for emergencies.
Everyone has a cell phone that makes calls but sometimes that just isn’t enough for connecting with the office while away for the day. Hands free technology for making calls from your car is important for allowing you to multitask. While dropping the kids off at camp or waiting outside soccer practice, hands free phone calls ensure that you can keep up with your office safely. Having internet and e-mail access on your phone is also key to keeping up with urgent messages that need to be addressed quickly.
Creating a system where e-mails marked urgent, actually mean urgent and regular e-mails, can wait until you get back in the office and identifies quickly what’s a necessary communication and what’s not. If you find that you are reviewing documents often while out of the office, an iPad or other small laptop may be best for you. They can fit in a purse or briefcase and can have keyboard accessories so typing on the go is no problem.
Lastly, networking your home computer so you can access your work files while at home saves time and trouble when you can do a project during naptime or right before breakfast. The only thing to really remember here is that you are spending time away from the office, not moving your office away with you. The technology helps you use spare minutes to finish a project or to check in and make sure everything is running smoothly. Don’t waste your day as if you were still at the office.
2. Prioritize.
Prioritizing what’s important for the business to accomplish is beneficial because it gives everyone goals, even when you’re not available. Everyone at your business should know what their job descriptions are, what they should spend the most time doing during the day, and when everything is due. Implementing a regular schedule is also helpful here. With pre-assigned tasks and a regular schedule, your employees will have work to do while you are gone and will be able to work productively and efficiently in your absence
Assigning different tasks every day or giving jobs one at a time almost guarantees that you can’t leave the office for even a day because people will need something to do or will have numerous questions. While it can’t be 100% executed all the time, the idea is that each employee should be able to come in to the office every morning and get work done, even if absolutely no one else is there. As this becomes more and more true, you will feel increasingly confident about leaving for a day or even multiple days because your employees can function without you.
3. Make Yourself Available.
If after a few times out of the office, you find you’re still feeling the stress of being gone and you’re inundated with phone calls and e-mails, consider setting times when you’ll be available to talk. If you’re going on vacation for a week, consider having an hour or so open every day so that you can answer phone calls. If your employees feel that they can’t necessarily call you the second they have a question, they will be more inclined to try to solve the problems themselves.
Of course, emergencies will always come up that can’t be scheduled, but some problems only seem urgent in the moment. Identifying someone in your office who can answer questions is also a good way to free yourself up while you’re gone. An administrative assistant, for example, may have access to client records or deadlines.
The managers at different levels will be valuable in answering questions about projects or assignments. Again, the idea is that your office can work well without you for small periods of time so that you can take a much needed break. After all, setting your own schedule is the perk of being the boss!
Remember why you became a business owner in the first place: flexibility of schedule. So take a day off and take the kids to the beach! You’ll all have a good time, and you will be relaxed knowing that your business is still under control.