Results of a poll conducted by the New York Enterprise Report were released recently. The poll was conducted in January and February of this year and asked respondents - small business owners - to indicate how many hours they worked. Results showed the majority of small business owners work at least 50 hours a week. Thirty-three percent reported working more than 50 hours and twenty-five percent said they work more than 60 hours a week. Seventy percent of respondents said they work at least one weekend a month.
We see all kinds of clients as part of our business. Most are conventional, corporate workers who make good salaries but consider themselves part of a bigger machine. They are typically seeking advancement in salary, position, or some other change in their job role as a reason to look for a different job. Some are corporate types who dream of being their own boss. Some are entrepreneurial in spirit - a term used by some to mean they really just want to be in charge but not have to work their tails off. Some have tried self-employment and didn't like it and others have tried it and achieved great success. Some are visionary dreamers who have big ideas but need worker bees behind them to implement.
A new breed that has evolved with technology is the telecommuter. I see many, many clients who like being part of a corporate structure but thrive working alone at home. Many of these are sales professionals, technical people, or consultants and have what I would term as a true entrepreneurial spirit. What makes an entrepreneur? Here's my list of qualifications:
* Risk-taker
* Independent but listens to good advice
* Can work alone or lead a team
* Goal-focused rather than task-focused
* Client-centric (knows that he has to go out and kill it and drag it home so he pays attention to the client)
* Willing to work the long hours but smart enough to know when to hire someone
* Organized and creates systems to simply tasks
* Sees value within and doesn't need outside praise
* Decisive
* Enjoys work for work's sake (work is entertaining)
A 2005 study by the Family and Work Institute found that thirty-three percent of workers feel overworked all the time and fifty-four percent said they have been overwhelmed by their workload in the past month. That was a study of workers in general, not just self-employed. Will changing jobs change that? Will changing careers make a difference? Something to think about.