What hours do you work ?

[MinuWeb]

Just interested in the hours you put into your business :D

I normally work 8am to 6pm in the office, then at home off and on throughout the evening until 12 - 1am.

Normally in the evening I am just checking mails during commercial breaks and dealing with anything that shouldn't wait till morning.

[bitsnstuff]

Pretty much the same, usually 7 days a week!

Kate

[mumper]

Me too - with random hours over the weekend as and when I think of something that needs doing :D

[chris1317]

Im about the same

I usualy get home @ about 6 or 7pm and play with my daughter til she goes to bed then work til about 12am.

It can get a bit hectic when a big job comes in but I try not to work past 1am.

Chris.

[Rob Holmes]

Same for me - I first check emails around 6am, then have breakfast with the wife and son, then goto work around 8pm, work till 6pm, then spend an hour or so with the little one and then check emails around 8pm till late once he's crashed out.

SMS alerts will wake me up if theres a problem, so I'm on 24/7 callout.

Generally I don't work Sat or Sun unless I have to.

Rob

[Whistle Ink]

I agree.... :lol:

Well I have a day job at the moment so I do that from 8.45 - 4.30 ( i squeeze in a hour before that at work sometimes for which I get there at 7.00)

And then when I get home I wwork from 6.30pm till about 10 on and off!

I can't wait to give up my day job. :)

[bikersbits]

To start with I used to jam as many hours as possible, even staying up till 3/4 am almost every night, but it's just not worth it.
I ended up wasting so much time as I was too tired and my concentration very short.
So after a wonderful holiday break I decided to set myself working hours (9am - 4pm & 8pm till 11pm the latest) with decent breaks for healthy food...
The family is happy now, I'm more relaxed, work is more structured and I achieve more..
Although I do take the children out of school on Friday lunchtime, rush all over the country, set up the marquee and stand ready for a 2 days motorcycle show, running around till Sunday night, dismantle it all, get home late and start again on Monday morning, still I do want to retire early...sh

[Cornish Steve]

This message thread is probably an eye-opener to anyone thinking to launch an entrepreneurial venture while working another full-time job. I fall into the same category and work hours similar to those quoted by others.

Typically, I work during the day from 7:30am until 6:30pm. I spend the first 30 minutes (like I am now) on my own venture and try to take another 30 minutes at lunch. I give my regular job my all and will not short-change anyone. In addition to working these hours, I travel extensively to other countries.

For my own business venture, I typically work from 7pm to 1am on weekdays, from 8am to 1am on Saturdays, and from 1pm to midnight on Sundays (except when having to travel). Of course, I do take occasional breaks to be with my family, but it is a strain. As I keep telling everyone, the sacrifice will be worth it in the end.

I know this tiring regimen will continue for quite some time - and I've already been at it for over a year! A business startup is not for the faint of heart.

[Richard Conyard]

I'm glad to see despite the grief I am given by friends and family I'm not alone on the hours front.

As standard it's 8am to 6pm, but at least twice a week that 6pm turns into 10pm. I normally take a lay in over the weekend getting in for about 9/10 am.

[MinuWeb]

I think this really shows how dedicated you must be to run your own business whether full time or as a 2nd job.

I am sure most of us have plans for reducing hours as our businesses grow and we can afford to employ people to help out. I know I did,but the more it grows the more resposibility I feel to ensure that all our clients get the standard of service that encouraged them to join us. Hence I am still working long hours, but the most important part is that I really enjoy it :D

[Ozzy]

Working long hours does generally go hand in hand with being an Entrepreneur.
I start work at around 8:30ish and work till around 5ish where I then spend time with my wife and children, but then I go back to work at 8 till around 10->11. That is Monday to Friday, I then work around 5-6 hours over the weekend.
Yes I do get told off occasionally :)

[coxadmin]

I combine my business with being a full-time mum so I check emails daily at around 6.30am when hubby goes to work, then I start up the laptop downstairs and work on and off throughout the day until 9 or 10pm, stopping to play with my son as he needs, eating and spending time with hubby.

[SillyJokes]

We used to work long hours but now the business is established we do 9-5 Mon- Fri and a couple of hours at the weekend so Monday isn't too horrendous.

Having an office has helped reduce the pressure at home.

When you are starting out you really do have to put in the hours though and I'm glad they have paid off and we don't have to work like dogs anymore.

[Rob Holmes]

I spontaneously took the other Friday afternoon off and took the family strawberry picking which was nice :)

It can't all be work work work!

Rob

[MinuWeb]

I spontaneously took the other Friday afternoon off and took the family strawberry picking which was nice :)

It can't all be work work work!

Rob

Thats the other nice thing, flexibility, even though I work evenings and weekends it is so nice just to be able to go to the beach for a couple of hours on an afternoon if the weather is nice (WIFI there so I can get connected with laptop :D )

[bwglaw]

I sometimes start late in the day until 3am! I am a night-owl and get far more done than I would in the day, so I am not disturbed. I am wondering if anyone here is being honest or am I the only one working at that hour?!

[MinuWeb]

I quite often end up working till 2 - 3 am, it is nice and quite then and no disturbances :D

[redjim]

Pretty much demand led; this time of the 6 til 7, 7 days a week. Lot less in the winter, closer to 8 hour day(seven days per week!)

[virtuallysorted]

Technically I work Mon-Fri 9-6pm. Actually I probably work a bit later each night & I also do work at weekends when clients need me.

However I'm a big believer in work:life balance and so I do take time off if I've been working a weekend... Even if it's just a couple of hours!

[fastfences]

Mine is a mammoth effort also.
I build fences from 7am to 4 or 5ish (depending on job) get home and sleep from 6pm to 9pm.

Then, I do full time nightshift in a factory from 10pm until 6am - 5 days per week. Yes, it is taxing, as we all know. But we have our pride and belief in ourselves and know that the 'hard yards' will bear fruit.

My tree is budding right now, and I'm looking forward to giving up the night shift, hopefully, by the end of this month. I've done well though, i started everything on credit cards, even buying a £1500 van on Visa (bad move, I know) and have now repaid nearly everything, though at the expense of drawing a wage. Wage, I hear your you say! Does he expect a wage? Sure, are there not heaps of us who earnt less than a welfare cheque in our first few months? But the carrots are dangling!!

Cheers, Nigel

[bikersbits]

Well it looks like everyone is working too hard, so may I suggest a collective break-time?
From the 10th of August till the 13th is what we call "shooting stars nights”, you can see an average of 60 to 80 shooting stars per hour (well debris from an old comet) and it can be quite spectacular.
If you manage to get a break, have it then (after midnight is best).
The whole family sits in the garden with lots of duvets and blankets...you can always count on the good english weather... just enjoy the break
Roberta

[www.sitepal.co.uk]

Just interested in the hours you put into your business :D

I normally work 8am to 6pm in the office, then at home off and on throughout the evening until 12 - 1am.

Normally in the evening I am just checking mails during commercial breaks and dealing with anything that shouldn't wait till morning.

I work up to 14 hours a day

Working during the night is ok at times

Bloody eyes hurt sometimes & get bad headache from time to time

Best

Tony