Business owners - do you work weekends?

[ScottNelson&Co]

I was up until 12:30 last night developing a new website and I've just started on it again this morning.

Then I thought to myself it's a weekend! So I won't be coding, I'll be doing some laid back research of other aspects of my business. Weekends seem a good time to catch up, with out any distractions (customers).

I thought it would be interesting to hear about other peoples weekends. Do you work? Do you only work Saturday and not Sunday? How do you manage?

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[evocart]

Although we turn off live help at the weekends we're still online to answer client emails and work on other aspects of the business that we just don't have time for during the week.

So basically it's mon-fri 0800-Midnight Sat-Sun 10-Midnight working causual so may take a few brakes at the weekend and go shopping

 

[Bri]

....Mostly....gets out of chores, excuse me I have to go wash the breakfast things.............................coming dear!!!

 

[David Earle]

At the moment I'm working 7 days a week. My Birmingham shop is open 7 days, and the shop in Worcester is open Tuesday - Saturday. I work Sunday & Monday at the Birmingham shop to cover the staff's day off, although I've just hired new staff with the intention of giving myself 2 days off per week by mid-August.

It's so important to get away from your business regularly, not only because you need to rest but also because it benefits your business a lot. If you're stuck in your office all day long, how will you be able to do things like keep an eye out for competitors opening up, and various other opportunities you wouldn't be exposed to otherwise.

I wouldn't have a shop in Worcester if I hadn't visited here on a day off and spotted this perfect location with cheap rent.

 

[LightingGiants]

Weekend working is the best.......its a an excuse for me to get out of things but its not bad having the odd weekend off.....(once a year lol)

 

[Bri]

Business gurus stress the work/life balance must be considered. The day you open for business that goes out the window, more so now in the last five years.

 

[Minuteman Press]

Every day at the moment, but I try to use week-ends as catch up / strategy. I enjoy it though, I always have to be doing something.

 

[movietub]

Generally the business is on my mind, so I too am more likely to sit at home at the weekends and play around with a website than I am ti fire up the PS3 and play a game just for fun. For me, there is nothing more satisfying than doing something interesting for the business, knowing that there is a good chance it will make me more money as a result!

I do perfer however, not to have to do anything stressful or dull related to the business over the weekend. Sometimes I have to of course, but at least as business owners we can balance this with time of during the week if we need it for a personal errand.

I'm sat at work now, currently I'm perfecting a pure CSS/HTML mega menu for our new website. I'm enjoying it, it's interesting, and when I'm done I will be able to extract the cash from those shoppers that have JS turned off whilst browsing.

Later, I shall be drunk, thus restoring the work/play balance

 

[WarbyGK]

I think it's mostly unavoidable as at some point you'll be thinking about work. I limit myself to just doing mornings now but also do spend some "relax" time just researching rather than the general Monday to Friday tasks.

I don't answer either the office or mobile phone and only answer "personal" texts.

None of this is through choce though, the Missus makes me.........

 

[Piqueperfumes]

We get a lot of orders on a Sunday and therefore deal with these during the day. We work Saturday mornings but always give ourselves Saturday afternoon off.............. except today when we will be working!!
Cheers
Phil

 

[movietub]

The answer really depends on whether you go to work at a business you happen to own, or if you are actually keen to develop the business and expand I guess.

If I owned a corner shop then I imagine if I wasn't there, then I wouldn't think about it a great deal. My business is limited by the 4 walls around it and the number of local people in the area. I wouldn't be running a creative and dynamic business, I would have a job in a shop. Which is perfectly valid of course, I'm sure I would work harder in many ways than I do now!

But if you're in it for the love of developing something small, into something new, and you have the scope to make it better and diversify, then you will become addicted to it. I love business, its not stuffy, it's not work. It is, for me, the biggest monopoly game in the world. It's exciting and fun, and I learn so many new skills. It's an easy choice for me, I work to relax.

 

[PerfectP]

7 days a week, usually till late at night.
There's always something to do, and usually I goto bed and think "crud - I mean't to do that today".
But, unlike a normal job working for someone else, its not tedious and I still get out of bed at 7 am with a spring in my step - well not quite a spring as my right knee is dodgy but you know what I mean.

 

[Minuteman Press]

Fascinating replies - some really similar trends/habits. I recognise all of the responses.

 

[marlint]

My business I run outside of a full time job- so weekends are pretty much the best time to catch up on bigger jobs that I can't fit in during the week- bug fixes, tweaking ads and website copy, checking out the competition, keeping on top of accounts etc.

 

[Psl]

....Mostly....gets out of chores, excuse me I have to go wash the breakfast things.............................coming dear!!!

Sounds very much like my house.Saturday's is general catch up day on the various parts of the business to prepare for Monday.Sunday however is a day for the family with absolute no distactions.

 

[Bri]

Its now 00.14 and have just come back from a meet with a client tonight to do some work for them moving houses. OK I'll admit it was a dinner party meeting with food and wine at the table but it was still work...........Its a hard life but someones got to do it.

 

[DetectiveDenise]

I work very odd hours anyway but I find I am most productive on a weekend without as many phone distractions.
Denise

 

[Findermonkey]

I work weekends to write content for various sites/blogs/articles and press releases. Usually do a few hours sat and sun before getting on with family time. I don't really see what I do as work and the more I put into it the more I get out. I love what I do.

 

[thecyclingartist]

I'm a sole trader and the main thing is I don't have 'open hours' - no retail space or the like - so I have total freedom in my hours as long as actual painting is done in daylight hours (so winter is trickier). I tend to work 10-7 weekdays and at least one weekend day.

To be honest I much prefer a weekday off if I have a day off. Partly because I share a house so it means time to myself, but if I have to go into town it's quieter there too. But even on days off I usually do a couple hours of admin type stuff in the morning tho.

I instituted a 9pm is quitting time rule some years ago when I was essentially doing 2 businesses and studying part-time (funny, just realised I'm doing that again!), so I don't work late into the night anymore except with rare exceptions.

 

[Allan123]

I'm actually at the business premises Mon-Sat 9am-4.30pm.

Mon-Thurs I work most night from about 9pm til Midnight (soon as the 1 little's in bed).

Saturday night I try not to do anything, but usually can't help it and end up just nosing around forums and just general researching. Some Fridays & saturday's I can usually be found out mobile djing (my other business).

Sunday daytime is family day. We try our best to go otu and do something even if it's only for a drive to spend time together. If we stay in though like last weekend, I was on eBay ALL day. Dinner until Midnight. Sundays our busiest day eBay wise so it's good to be on hand to answer questions and make sure all your products are on.

Work/life balance goes out the window to tbh when you have your own business. If it's killing you, do less. If not you can possibly more. Simple. If your in the brown stuff though and need to get out of it quick, somemes you have no option other than do 16/18 hours a day!

 

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Working 7 days a week is a normal thing for me! :|[/FONT]

 

[Fuzzy]

Yup, Fuzzy works weekends - even more so when there are special occasions coming up!

 

[jane p]

open 6 days a week. Sunday much needed day off.

 

[eFIG]

7 days a week at work? No chance

Luckily, my job is also my hobby (interior landscaping) so I do absolutely love it. But I think it's important to keep yourself fresh and revitalised with at least one day off a week.

 

[wykthorr]

I sure do work over the weekends and odd hours in the night. Don't suppose there's much way around that. Given it's your own company you want to make the most out of it so there is always something more to be done, some marketing idea to explore... stuff like that. It's part of the game.

One just needs to be careful and maintain a balance between work and relaxation. Given you are your own boss there's nobody else to schedule time for you so better take advantage of that, otherwise you might become a workaholic. There are two upsides though: if you just don't want to do something you can always say you're working late, second you can take time off whenever you feel like it(and the business allows it) and that's nice.

 

[yooneeq]

As a business we operate 24/7 but as an individual there have been times of working stupid hours. With emails pushed to mobiles who can really say they switch off their phones?!?!?

but i do try and have at least one day off to switch off and spend time with the wife )