How To Run Your Small Business On Only 3 Days A Week

With the hundreds of things that you have to do on a daily basis, this title is probably causing you to run for cover.
I mean, how can you get the most important things in your business accomplished in three days? Or how about the hundreds of other details, that if left unfinished will come back to haunt you?


I only have one thing to ask you - If someone said they would pay you 10 Million dollars if you were able to run your business on three days a week - could you do it?

Or better yet, - If your life depended on it, could you run your business successfully on three days a week?


The truth is that, it is not only possible, but hundreds of business owners are doing it as we speak.

Books are being written by people who have done it multiple times as examples for us that it is possible. The Four Hour Work Week, by Timothy Ferris, and Build a Business, Not a Job - by David Finkel, are just a few.

So, If you were offered 10 Million Dollars to maintain a 3 day workweek - What would you do to accomplish it?

Here are a few ideas that have successful business owners do to manage the many tasks they have to do everyday.

1, Prioritize Them

Via Pareto's principle - 20% of what you do brings 80% of your results. This means that only 20% of all the things you are currently going crazy over are bringing your business great results.

Why not identify the things that bring the greatest value to your organization (in terms of revenue, growth and fulfilling your vision) and spend your three days accomplishing those things.

With the remaining low value items, you can...

2. Eliminate Them

The enemy of the great is not the bad, but the good. Most of our time we are distracted by good little things that eat up all of our time to be great. I mean, do we really have to check our e-mail everyday? How about those crazies that check their e-mails every 5 minutes?

What if we could set our e-mails with an autoresponder that says ("... I only check my e-mails three days a week. If you have an emergency please call my assistant at..."). If we can eliminate time stealers, little by little it adds up to as much as a few hours a day.

3. Automate Them

Did you know that there are hundreds of business software, websites and technological solutions that can replace just about 30 - 70% of the work that a person can do? What is most interesting is that it cost very little, or is absolutely free.

Also, setting up the simplest systems, processes, templates, forms, checklist, etc. could make it so that you do not have to be around to do the work.

The goal is make your business systems dependent, not "control freak" dependent.

4. Delegate Them

Sometimes we think that a person needs to be a rocket scientist before we delegate to them. Or we think no one could do it better than we can. Or maybe we think we are a one man or woman show so we cannot afford anyone to delegate to.

What we need to remember is that the person does not have to be perfect, they just have to be trained.

If we provide the proper training, systems and encouragement - our people will be empowered to take our business to greater heights that we can ourselves.

If you can't afford the help - go to your local college and get an intern whose major is in what your business currently needs (Marketing, Finance, etc.) - College students nowadays are a lot smarter than you think (remember facebook?).

5. Outsource Them

With outsourcing you have teams of trained professionals ready to do what you are wasting time trying to be good at. What is even better is that there are people around the world that have Harvard equivalent degrees that are willing to do the work for 1/10th of the price you would pay in your local area (don't believe me - check Elance.com or ODesk).

My CPA is in Wisconsin and charges $35 an hour. My soon to be virtual assistant charges $3 per hour. My attorney costs me $25 a month. Get the picture?

Conclusion

Can you build a lucrative business on three days a week? There are business builders making tens of millions of dollars that would say a resounding yes. As a matter of fact, they would tell you that they are able to do so because they have the extra time in their weeks to really enjoy their life as well.



All I can say is, what is our excuse?

By the way, do you want to learn more about how to manage your time more effectively?

If so, visit our website at http://www.sapientbizsolutions.com, or call us at 714 759-4249 for a free business consultation.

Will Pena, MBA is the founder of a small business consulting company - specializing in helping small businesses to get more customers, close more sales and make more money in as little as 30 days.