We are all wired differently. While some of us like to rise far before the sun (and with a great attitude), others prefer to sleep in and stay up into all hours in the night. There’s something about personal preference and schedule of choice that can create very different working hours from one franchisee to the next. Or for any type of worker, for that matter.
When you have a boss and set hours that you must attend to, it doesn’t matter when you’d like to be working. You’re working when the boss says so all the same. However, that same motto goes out the window when opening up your own business. Especially in the planning stages. If you do your best work from 6 am to 3 pm, so be it. If you can’t pull yourself to be productive before noon and you stay up into the wee hours of the morning, fine.
That’s a huge perk to franchising and owning your own business; you’re in charge of when you work.
Take note that others likely won’t be aware of your schedule and might call or schedule a meeting during “normal” hours, but for the tasks where you’re on your own, it generally doesn’t matter when you work. Why? All that matters is that tasks get done.
Think about it, when you go into a business, are you worried about when the owner is making his corporate calls? Or when they might be writing paychecks or filing away paperwork? What times of day their emails are checked? Of course not. Those aspects don’t affect the customer. All you care about it good service.
The same goes for your business; so long as it’s running smoothly, customers won’t know or care when you work.
When You’re Open
Once you open your business’ doors, it’s important to note that you will have to keep very regular and/or consistent hours. But this can also be done with the help of employees. If you have a team who can handle opening or closing, let them do so. You will need to stay available for phone calls, in the case of an emergency, but so long as you’re checking in and your team is doing a great job, you can pretty much pick and choose when your “shift” will take place.
Next, consider if you need to be available to customers. If so, you might want to set aside some time to remain in the office during prime hours of the day. Or at the very least, make yourself available for calls or emails. This won’t always be necessary, but it’s a good habit to get into, as it shows customers you’re willing to listen, and that you value their business.
The Perks
Who doesn’t want to work whenever they want? That is, after all, one of the main reasons you decided to become an entrepreneur, right? Setting your own hours does wonders for the mood, pumping up your spirits and pushing you to achieve more and more professionally. It also makes you more productive, simply by knowing that you chose the terms of how you work each day.
Setting your hours also allows you to take off time when needed, to schedule appointments or personal commitments, and most of all, to ensure that everything is done on time – even if you aren’t keeping static hours.
