Editor's Note: This article is the last in a series of twelve to lead you toward entrepreneurial excellence by our regular contributor George Hedley, owner of Hedley Construction and Hardhat Presentations.
Select which reason you think most construction company owners go into business:
___ They like to work eighty hours per week
___ They like to be stressed out
___ They like to be out of control
___ They like to be under-paid
___ They like to be over-worked
___ They like to have no life
___ They like cutthroat competition
___ They like to manage employees
___ They like to deal with other contractors
___ They like the freedom of business ownership
The No. 1 reason entrepreneurs go into business is freedom-freedom from working for someone else; freedom to do business as they please; freedom to say "no" to bad customers, jobs, employees or contracts; and the freedom to go to work if and whenever they want! Many construction owners and managers complain about working too many hours. While speaking at industry conventions, I surveyed attendees about their work habits. How do you compare?
Typical work week:
- 15 percent work forty hours or less per week
- 52 percent work up to sixty hours per week
- 33 percent work over sixty hours per week
The average Fortune 500 company executive works between fifty and sixty hours per week. Unfortunately the forty-hour work week isn't the norm today. Construction executives appear to work the same amount of time or more than their peers in the corporate world. For those of you who are working more and more and enjoying it less and less, consider these questions:
- Does earning a living give you time to do any living?
- Do you ever stop and wish it would get better?
- Are you too busy working to make any money?
Many business owners and managers use up their energy at work and then arrive home too tired to enjoy free time for themselves and people important to them. How do you spend most of your time and energy every week? Most busy entrepreneurs spend 98 percent on putting out fires instead of doing the important things in their business and personal life. Most can't seem to find enough hours in the day to get everything done. This causes them to put business priorities first and postpone their dreams, goals, family and friends.
Are You Living to Work or Working to Live?
Over 90 percent of respondents in a study said they aren't happy with their jobs, careers or business success, yet they continue on for two reasons-financial insecurity and not knowing what else to do. Common responses for staying in their ruts include:
- "I can't afford to quit and do what I really want to do."
- "I can't get my business to work. I'll just keep working harder and maybe it'll get better some day."
- "What else would I do with my time, if I didn't work so many hours?"
I like to say that people become comfortable being uncomfortable!
Common Responses for Staying in Ruts:
- "I can't afford to quit and do what I really want to do."
- "I can't get my business to work. I'll just keep working harder and maybe it'll get better some day."
- "What else would I do with my time, if I didn't work so many hours?"
Do you dream about a future where you'll have more time to do what you want to do? Waiting and dreaming for different outcomes postpones progress towards doing what it takes to make your goals become reality. To enjoy the incredible benefits of business ownership takes focus, clear targets and the ability to work differently. An "On-Purpose...On-Target" business is the result of heading straight for what you want-not just getting by, hoping for more or doing the
