Small Business Entrepreneur Blog

Before going to the forth day with my small business start-up story I should say something about the part time entrepreneurship experience.

Part time entrepreneur work day
I’m not sure if my schedule is typical for a part time entrepreneur, but my days are mostly passing like this:

• I usually get up at 7 in the morning, start the laptop, make some coffee. This gives me enough time until 8 to check my blog stats, read or write a few urgent e-mails, and think about the things I have to do in the evening. If there is something to be done by my partners during the day, I’m preparing and leave notes.
• 8 to 9 is dead time, I’m preparing to leave at my 9-to-6 job, and rushing through a horrible traffic with my Honda motorcycle
• 9-12 and 1-6 are strictly dedicated to my “official” job, this means complete silence from my own business. No e-mails, no phones, no nothing – sometimes is really tricky.
• From 12 to 1 I have lunch, and 2-3 times per month I go to the bank to make payments, etc, etc for my business
• I get home at around 7 in the evening. Although we have arranged an office for the business, I always (and have to) work from home – most of the communication with my partners is done through messenger, or late in the evening when Simona comes home.
• Depending on what I have to do, I either switch to work as soon as I get home, or I take a little nap or watch some useless TV until 9
• From 9 to at least 12 (or how long it takes) I work fully, writing e-mails, preparing contracts, making invoices, programing the sites I’m working on, blogging and everything else that needs to be done

There are 2 types of exceptions from this schedule:

• meetings with customers, with the accountant or anything else that requires me to get outside, including some personal stuff from time to time
• weekends, these are my full days of work, and the best time to handle the most complex things

Now, it’s very easy to guess that this type of program has it’s own challenges:

• I don’t really have a time when I can simply do … nothing
• I don’t really get evenings/weekends with friends
• It’s bad for the health – I’m always sitting in front of the computer

Not sure if I could ever explain the driving force that keep me going on this model, but it’s simply a strong desire to do more with my life than just being an employee. Of course, you have to balance, I space out completely from time to time, but it’s in a controlled non-harming the business way. I found 2 interesting articles on Dane Carson’s Business Opportunities Weblog:

• Weekend Entrepreneur @Work that talks about handling your dual life without harming your position at the 9 to 5 job

and

• Don’t Let Business Sap Your Energy about some techniques to reduce the constant, daily struggle.

Good. Now we are all set for the day four of my start-up story where I’m going to talk about some current challenges for my small business, and what I’m planing to do on the short term.