How hard should an entrepreneur work?

We have heard that entrepreneur must work hard.

But, how much hard?

First, how many hours of work should an entrepreneur put in?

The simple answer is: Entrepreneurs must work more hours than any of their employees. If your office hours are, say, 9 to 5, and every employee is expected to work for at least 8 hours a day. Now, if you are also looking for an 8-hour work day for yourself, entrepreneurship is not for you. You should give up business and take up a job with fixed hours.

If you feel that you pay your employees so they should come early to work for you you can come late or leave early everyday, it is a very bad idea. You have a liberty to do that, but such businesses, where the owner does not put in much work generally don’t do much.

A business owner must work equal or more hours than his employees. Undoubtedly. Remember, a general can’t relax when his soldiers are battling on the field.

Secondly, an entrepreneur must be available for his/her business 24×7.

See, it is not about working 24×7. You must ensure balance between work and other areas of life for yourself and for your team. It is about being available when your business needs you. You can’t shut yourself down.

If everyday you wait for evening so that you can “have some time for yourself after a hard day’s work”, you should not be an entrepreneur. For a true entrepreneur, there is no “hard” day of work.

Yes, you can party. But, you must be available and accessible to your troops if they are fighting it out.

Some entrepreneurs are victims of maxims like “We should do smart work and not hard work”.

Or

As a boss, we should give tension to others and not take tension on ourselves.

Such dialogues can’t help us build businesses.

You can’t build a business by proxy.

Entrepreneurship is not a fixed time job. It is a full-time job.

A great business requires work.

Hard work.

A great business can’t be built looking at a clock.

Or a calendar.

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