Small-business owners spend 17 full days a year worrying about their business outside of work, according to new data that has emerged in a study of 500 small-business owners, finding that even when they’re off the clock, small-business owners worry about their business for the equivalent of an entire workday – nearly eight hours – a week.
According to the results of the study, over half of small-business owners (51 per cent) say they have trouble “switching off” from work when on their free time.
The survey, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of GoDaddy, also revealed that free time is hardly free time when it comes to small-business owners, as 41 per cent say they often get pulled away to deal with business matters when trying to take a break. In fact, the average small-business owner says they lose four hours of free time every week to handle business matters.
The survey also found that close to 40 per cent of small-business owners spend between one and three hours talking on the phone every week for business, with 85 per cent of those calls coming on their personal phone. However, close to 40 per cent of them said that knowing whether an incoming call is for business or personal reasons would be helpful in managing their productivity and stress.
“Owning a business and trying to enjoy life outside work can be an especially tough balancing act,” said Melissa Schneider, GoDaddy’s trend expert. “That’s why GoDaddy is focused on arming everyday entrepreneurs with an arsenal of tools that not only deliver results but help them start, grow and run their businesses efficiently. We believe this, in turn, helps them lead better, more fulfilling personal lives.”
One in five business owners studied (22 per cent) say that right now is the most stressed they’ve ever been about their business. The poll pointed to “money” as the top reason small-business owners are stressed: specifically, whether or not they’ll make enough of it.
The second biggest worry was found to be attracting customers. So how do small-business owners display professionalism to retain and find new customers? Responding to customer inquiries in a timely manner was the number one answer (81 per cent).
Answering calls professionally ranked second (64 per cent). The third most popular response was having a dedicated phone number for all business matters (26 per cent).
With all the worrying and stress, only 29 per cent of small-business owners surveyed feel they have a very healthy work/life balance.
For the small-business owners that were able to create a healthier work/life balances, majority of them were able to achieve this by taking care of themselves, closely followed by taking a vacation, having regular breaks and scheduling time with family and friends.
