-
Thumbs up for weekends off
Thanks to all who answered to my post on evening and weekend work. It made me realise that most people are either in a similar boat to us or have been in the past, and have now progressed. I have a full time job and also work in the business at night and on the weekend and John works solely for the business. When we first started out 4 years ago, we had just one local competitor. We didn’t price our jobs much cheaper than them and they had years of experience, but we won a lot of customers because this competitor was totally inflexible regarding when they would see the customers. We were reluctant to fall into the same trap and so have bent over backwards for people but you can only do that for so long. We were so burnt out that last week, we seriously considered throwing the towel in and John going back to a "normal" job. After some soul searching, we have decided to work Monday to Friday and we had our first weekend off since I can’t remember when. I’m sure this is the way forward.
Dawn
-
14 Replies
-
Here! Here! A weekend off should be a sacred thing!
I’ve never actually been away from ‘work’ per se all weekend so feel slightly jealous!!
Hope your new found freedom benefits you both!
Best wishes
Dave
-
Absolutely spot on Dawn. Nowadays when I hear someone tell me their van is only available at the weekend (because it’s working all week) I ask them how they get their vehicle serviced, MOT’d, or crash repaired – I regularly turn down requests to work at the weekend, but lose very little work as a result. Most people accept that you also have regular working hours and they have to fit in with your time as much as you do theirs.
-
Living in London we have to capitalise on the weekends and evenings for access to premises. I was out tonight to avoid traffic wardens and congestion charges. Came in at 8.00pm
That said: I am cherishing my weekends more and more. My workshop is a converted basement, not much, but it gets the work out.
What I find now is that it is important to try and switch off at weekends and evenings, even though I been tempted to nip in the workshop to catch up with things.
Its actually find it quite a therapy: Starting afresh on Monday
-
I personally cannot see any difference between Sunday and Wednesday.
What happens at weekends that makes it different from a weekday?
Many people work weekends, shops, liesure and transport. So if you can make money working Saturday and or Sunday, why not?
The secret is to make sure you have sufficient time off for R and R.
It really dosnt matter what day it is…..Peter
-
It’s becoming too much for me Peter because I’m working at my full-time job Monday-Friday. We also have a 6 year old daughter and have to learn to prioritise a lot better. If our circumstances were different, then I would agree with you, and also Lynn’s point about not keeping customer’s vehicles off the road to make sure that they can make enough money to pay you.
Dawn
-
good for you both… 😀
i live and breath signs, from getting up just after 8am till im turning my computer off, sometimes 4am 😕
friday nights, although i have comp on, im chilling, having a drink and enjoying the net, the boards in a way i dont during the week.
saturday and sunday, go a drive, a meal each day some place nice with audrey and jodie, shopping, having a few drinks… then some more drinks… you name it… 😀 sunday night, back to net and signs…
that said, its still too much and "i am" cutting it back, beleive it or not.
as my doctor told me recently 😳 "we work to live better, not live to work… your dead a long time!" 😕 -
Whatever works out best for you, but take it from me, Liesure time is very valuable and essential, all I am saying is that the name of the day is not really anything to do with it. just make sure you take time for yourself and family, otherwise why work?
Peter
-
yeh but peter when you have kids….the routine is slightly different 😕
i try to cram in as much work as i can during school hours….night times, i do a bit more when kids in bed….the weekends are so precious to me so i make the most of them….felt guilty on sunday…cause i sat about watchin movies…..and i know i shouldnt feel guilty cause ive worked hard all week 😉
nik
-
Nik I Agree 100%, just saying that time out is essential, when you take it dosnt matter, just make sure you do.
Peter
-
Dawn I had to take the leap several years ago to give up full time employment and work with Peter to really run his business weekend and night was becoming not an option ( it wasn’t signs then) and we stuggled then it got easier and like Nik says we had no children to worry about.
Lynn
-
I now what you say Dawn.
I am a bit of a workaholic tho. Can’t see any value in laying about the house doing nothing. I have to be doing something, be it mowing the lawn, or going for a drive.
We have a public holiday here today (ANZAC day) but the wife just wants to vege out, so, to save becoming bored, I’ll likely duck down to the office and put in a few hours,
We have a 10 yo daughter and a 11 yo son. My young fella loves to spend time with me at work because he is at school all week, and my wife and daughter both do scapbooking as a hobby. They have some quality time while we are out, keeping out of their hair.
I work pretty stupid hours, and the wife has a very very stressful full time job (WPH&S officer for a building co that employs 300 people – mostly brainless it seems 🙄 ), but no matter what day we have off, we concentrate doing something, always involving the kids.
The one thing we do now, that we never did before, is to actually ‘go away’ when we have a holiday. Also, we make little long weekends throughout the year, and go somewhere a couple of hours drive away, and stay over in a budget motel, or go camping. That is often just enough to recharge the batteries for another few months.
My wife may take a friday off work, and I’ll close for the day, and we are off. Or, we may leave straight after work on a friday and go up the coast for the weekend.
Last week, we hired an 8 seater and took 4 days doing day trips with my parents, sister, wife and kids.
Had a ball.
It is certainly hard running a family and a business, as well as working a full time business. You situation is worse then mine because my parents are on call to help in the business, but the key is to plan ahead, then you have something to look forward too. We have to work around my wifes work schedual, but we make it work, and that is what keeps us going most times.
Take care
-
Hey folks.
I had to add my 2 cents on this one. Don’t we all work crazy hours in this business? Why is it that our customers lack of ordering their signs with time enough for them to be produced becomes our problem?
I also am a bit of a workaholic, however, am now valuing my time off. I am now really trying to stop coming in on the weekends, of course for the past 4 have been in. However, if it were up to my customers, I would be here 24/7. I do let them know now I have a life. If their vehicle can only come in on the weekends so be it, but I say I have to pay my staff (applicator) overtime etc (even though myself or my husband Dan could do it) but I let them know this, and say that because of that I charge more on the weekend. It is amazing how they end up fitting it in during the week.
We do our best to take extended weekends for ourselves, and some family trips as well. You can really burn yourself out if you don’t take a break! If I am at home it is easy to come to the shop, but I try not to, and believe me, I am better for it. Time to go home now. I could spend hours reading all these notes!Janice
-
Good for you Dawn!!! 😀
When you have a young family weekends are more important than work! As Phill mentioned, customers have asked me to do their vans at weekends because they work the other 5 days ….. well, you just politely tell them the other 5 days are when you work too.
Today I have a just finished lettering a van for a customer who asked me to do it weekends or nights cos he’s busy. Well… I suggested he bring me the van by 3pm and I’d do it, not any later. He brought it at 12 o’clock!! And he’s bringing another tomorrow afternoon and the next Thursday afternoon. So you see it’s rare customers get so upset that they go elsewhere….!!!Enjoy your time off!!!
-
Even after just the one weekend off, I feel better already – probably just the fact that we’ve found a solution. When we talked about throwing in the towel altogether, I then felt that it meant that the last 4 years of hard slog would all have been for nothing. This would also infer that the business had been a failure, when in fact the only failures had been our inability to manage our time properly and to say "no".
Thanks to all for your comments. This weekend is already sorted out – relax on Saturday, then meeting my friend on Sunday for dinner before we go to see Take That!! I’m off work on Monday so I’ll have a day to recuperate.
Dawn
Log in to reply.
