When is it time for entrepreneurs to put the limits on?

One question that a lot of people don’t ask entrepreneurs, especially the everyday entrepreneur, is when is enough, enough? I believe that that question is not asked a lot of times because they feel as if you don’t have a gazillion dollars, then you should always be going, going, going, going, going. However, the regular entrepreneur who is semi-successful or making his, or her way in the world, still has to have some type of boundary. They still have to have some time when they’re focusing on or considering their limits. When is enough, enough? Not enough money, but when is enough work enough? Is it 18 hours? Is it 24 hours? Should you try to mimic your nine-to-five life? When is enough, enough? Who determines when enough is enough? Who determines when to say, this is personal time, and this is business time?

One of the problems with this is no one is actually there or in the corner of the entrepreneur. During this time, everybody sits back and watches him or her run themselves crazy. The reason is that they think it’s all a part of the sport. A lot of other entrepreneurs will say this as a thing of pride, I work 18 hours a day. I’m up all day. I barely sleep. I probably only slept two hours a day for the last six months.

And no one that was in their corner said to them, ”Okay, you need to take it down. Or maybe you need to cut it short. Maybe you don’t need to work as hard.” Or what about ideas that say, I’m going to help you streamline this. If you were working 20 hours, now you’re going to only work 10 because I’ll pick up the extra hours or we’ll put a system in place. For example, if we are trying to get something off the ground, working 20 hours a day might work for the first six months. Once you get to a certain point, your business should be able to run on autopilot, or at least put you in a position where you can function like a normal human being.

On that note, we also don’t talk enough about the entrepreneur that committed suicide. We don’t talk about the entrepreneur, that’s stressed out, using drugs, having trouble with their family, never able to spend time with their children, and who can also be suffering from anxiety. These topics don’t make the headlines. It’s usually the entrepreneur with the yacht, the fancy car, the big house, and all of this money. And why you and everybody else should be like him or her.

This week I wanted to focus on when is enough, enough? We talk often about how to take the limits off. However, I challenge you to change your mindset and think that maybe you need to put the limits on. Let me know your thoughts on this matter, and remember, I will see you back next week, where I’ll be right here in your business corner.