Jesus said, “For which of you, desiring
to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has
enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is not
able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying this man began to
build and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:28-30 ESV).
When planning a new initiative, we may
easily understand we need to set money to fund the effort. Likewise, we need to
plan for and set aside the time needed to accomplish a new business enterprise.
Walt owned two toy
stores, each making some money, and believed he was ready to open a third
store. He believed he had the perfect area located in a fast-growing part of
town. Walt asked me to help with his planning in launching the new store.
Financially he was
in good shape with enough funds for lease improvements and the needed
inventory. His current cash flow would cover his initial operating losses. Walt
thought he was ready to go.
I asked him, “Who will
be following up with the contractors on the construction site? Who will hire
the new staff? Who will accomplish all the new and different tasks necessary
for opening a new location?”
“Well, I will,”
replied Walt.
I pointed out that
he was already working 55-60 hours each week and asked what work he would drop
to allow for the additional 20-25 hours of effort needed to open the new store.
Walt
did the bookkeeping work himself, so hiring a part time bookkeeper would push
his estimated operating cost into the red, so he would have to continue to do
the bookkeeping himself.
Furthermore, sales
increased by 20% when he was in a particular store, so if he spread his time
out among three stores, sales would likely be lost in each existing location.
As we unpeeled the
onion and he understood the impact of his time, Walt came to understand that
while he had sufficient funds to open a third store, he did not have enough
time … and wisely postponed the expansion.
Likewise, each of us only has a limited amount
of time to accomplish all our work. Consider establishing a time budget for key
work. Paul wrote, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as
wise, making the best use of your time…” (Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV). Consider
writing out a time budget for your work. Contractors do this all the time when
estimating jobs. Then manage your work time to that budget. If something takes
more time, determine what other work you will drop or delay to allow for the
extra effort. Just deciding to work more hours may work for a short time, but
it is a long-term prescription for burnout and failure.
For example, when I was a chief operating
officer for one company, I budgeted 20% of my time to be with customers. One
time I needed to respond to a major customer issue and unexpectedly took a
two-day trip in an effort to salvage an excellent client. That month I already
had other customer commitments that I could not just drop. I was able to look
at my schedule and decided in advance what work I could drop to fit in the
necessary customer time to save the account.
When we say “yes” to something, we are at
the same time saying “no” to something else, and that something else is other
customers, work, or our family.
Paul wrote, “Every athlete exercises
self control in all things…” (1 Corinthians 9:25 ESV). Businesses that do
not effectively plan financial budgets often run out of money, causing the
business to fail.
Likewise, when we fail to plan our time
requirements in advance, we can run out of time, causing us to leave key work
undone and losing family time. Effective time planning and management will help
keep our personal balance intact and business running well.
