American Entrepreneurs Are Overworked

A new poll conducted by Staples of 300 small business owners in America with less than 20 employees found that they are working long hours, take little vacation time, and cannot distinguish between working hours and time off.

Some of the survey results are:

Always On Email

• 18% read work-related emails in the bathroom and 49% read them while driving

What 40 Hour Work Week?

• 62% work well beyond a 40 hour work week
  
• 21% work over 80 hours peer week

Top 3 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Work So Hard

1. Business growth
2. Added responsibility
3. Trying to keep up

What Personal Time?

• 21% work while eating dinner at least 4-5 times per week
• 37% could not readily remember their last vacation
• Of those who did vacation, nearly half admitted to working during some portion of it
• 68% work on days off, checking e-mail, voicemail or making work-related calls
• 66% work after hours and at night
• 51% work on holidays
• 47% work during what is supposed to be family time

Remember when selling to small business owners that they are stressed out, overworked, and wearing many hats within the company. Understanding their circumstances will go a long way to helping you close the deal.

Entrepreneurs Overworked, Underpaid

The insurance company Zurich recently polled 1,028 small business owners to examine their working habits. The results were that the entrepreneurs are overworked and underpaid compared to their employee counterparts. Many of the small business owners were working up to 72 hours per week, taking no vacations and taking home less than 20,000 pounds per year (equivalent to minimum wage for the number of hours worked).

Overworked Entrepreneurs Takes Its Toll

• 50% are too busy to take lunch breaks
• 48% work 6 or 7 days per week
• 18% work over 12 hour days
• 40% say the long hours are contributing to their stress levels
• 82% have not taken a vacation in the past year
• 42% are concerned with the impact their business is having on their family

Doing Everyone's Job

• 70% do the customer services, sales, operations, supply chain management, HR, risk management, premises and marketing for their businesses
• 60% do their own bookkeeping and accounting
• 50% manage their distribution and IT
  

Not Taking Home The Big Bucks

• Only 51% pay themselves a regular salary
• 42% draw pay depending on the success of the business
• Of those that take a salary, 39% take less than 20,000 pounds

It's important to remember when creating your message for small business owners that their business is one of the most important aspects of their lives. They spend the majority of their waking hours working on the business, do everything from production creating to sales to human resources and don't pay themselves very well for the privilege.