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.