"Why do you work so much bro? Isn't that what you have employees for? Hire more employees." This is probably one of the most common questions that I get asked. I have empathy for these people. From the outside looking in, it is easy to make a quick assumption about an entrepreneur who seems to be doing all the "dirty work" all the time. Here is why I believe it is necessary.
The first reason is financial. People seem to think when you open a business, it somehow comes along with an unlimited bank account that can be used to make payroll each week and hire unlimited employees. It is obviously not the case. For the first 1.5 years of my business (and even now during a slower month or week) it was quite necessary for me to work shifts on the floor just to cover payroll.
The next reason is that the people running the systems and processes of your business, adapting as sales increase, etc. are the ones that are shaping your business. Had I just hired employees to work every single shift and do everything it basically wouldn't have been my business. If it is YOUR business then YOU should be the one in their shaping it into exactly the business you want it to be.
The next reason is that I want the money that I would use to pay and employee to reinvest in my business! A five hour shift in the shop will cost me $75 minimum after fees and taxes to pay an employee to work it. I want to keep that $75 and reinvest it into facebook ads (or some type of advertising or asset ) to drive new business! The common rebuttal to this theory is that if you hire employees to do the ground work, you can focus on driving more sales and that employee will eventually pay for themselves. Work smarter not harder. What I'm saying is that I'll work hard AND smart. My strategy is to work that shift and spend time driving new sales AND I'll have money to invest behind my efforts. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of employees. But I think it's a balance of getting your hands dirty, shaping the business, and saving money on payroll to reinvest while also having time to go get new business.
Another reason is that my team wouldn't respect me as much if they felt that "I didn't know what it was like" to work the ground shifts or do the dirty work. I have the respect of all my team members because not only did I do all the ground work from the start, I STILL do the dishes, make soda and take orders. If I'm going to ask them to do something, I am willing and actively doing it myself.
The last reason is that before I go out and tell employees how to run my business, I need to figure out exactly what the business is and how I want it run. I feel like my business is a little baby. I first need to raise it and grow it into it's full potential and figure out exactly how it operates before I send it out into the world. It was very much necessary for me to make the first 1,000,000 drinks that were served at Thirst with my own two hands before I was able to train my employees that now run the shop how to do it PERFECTLY.
So that is why I work so much. Often times there is no other choice financially other than to do the dirty work, if it is MY business then I will be the one shaping and tweaking it towards perfection as it grows, I want the money that I would otherwise pay an employee to work to reinvest in my company, getting my hands dirty allows me to have a team that respects me, and lastly before I tell employees how to run my business I first need to put in the work to figure out what exactly my business is and how I want it run.
