Business Hours
Going out on your own should mean freedom to set your own hours. I am a night person meaning that I am most productive at night because for some reason it becomes much easier for me to focus. However, most of the people we have to interact with are day people and expect things to happen during the day such as phone calls, email replies, etc.. I don’t know what defines a company as being “global”, but we have clients in three different continents and members in five so there is no such thing as a timezone with us.
The reason I bring this up is because I wonder is it fair for people to expect you to be available at at the same times of the day that they are available? I do believe you should cater to the people paying the bills, but if you begin to cater too much to all their time requests aren’t you giving up the freedom you so longed for in the first place? It seems the only way to get around this is to let people know what times are good for you.
I understand if you are a company that only deals with clients in timezones near yourself or are lucky enough to simply have great local clients, then you should be available at their times. However, I do believe less and less of us have that luxury so what do we do if anything?
Related reading:
That is why asynchronous communication (email) is so good. It isn’t required that both parties be present at the same time to facilitate communication
By JohnO on October 18, 2005 11:10 am
Offer email responses within 24-48 hours?
Seriously, though, my thoughts are that you should make set what hours you are available to do business, and always be available for those hours. When it is conveniant to be accomodating outside of those hours, then by all means do so, but do not make guarentees that such will be the case.
By Blaine Moore (Run to Win) on October 18, 2005 11:13 am
I suppose that would be the best way, but rarely am I around consistently for a set amount of hours every single day. With my job I have the luxury of running errands during the day and is probably a good reason why I am more productive at night because there is nothing to worry about.
By Scrivs on October 18, 2005 11:18 am
My international clients have been pretty lenient and understanding, neither of us want to be woken up. Besides, many of them (so long as it isn’t time sensitive) are comfortable with the day overlap, it tends to be productive for both ends to work unchallenged.
My US clients tend not to be so forgiving, our East Coast vs. West Coast 3 hour difference can get a bit annoying at times. However, they are the customer; I’m providing them with a service, they’re providing me business relations and financial love — so I am lenient on the time delay, they are the customer, and have earned special treatment from me. I see that as a minor request. Anything that is an immediate emergency is a different story, and should be addressed so long as it doesn’t become a daily firefight.
So, it depends on people — just like anything, some are neurotic, some are a joy. I don’t think an all or nothing works for any model, but discussing this with your clients beforehand usually lays out the rules right away about what you both can expect and schedule accordingly.
By Brady J. Frey on October 18, 2005 11:20 am
hah, i wish international clients were that lenient. nothing sucks more than getting woken up at 3 am because a client in germany can’t get something to work on their website.
By Brian B on October 18, 2005 11:29 am
Just state you are available from 9AM-5PM every day. Then maybe add a small, tiny footnote as to which timezone that applies to, like say, Sydney time (GMT+10). Then you can work your regular hours. :)
By Dylan Bennett on October 18, 2005 12:15 pm
My clients know my hours are 9-5, but I will answer their calls anytime. If I have a customer with an emergency, I’ll work on their project immediately. For most, I will write a note to myself and do it when I can.
As far as peak hours of productivity, I work best from 7am - 11am, then 10pm - 3am. Weird.
By William Stewart on October 18, 2005 3:19 pm
I know this is completely off topic but I get your feed through bloglines and was wondering what are scrapers?
By steve on October 18, 2005 7:52 pm
I recently switched from working mostly at nights to a more 9-5 schedule. Asynchronous communication is great, but I find even email is far more productive when my hours match my clients.
When I worked at night, I’d receive one email from someone and send a reply, and they’d get it the next day. But now I can have seven or eight back-and-forth emails during the course of a day, or even an IM conversation, which moves our communication forward many steps instead of one. I’m amazed how much better it can be.
I’m ready for a global society where I can work whatever hours I wish, but we’re not there yet.
By Michael Moncur on October 18, 2005 9:41 pm
I used to be a freelancer, and had a full-time day job, so I had to work in the evenings. No choice. Interacting with clients was hard because they all worked 8-5 M-F. I usually took lunch breaks and would walk outside to make a quick cell call here and there.
Now, I try to be at the office during normal hours, but I still get my best work done at night (evidenced by the fact that it’s 1:30 AM and I’m working). Another problem I have is I CAN’T work during the day, because most of my time is spent doing project management, sales, correspondence, etc. It’s hard to get 1-2 hour stretches to actually dive into client projects.
I think you have to cater to the clients’ needs… or they will find someone who will. That doesn’t mean bending over backwards, but you have to setup some effective way to communicate. I’ve been using Basecamp (www.basecamphq.com) to manage projects and client communication and it works really well. It’s reduced the number of phone calls and helps me manage my time better.
You just have to find out what works for you… and your clients. Once you find a system that will be acceptable for both of you, everything’s great.
By Brandon Eley on October 19, 2005 1:34 am
Instead of being there 9-5pm EST, just try to be there for part of the time, everyday. People can leave voicemails, etc.
Start work at something like 3pm if you’re going to work into the night. Or, work for a few hours during the day and more at night.
Work around it. It’s doable.
By Scott Kidder on October 19, 2005 5:23 am
Venturing out on your own means freedom laced with chaos!
The situation you described is extremely familiar to me.
The sooner you realise that the buck stops at you, the deadlier the chill that settles in… but, at the end of it all, when you do make it one day, it all seems worthwhile.
Being the obstinate person that I am, I am going forward full speed… ain’t gonna slow down till am there and beyond… :-)
By Web Designer India on October 19, 2005 11:13 am
I think you hit it on the head at the end is communicating up front with people your hours and/or how soon you can respond back. I think we all (wrongly) assume that people work the same hours if the time zone is within 2-3 hours of ours. If we set response expectations up front, that will alleviate a lot of impatience with clients.
By Chris K on October 20, 2005 9:10 am
What the others said about email support but also:
VoIP that phone. Log it out when you’re asleep and send everything to voicemail. Never give your landline number to a client.
And FFS - get service agreements written down! Phone calls at 3am is something that only happens if *we* drop the ball on that one.
By JH on October 20, 2005 10:28 am
I was up until 3:30am last night/this morning with a client. Why so late? She works nights and that’s when it is convenient for her to talk about stuff.
This is my first run in with this sort of thing. Had I have known what a problem this would have been in the beginning I probably would have passed on the job.
You take jobs, they don’t take you. Take the ones you want — leave the ones you don’t want.
By Will on October 21, 2005 12:44 pm
So Paul, what kind of business hours are you keeping these days now that you’re about to have Wilma knocking on your door?
By Mark on October 21, 2005 12:52 pm
Today is errand day so no business hours at all. Gotta stock up on candy and soda.
By Scrivs on October 21, 2005 12:56 pm
I was thinking of moving to Ireland. Friendly people and kickass food! Not to mention by the time I’d normally wake up over there, it was the start of the business day over here. I’d conduct all my business from Ireland if I could.
By Joe Clay on October 23, 2005 12:26 am