It’s an interesting time to be an entrepreneur.

The world is changing but one thing remains the same – you can’t create time, only solutions. Time can only be managed, freed up and spent – wisely or otherwise.

The digital age of convenience means there is a plethora of automation tools out there that are continuously emerging and evolving. The goal of these tools is to optimise processes, create efficiency and free up more time.

But we don’t have more time. We’ve simply found new problems to occupy ourselves with, and consequently, we’re busier than ever.

Standard full-time hours make up a third of a day, so in theory, we should spend only a third of our lives working. Unfortunately, this fails to account for necessary overtime, travel, thinking about work, and the other array of work-related activities that occupy our time.

In a limitless world of technology, are we utilising software tools as best we can to free up our time?

The potential opportunities of technology

Advances in technology have provoked a range of new and interesting opportunities, and our interconnectivity means we have access to more information than we have ever had before. As an entrepreneur, this means potential for business to access the best technology solutions to do away with tedium and unnecessary grunt work.

Our creativity and ideas are no longer limited by our own imaginations, and the ideas of those closest to us. Our thoughts and ideas are now inspired on a global level. And we’re hungry for more.

The potential of what we can do as entrepreneurs and business people seems limitless; we can understand why people are no longer satisfied with the concept of working for the sake of a paycheck. The world is our oyster, but how to approach such vast oceans of opportunity?

Lead with passion

Work is a necessary part of life within a civilisation, and since work is mostly compulsory anyway, why not do something meaningful, something you’re passionate about?

Passion is a key reason many people start small businesses, whether they are turning a hobby into a career, or creating a solution to an unsolved pain point in their field of expertise. Other appealing benefits include the ability to choose your own hours and manage your own time. Regardless of the reason you start, one challenge you will struggle with is finding a work/life balance.

From the outside, the entrepreneur lifestyle may seem glamorous, but the evolutionary pressure of the startup grind culture and hustle sees Australians working some of the longest hours of any developed country.

Launching a company can be all-consuming; many small business owners take on the responsibility of not just their product or service, but the sales, marketing, and financial roles of a business, in order to save costs. Unfortunately, they forget to account for the value and cost of their own time.

Working smarter not harder

Some entrepreneurs seem to champion ‘work bravado’- the idea that long hours and operating on low sleep is somehow an admirable achievement. If you look around you will find numerous influential entrepreneurs say it is necessary for business owners to work 14-18 hours per day in their startup’s first year.

This may work for some people, but for the majority, it can result in burnout, which is detrimental to productivity and overall health.

Your team, product, and clients will suffer, and you’ll likely lose that passion that got you started in the first place.

Is something like doing your taxes or business reporting is taking away from running your business? Are you spending hours working on monthly business activity statements and invoicing (things that an accountant or accounting solution could easily take care of in a fraction of the time)? If so, are you really making the best use of your time, and the best decisions for your business? Likely not.

With so many automation tools available at your fingertips, doesn’t doing everything yourself seem tedious and unnecessary?

While being a business owner is a sizeable time commitment, it doesn’t have to mean giving up sleep, time with your loved ones, your hobbies, your health, and everything else.

At Pinch, we are advocates for work/life balance. Many small business owners we encounter are spending their Friday nights playing catch up on their bookkeeping. Pinch is here to help you take back your Friday nights.

About Pinch Payments

Pinch Payments is an all-round payments solution created by developers for small businesses. Rather than just moving money from A to B, we focus on total bookkeeping automation. Business owners, accountants, and bookkeepers experience an immediate reduction in administration time, thanks to our auto-reconciliation and single-entry invoicing.

We support both bank account and credit card payments, eliminating the need to connect multiple payment platforms to your cloud accounting software. Setup is quick and easy, which means you could be processing transactions in minutes. Pinch helps you enable automatic, recurrent billing, so chasing client payments is one less worry, and one less time waster. Customer service is our passion, and we will continue to optimize our platform and features, with a focus on positively impacting our customers.

Being an entrepreneur is rewarding, but it’s a tough gig. There are highs and lows, and it will take time to find a balance between your work and your personal life. Your time is your most precious resource, and if you take advantage of industry expert created business optimization tools, you have more time to focus on building a successful business. Never forget the value of your time.

By Serena Erin Reece, Pinch Payments.