You started your business to be your own boss. You had a dream of freedom, of building something great, and maybe even of making a difference. But let’s be honest. Does it feel like that most days?
For most small business owners, the dream looks more like this: you’re the first one in and the last one out. Your phone is always buzzing. Your to-do list is a mile long. You’re putting out fires all day, every day. You’re answering emails, dealing with customer complaints, fixing the printer, and covering for a employee who called in sick. You’re so busy working in your business that you never get a chance to work on it.
You end the day exhausted, but you feel like you didn’t actually move the needle. You’re stuck on a hamster wheel, running faster and faster but going nowhere.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. But there is a way out. It’s a simple idea that can change everything. It’s called Owner Time.
What is “Owner Time” and Why Do You Desperately Need It?
Owner Time is a non-negotiable appointment you make with yourself. It’s a block of time—usually once a week or every two weeks—where you step completely away from the daily grind. You leave the shop, turn off the phone notifications, close your email, and hide from interruptions.
This is not a break. This is strategic work. This is the time you spend working on the business instead of in it.
Think of your business like a car. Right now, you’re so busy being the driver, the mechanic, and the gas station attendant all at once that you never pull over to look at the map. You’re just driving, hoping you’re headed in the right direction, and putting out every little warning light with a piece of tape instead of fixing the real problem.
Owner Time is when you finally pull over, unfold the map, check your engine, and plan your route for the next 100 miles. It’s how you make sure you’re not just driving, but driving toward something.
Why is this so powerful?
It Forces You to Be the Boss: You started this company to be the CEO, not the chief problem-solver. Owner Time forces you to put on your CEO hat and think about the big picture.
It Reduces Stress: When you’re always reacting, your stress levels are through the roof. Owner Time lets you be proactive. Instead of waiting for problems to happen, you can plan to avoid them. This feeling of control is a huge stress reliever.
It Uncovers Problems (and Solutions): When you’re in the weeds, you can’t see the field. Stepping back lets you see patterns. Maybe you notice that one product is always causing headaches, or that a certain client is never happy. From up high, you can see the real issues and fix them for good.
It Helps You Grow: A business cannot grow if its owner is too busy doing all the work. Owner Time is where you figure out how to systemize, automate, and delegate. It’s how you build a business that can run without you working 80 hours a week.
How to Start Scheduling Your Owner Time: A Simple Plan
This isn’t a complicated idea, but it requires discipline. Here’s how to make it happen.
Step 1: Decide on the Time and Length
You don’t need a whole day to start. That can feel impossible. Start small.
Frequency: Weekly is best, especially when you’re starting out. Bi-weekly (every two weeks) is the absolute minimum.
Length: Start with 90 minutes to 2 hours. This is enough time to dig into something important without feeling overwhelming. As you get better at it, you might expand it to a half-day (3-4 hours).
Step 2: Put It On Your Calendar – In Ink!
This is the most important step. Your Owner Time is not a “maybe if I have time” thing. It is the most important meeting of your week.
Open your calendar right now.
Find a time that usually has fewer emergencies. For many, this is a Tuesday or Wednesday morning. Mondays are often catch-up days, and Fridays are for wrapping up the week. A mid-week morning is often perfect.
Block out the time. Label it clearly: “OWNER TIME – DO NOT SCHEDULE.”
Treat this appointment like a meeting with your most important client. You would never cancel on them. Don’t cancel on yourself.
Step 3: Choose Your Location
You must get out of your normal workspace. If you try to do this at your desk, you will get distracted. The phone will ring. An employee will ask a “quick question.” It won’t work.
Go to a coffee shop
Sit in a park (if the weather is nice)
Use a quiet room in your local library
Sit at your kitchen table before anyone else is awake
The change of scenery tells your brain, “We are doing something different now.” It helps you switch from manager-mode to owner-mode.
Step 4: Guard It Fiercely!
This is the hard part. People will try to interrupt you. Emergencies will seem to pop up. You will be tempted to cancel “just this once.”
Don’t.
Tell your team: Let your key employees know what you’re doing. Say, “Every Tuesday from 9-11 AM, I will be unavailable. I am working on big-picture projects for the company. Please do not call or text me unless the building is on fire.” (And define what a real fire is!).
Turn off notifications: Silence your phone. Close your email tabs. Log out of Slack. This time is sacred.
Remember the cost: The cost of canceling is huge. You’re not just losing 90 minutes; you’re losing the growth, the clarity, and the peace of mind that comes from working on your business. That “emergency” that pops up is usually just a distraction that will keep you stuck.
What Do You Actually Do During Owner Time?
Okay, you’ve blocked the time and you’re sitting in a coffee shop. Now what? It’s easy to feel lost without the daily chaos to guide you.
Have a plan. Your Owner Time should be focused on three key areas: Money, Systems, and Strategy. Here are some specific questions and activities to get you started.
1. Look at the Money (Financials)
You can’t run a business in the dark. If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business.
Review Your Profit & Loss (P&L) Statement: Don’t be scared of this. It’s just a list of what you sold (revenue) and what you spent (expenses). Look at it from last month. Where is most of your money going? Are there any expenses that seem too high? Are you making as much profit as you thought?
Check Your Cash Flow: Is money coming in faster than it’s going out? Who owes you money? (This is called Accounts Receivable). Chase those invoices. Who do you owe money to? Plan for those payments.
Ask Simple Questions:
“What is my most profitable product or service?”
“Which customers are the most profitable to work with?”
“Are there any expenses I can cut without hurting the business?”
2. Improve the Systems
A system is just a repeatable way of doing something. Good systems mean things get done right every time, even when you’re not there. Bad systems mean everything falls apart the second you step away.
Find a Repeatable Problem: Think about the last few “fires” you had to put out. Was a customer angry because an order was wrong? Did you run out of a key supply? These are system failures.
Document a Process: Is there a task that only you know how to do? Use Owner Time to write down the steps. How do you onboard a new client? How do you close the register at night? Write a simple checklist. This is the first step to training someone else to do it.
Ask Simple Questions:
“What tasks do I do every week that someone else could be trained to do?”
“Where is the biggest bottleneck slowing everything down?”
“What’s one thing I can systemize this week to make my life easier?”
3. Think About Strategy (The Big Picture)
This is the fun part. This is where you dream and plan.
Set Goals: Where do you want your business to be in one year? Not just “make more money,” but be specific. “I want to add two new clients per month” or “I want to launch a new service by October.” Write these goals down.
Check Your Progress: Look at the goals you set last month. Are you on track? If not, why? What’s getting in the way?
Think About Your Customers: Are you serving the right people? How can you make your customers even happier? Should you raise your prices?
Ask Simple Questions:
“What is one new thing I could offer that my customers would love?”
“What does success look like for me in one year?”
“Am I still having fun? If not, what would make this business fun again?”
Making It a Habit That Sticks
The first few times you do this, it will feel weird. You’ll feel guilty. You’ll be convinced everything is falling apart without you. That’s a sign that you need Owner Time more than ever.
Start Small: Don’t try to solve all your problems in one session. Pick one thing. Maybe this week, you just look at your P&L statement. Next week, you write down the steps for closing the register.
Celebrate Wins: Did you figure out why a product isn’t selling? Did you create a checklist that saved you an hour this week? That’s a win! Acknowledge it. This positive reinforcement will make you want to keep doing it.
Be Patient: You didn’t get stuck on the hamster wheel in a day, and you won’t get off it in a day. But every session of Owner Time is a step toward building the business you originally dreamed of.
The Bottom Line: You Are Your Company’s Most Important Asset
You would never let a key piece of equipment break down without maintenance. You wouldn’t run your delivery van into the ground without an oil change. So why are you treating yourself that way?
You are the heart, brain, and engine of your business. If you are burned out, stressed, and stuck in the weeds, your business will be stuck too. Investing in Owner Time is the best maintenance you can do for yourself and for your company’s future.
It’s not selfish. It’s not a luxury. It is essential work. It’s the work that transforms you from a overwhelmed technician into a true CEO. It’s how you turn a job that owns you into a business you own.
So, go open your calendar. Block out that time. Guard it with your life. Your future self—and your business—will thank you for it.
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Hi, I’m Heather.
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