An older post, but very good: The Manager’s Schedule versus The Maker’s Schedule

by Kraettli Lawrence Epperson in Blog Roundup

1360973_pizza_making_1Check out this post from Paul Graham at YCombinator about the difference between a schedule this is optimal for bosses versus optimal for people who make stuff:

http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html

I struggle with this sometimes, because I’m required to be the boss, but I like to make stuff.

Doing some “making” each week keeps me involved, aware and energized. But over the last 15 odd years, I’ve moved entirely to the Manager’s Schedule, as a business owner and investor. Every successful entrepreneur does this. The sooner, the better – and the more successful they’ll be.

But it is really hard to replace the satisfaction of making stuff. It really is. And there are plenty of things that nobody else can really make, to my satisfaction, as well as I can. That’s not a good reason for me to do it, but it is something that I’m aware of, from time to time.

Of course, that impulse to “make stuff” as an entrepreneur is completely illogical and counterproductive: I could probably mow my own lawn better than the lawn guy does. I could sew my own clothing and grow my own food. But I don’t, because that would be a stupid use of my very precious time. The same goes for programming my own software or doing my own graphic design. That’s not how you build a business.

In the end, if you’re going to be the boss, you’ve got to be the boss. Which is why I’m on the Manager’s Schedule 95% of the time. (And that other 5% of the time, I can call a hobby, if need to, in order to justify it.)

(photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/arinas74)

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Kraettli Lawrence Epperson

Managing Director at JumpPhase Ventures
This blog is dedicated to providing advice, tools and encouragement from one entrepreneur to another. I want to keep this practical and accessible for the new entrepreneur while also providing enough sophistication and depth to prove useful to the successful serial entrepreneur. My target rests somewhere between the garage and the board room, where the work gets done and the hockey stick emerges.