Not long ago, I received a great question from Jill, and I have a feeling that the answer to this question will greatly help you structure your own business. Enjoy!
QUESTION:
“What is the maximum number of people you can work with one on one in a given week and still feel like you have your space to create?”
AVA:
“Hi Jill ~ Thanks so much for your question! Generally, I am on the phone with clients and students for a total of 14 hours per week. Some of those hours are with groups, and some are one-to-one clients, so I work with up to 80-84 people per week.
Recently I’ve noticed that my own “client call endurance” is about 3 hours of being on the phone in a day. Three hours of talking each day feels good to me, it gives me time to be creative, and my voice doesn’t get sore from overuse. Some of my colleagues have shared that they have the endurance to talk for 8 hours a day, but I would feel completely exhausted by 8 hours. I used to do 7 phone calls a day, but that was too much. I was nearly catching a cold by the time my workweek was over.
If you are curious about your own “client call endurance,” I suggest that you try scheduling 3-7 appointments in a day, and see what feels best for you. Can you easily talk for 7 hours, or is that too much?
One other thing I do to ensure that I have space for my own creative time is to take client and colleague calls only on certain days of the week (currently Monday through Thursday). Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are generally time for creating, traveling, writing, and hanging out and doing nothing.
Over the years, I’ve also discovered that I’m most creative from about 7 to 11pm, so I do all that I can to keep my evening creative hours free. These hours have become incredibly important during the creation of my book, and I have put additional lifestyle guidelines in place to protect them. First, I rarely ever drink alcohol with an evening meal. Alcohol makes me tired, and then I feel too groggy to take advantage of this creative evening time. Sugar also makes me tired, so I try not to consume much of it at night. I’ll also try to plan most of my social gatherings in the daytime, so that I can have the evening to myself.
© 2015 Ava Waits
Ava Waits is an inspirational speaker, business mentor, and forthcoming author. She believes that making money should feel like bliss, and through her work, she helps innovative women build service-based businesses that richly fund their lives.
Clients worldwide have used Ava’s processes to release financial constriction and bring more business opportunities and income into their lives. For more information, to view article archives, and to schedule a Strategy Session to discuss your business visions, please visit www.AvaWaits.com.
