“Money never sleeps” is an old saying – it essentially means that money is made around the clock. And while I’m not a huge fan of a “business 24/7” mentality, there is a definite truth to the thought, especially for businesses like mine (copywriting / website writing / etc), and similar (web design, marketing, graphic design, consulting, etc). Let me explain:
I’m a worldwide writing business. From my basement office in Kingston NY, I serve copywriting clients all over the world. Now, I don’t want to make it sound like I’m some jet-setter (I’m not – going to the post office is a big trip for me), but the fact is, 20% of my client base is non-US. From Canada to China, I have customers on every continent (save Antarctica). Again, all from my basement office. My neighbor, who has yet to send his first e-mail, would never believe it.
Anyway, the business line rang last night at 9:30pm. Not terribly late, but not a time that “most” businesspeople would answer. However, my basement office is also my den / mancave / whatever you want to call it, so I was here, and I answered it. On the other end was a medical company from Singapore, needing web copy rewritten. We have a ten minute conversation, exchange two quick e-mails, I send a PayPal invoice for the deposit, and by 10:00, I have a new client/project on my schedule. Now, it’s not a HUGE job, mind you, but it’s nothing to sneeze at either (not that I sneeze at/on anything if I can at all help it).
My point is, if I stuck to “business hours” and let the machine pick up, I miss this website copywriting job. But I (cheerfully) answered the phone at 9:30pm. Know why I did that? Because it might not be 9:30pm from the caller’s perspective. It might be the following morning (which it was.)
If you have a business like mine, and are limiting yourself to 9-5, you’re missing out, plain and simple. In this new, connected world, money (and business) truly never sleep.
In Kauai (we did tours) I would answer calls all the time (I even did a few 2:00 AM calls).
Note to New Yorkers… don’t argue with me when I explain my yawn. I know it’s 2:00 AM in the morning since I’m in the dark and looking at the moon. “Nah… you guys are ahead of us! It’s like 1:00 in the afternoon there.”
But anyway, yeah I answered calls and that’s one of the reasons we had full tours. Someone was there to take the call.
So what is country you have done copy for that you would most like to visit one day?
I would have to say England or Germany. Never been to Europe, and those are the two I’d like to see most. Germany around Oktoberfest sounds about right 😉
Dan,
I read your post ‘Money Never Sleeps’ with great interest. I understand the time zone thing, but isn’t taking a call to accept a project and actually doing the ‘work’ two different things?
I’m in the architecture field and have a client who will call or email me late Thursday or Friday asking me to revise drawings for a meeting they have Monday morning. I’ve made it a rule of thumb not to work weekends or late into the evening. I’ve found if you do work ‘all the time’ clients may take advantage of you. Thoughts?
Thanks,
David
Indeed, David – I agree. I probably should have clarified that. Yes, you will *rarely* find me working (as in, doing client writing/etc) during the evening/weekends. I don’t advocate that for anyone. Of course, once in a (very) great while, there’s an important project that requires some Saturday hours, but it’s not the norm.
Of course, as a work-at-home entrepreneur, I do sometimes take “flex” hours to heart – I’ll sleep in, do some work around the house/etc during the day sometimes, and settle in to write at 6pm. But also, that’s somewhat rare. it’s easier to keep ‘regular” hours, and keep the e-mail phone open later 😉
Great choice – I haven’t been to Germany but my husband has been many places in Europe and loved Germany.
Important distinction between taking the job and working too much on the job. You’ve got a really healthy attitude.
Great post! Do you offer guest writers to write content for you? I wouldn’t mind writing a post or elaborating on a few of the subjects you write about here. Again, awesome blog!
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