The Perks of Owning a Business: Taking Back Your Time

Owning a business is more than just a financial endeavor; it's a lifestyle choice that offers numerous perks, one of the most valuable being the ability to take back control of your life and your time. In a world where time is often considered the most precious commodity, being your own boss allows you the flexibility to manage your schedule in a way that aligns with your priorities and aspirations.

Students enjoying a spring day on Bascom Hill

One of the most significant advantages of owning a business is the flexibility it offers in terms of scheduling. Unlike a traditional 9-to-5 job, where you might be confined to a rigid timetable, being a business owner allows you to set your own hours. As business owners that also continue to work a full-time job, we've come to realize the importance of occasionally closing early or completely in order to maintain our relationships with each other and with family and friends. This flexibility enables us to strike a better balance between our professional and personal life, making it easier to attend to family commitments, pursue hobbies, or simply enjoy some much-needed downtime.

One lesson we've both learned in our own careers is the importance of tailoring our hours around the needs of our customers. This is why we focus our hours on the weekends, when most people are out and about. Additionally, we know that not many people go shopping on 3-day (bank holiday) weekends like Memorial Day or Labor Day. Therefore, we're unlikely to be open at all on those weekends. In fact, we intentionally did not open for Labor Day weekend in 2023. Instead we pushed our "grand opening" to the following week.

While we are still working to build a following here at our brick and mortar location, we are also going to be taking back a little of our time over the next few months when sales are typically lower for us. In fact, on the day of this posting, April 13, 2024, we'll be closing early and heading home at 3 p.m. Why? Because it's going to be a beautiful day. It's mid-April and we're expecting a high of 70 today and high of 75 tomorrow. As (mostly) lifelong residents of Wisconsin, we know that this means everyone is going to be at the Depot buying plants and getting started on summer yard work. We're not huge fans of just sitting in the store, because we said we would be open, while everyone else is out there living their best life. So, on occasions like this, we'll be posting to our socials and heading out early.

We assure you this will not be an every weekend occasion. However, in order to charge our batteries for the winter months when we are super busy, we'll definitely be, to quote Maxine Waters, "Reclaiming [our] time!". So, get out there and enjoy the beautiful weather here in Madison, WI today and take back some of your time!