Perhaps this isn’t the clearest analogy, but let me try and explain it anyway. The image above is that of a double-decker bus moving at high speed. Sounds tough to handle right? What I’m trying to say is it’s not a great idea to double book clients, unless you know exactly what you’re doing.
Right now I’m working with a couple of clients. Some of them have very lenient schedules and others are less forgiving. Every one has work to be done, and you’re their guy to do it! That said, working with a few different clients isn’t easy, and it’s very easy to miss deadlines, or worse, sever business connections with shoddy work or poor attendance and crimped availability. Here are some things to keep in mind before you attempt the possible impossible.
You have to be honest with yourself and your clients, and it’s not a bad idea to be aware of the number of hours in a week, which is 168 total. That’s 168 hours for working, driving from site to site, eating, hygiene and sleep. So actually working 80 hours a week is quite plausible. After all, that leaves you with 88 hours to do everything else you need to, right? There’s always going to be a few all-nighters here and there, but that’s just what you’re going to have to be ready for in this business. Sure its fun work, but nobody said it was easy.
If you’re doing on-site work, you also have to be aware of when the office opens. Working 5:30 to 13:30 at one office and then getting to another office to work 14:30 to 22:30 might sound like a good, fat 16-hour day, but if the first office opens at 9:30, you’re sort of stuck up the creek without a paddle. My recommendation in this situation would either be to cut loose a project, or to take one on that you can finish at home in the early mornings or late evenings.
The math makes it sound good, but really before you tackle this sort of thing you need to know whether or not you can deliver to all of your clients. Juggling different clients is a great way to make money, but it will backfire terribly if your deliverables are late, your availability becomes too pinched, or worse, the quality of your work suffers. If your client needs you there for 40 hours, you need to make it happen. Make sure you can handle the workload and that your clients’ schedules don’t conflict.
I hope this helps anyone out there facing a similar situation, I’d love to hear about your situation (you don’t need to tell me who your working with ;P). Good luck out there!
P.S. I haven’t forgotten about Toddler Tales. As you’ve probably gathered from this post, I simply haven’t had the time to ask for permission.
