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ans Serif">1. To succeed, you have to work long hours
There's no doubt that starting and growing a business takes commitment and involves time and effort. Working long hours, however, is often not the answer.

ans Serif">If you're working without taking a break, you'll not be working effectively and you'll soon become exhausted.

ans Serif">To be productive; to think clearly about where your business is headed and to serve your clients well, you need to keep your own well-being at the top of your list of priorities.

ans Serif">Schedule time away from your place of work, give yourself permission to take a breather and you'll be more likely to see new ways forward - ways that may not involve such a large drain on your energy and your life.

2. To do a job properly you have to do it yourself
If you are doing everything yourself, you're not really running a business, you've got yourself a job, and a fairly tough one at that.

ans Serif">Being able to delegate or to outsource is a skill many Free Agents, Consultants and solopreneurs fail to learn. By doing everything themselves they're effectively admitting that they have no particular speciality, no one strength. That's not necessarily a problem for everyone - some people like doing everything - but can you see how it limits growth and opportunity?

ans Serif">Take a look at what you do best, where your skills are best applied and then see what else you're involved in. How would your business develop if you spent more time in one area and less in another?

ans Serif">Keeping a detailed timesheet for two or three weeks is a great way to track where your time is going and can teach you things about your work output that you'd never imagine.

ans Serif">If you'd like a sample of an effective timesheet, send me a note and I'll email one as an Acrobat .pdf file (mailto:timesheet@gerrish.com.au).

3. It's best to work hard now and enjoy later
Sorry I don't buy this. My Father fell for this one and later never came. Enjoyment simply must be a part of now. Live for the present, enjoy it to the full. Period.

4. In business, you don't say 'no' to work
A common assignment I set to my coaching clients is to practice saying 'no' to work. Not for the hell of it; for the heaven of it!

ans Serif">Saying yes to everything, grabbing anything that's going is usually a sign that not enough thought has been given to what constitutes an ideal client or ideal work.

ans Serif">Get clear on what is ideal work for you. Don't just look at the nature of the work, but consider the characteristics of the people that bring you that work. As your focus becomes clearer you'll recognise ideal clients earlier and over time you'll draw more of these people to you.

ans Serif">Remember when you got a new car and you noticed lots of the same model around the place? It's the same with your business, get really clear on where your opportunity lies and you'll see more openings.

5. Balance is what happens on weekends
Sadly, the structure of our society seems to support this view: work like a dog all week, recover at the weekend. I reckon the Europeans have got it right - close down in the middle of the day for a few hours, spend time with your family and take a snooze.