Business Owner's Bad Math

I own a restaurant. We are open 7 days a week, including all holidays. But by design, it's merely seasonal. We are closed in the dead of winter, and thank goodness for that because I really can't keep up this pace more than 250 days a year.

Closed 115 days a year? Over 100 days off.... that sounds amazing, right? Well, lets do the math. It's exactly the same as a person working 5 days a week and having weekends off. That "regular worker" would get 2 days off, each of 52 weeks (plus stat holidays) so they are off likely 115 days a year. Same!

But, the pace is really hard to keep up without a solid sanity break here and there. I'm not bragging. I freely admit I must actually be crazy for working like this.

Let's look at August, shall we? With staff departures and holidays, and sudden staff illness I ended up working every single day in August, except for the 1st.  I worked (in the restaurant) from August 2nd to 30th consecutively. Each day was a 12 hour day, except for 4 days. Of those 4 days, I worked two days at just 8 hour shifts, plus two 5's. (For interest, I used my one half day to drive out of town to run errands and do chores/visit my mother. The other, I got my hair and nails done.)

12 x 26 = 312
2 x 8 = 16
2 x 5 = 10

That's 338 hours in the building and/or rushing to grab supplies.  This does NOT include time spent in my home office planning meals, doing schedules, preparing advertisements, and the other "brain" tasks outside of the physical serving, cleaning, cooking which is required on site.

So if a "regular worker" works 7.5 hours a day, 5 days a week, it would take them just over 9 weeks to complete 338 hours of work.

So, by my bad math, I worked 9 weeks in August!!! LOL  Agreed. It's not healthy, or sane. But when others were calling in sick, and the show must go on in a 7 day a week operation, that's what the owner does. After all, it's my name on the wall and my reputation at risk.

The bigger question is really... what WEREN'T you doing in August?  Well, I can honestly say that I have gone another whole summer without going to the lake or camping. I didn't go fishing or hiking or to a beach either. I certainly didn't go out partying or out for dinners. I didn't have a bonfire with my kids or even touch a BBQ. I did not attend a concert or go to any fairs or festivals. I really didn't do any "summer" things that people enjoy in this part of the country. I had one drink on a patio... so I guess that was good! LOL

What I DID do, was dedicate 8 days in early July to a family vacation. It was certainly good to get out of town. But the fact remains, since that vacation, I have worked my ass off and am physically in desperate need for another break.

I find myself in a little rut. I'm like a carnival pony. As long as I keep my head down and my feet moving, things will stay on track. And as long as this little carnival pony can see a vacation (my "carrot") dangling in the distance, I should be able to keep going. It's not easy! But easy is never worth it.

As my new favourite proverb, I'll lastly note: Opportunity looks a lot like hard work...and for those who really know me, they KNOW I've never been shy about hard work.