Billable Rate for Small Business Owner

The “billable hour” is often associated with law professions. However this concept should be used by all business owners: it is important as a business owner to set the minimal hourly rate you want to earn as a bottom line.

How much should your earn per hour as a business owner? Many books on time management recommend the practice of thinking of each hour of your time as being worth a specific quantity of money: the “time is money” concept. First, figure out what your hourly rate is, and if you want to earn more money, then you must mentally raise your hourly rate, so you can start concentrating on activities that are worth more. For example, if you currently earn $50/hour and want to earn $75/hour, then you have to do less and less $50/hour work as you shift to doing $75/hour work. This gives you a clear idea of what your time is worth, and can help you focus your efforts by keeping you from wasting time doing low-earning activities.
 
Thinking in terms of an hourly rate will definitely help limit your downside as a business owner, but be careful not to limit your upside. Of course it would be foolish to miss out on a $10,000 hour opportunity simply because it doesn’t match your billable hourly rate: they key is to set a minimum hourly rate, and not go below that rate, but be sure not to miss an opportunity to go above your minimum rate. The key as an entrepreneur is to not miss out on the truly lucrative opportunities that only come along every so often.