15 Entrepreneurs Describe Their Average Day

It's the habit of successful people to follow a daily routine. Taking time to design your day can reduce the overwhelm and stress that comes along with failure to achieve your work and personal goals. Though the nature of work can greatly determine whether one sticks to a particular routine, there are some habits such as the morning routine that helps kickstart your day with energy. A routine for your average day shouldn't be boring or rigid but adhering to one can greatly help improve your efficiency and productivity.

We asked entrepreneurs and business owners how their average day is and here are the responses.

#1- Like a machine

My average day is like a machine. Best way I can describe it. Little to no downtime with maximum efficiency for both life and work balance being a business owner and father. I am up at around 3am with my son (8 mths) who needs to be settled back down after being changed. Shortly after get a bottle for him at 5am. Spend about 1hr with him laying in bed before I get up at 6am to start my day. Breakfast real quick for about 15min, grab our dog and head to doggie daycare by 7am. Drive 1 hour to my office in West Chester, PA and start my work day at 8am. Work from 8am-445pm. No later or I will pay for it in traffic. Drive 1-1.5hrs back home to get the pup from daycare. Food shopping, cooking dinner for family. Family time from 630pm-830pm. Depending on my day I often times brew more coffee and get back to work until about 11-12am. Rinse and repeat. My weekends are slightly different but not really. I am a firm believer in rising every day around the same time. Sleeping in does not get you to success. As they say success is not earned but it is rented. And rent is due every single day of the week. 

Thanks to Sean Dawes, Modded Euros! 

#2- Composed of different meetings

Since its founding in 2007, Socotra Capital has grown into a business that, for the most part, does not require me for day-to-day operations. I tend to spend my days meeting with clients, vendors, investors, and my employees. My early mornings are always spent reviewing our opportunities, deciding between those we will move forward with, and those we will pass on. The rest of my days are generally unstructured. I will sit in on meetings, help troubleshoot areas of concern for the firm, or researching new opportunities for growth. 

Thanks to Adham Sbeih, Socotra Capital!

#3- Depends on structure and moderation

The success of my day all depends on structure and moderation. I like to achieve a little bit of everything in a single day. I start most mornings with physical fitness – 6:30am Krav Maga martial arts class to get the blood flowing. I then begin by reviewing our team's goals for the next 10 years, 3 years, 1 year, and 3 months – all the way down to our goals for this month, this week, and today. A daily reminder of goals helps keep things in perspective. I generally spend the first part of every day working on large, complex projects that require focused attention. I have an email plugin that delivers all of my email in bulk at 11am and 5pm, leaving large chunks of undistracted time. When possible, I will schedule meetings and check-in calls for the afternoon. After dinner and spending time with my wife, I sometimes get back to work in the evening, which is the time I have found I can be most productive on creative or vision-oriented tasks. And then immediately to sleep so we can get up and  do it all over again the next day! 

Thanks to Grant Hensel, Nonprofit Megaphone!

#4- Varies with the day

As an entrepreneur running my own public relations agency, my typical day involves accepting that there is no typical day in PR. However, I always do certain things, but in different orders and on different days. For instance, I start each day before the market opens scanning the news headlines and social media for information or news hooks that are relevant to my clients or industries I represent. From there, most of my time is spent behind a desk writing and responding to emails and developing press materials (like press releases, media pitches, speeches, and media briefs). Often times, there will be email and phone conversations with members of the media—sometimes I’ll even appear on camera. The remainder of the day will be spent identifying coverage opportunities for clients, meeting with current clients, or researching potential clients to approach as new business opportunities. Towards month- and year-end there will be planning meetings and recap reports to draft and provide to all appropriate parties. And, when a campaign calls for it, there will be parties and events to plan and oversee. 

Thanks to KJ Blattenbauer, Hearsay PR! 

#5- Starts with answering and composing emails

I don't know that there really is an average day for me, because our small business has a lot going on right now. But for the most part, I try to get an early start on the day, after eating a healthy breakfast. The morning is usually filled with answering and composing emails on various projects we have going on right now. And I usually try to take a mid-morning break. Lunch is usually around noon, and the afternoon could be used for just about anything. I might meet with a potential new business associate, or explore a new media or marketing opportunity. And there's usually a quick mid-afternoon break as well. I'll use the late afternoon to tie up any loose ends, and then I'll usually try to get in some form of physical activity, with ice hockey being one of my main hobbies. And for the most part, the evening is used for rest and relaxation, and I always try to get a good night's sleep so I can start fresh the next day.

Thanks to Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers! 

#6-Consists of waking up at 5am

My average day consists of waking up around 5am for meditation and viewing my personal goals. Then I begin a vigorous workout to keep my body and physical strength in alignment with my mental strength and overall business stability. After I shower, I get straight to work. I read for an hour about everything real estate and then sit myself behind my desk and crush the keys. Whether I’m creating content for our website or looking up listings for clients, there’s no losing momentum throughout the day. Finally I end my evening with a nice meal and usually some more reading. Hop back on the computer for a few more hours then call it a night. I usually set aside about 15 minutes to think about the success of my day tomorrow then fall asleep just to wake up the next day and do it all over again. 

Thanks to Mack Dudayev, Chance Realty!

#7- Going to the office everyday

I go to the office every day, no matter the holidays or weekends coming. I wake up around 7 am, make my bed, stretch, then having a glass of milk along with a banana. After that, I'll go for 20minutes running, take shower and have breakfast. Then I'll turn on my phone and check out my emails. Then make my coffee at home and heading to the office. usually, it starts with following up with emails and organize daily tasks. then I would have a couple of meetings with team and clients. I'll leave the office around 9 pm, going home, playing piano for 30minutes. make dinner and watch a series or interesting videos on Netflix or YouTube, Read for 30minutes and going to bed. 

Thanks to Ali Payani, LookinLA LLC! 

#8- Split 80%-20% on growth and whirlwind

My business wouldn’t be what it is today if I didn’t spend as much time each day making sure that every member of the team is on the same page. Each day, we want to focus on the most impactful goals and the projects that drive us. Whether I take morning meetings with vendors or advisors or lunch meetings with members of my team, we're always focused on what’s most important. From there I’ve got my list of takeaways that I’ll spend the next few hours developing into strategies that we can use to capitalize on new industry developments or opportunities that are coming up. Then there's a slew of whirlwind activities; the grind, or nitty-gritty activities that are simple tasks that have less impact but still need to be completed. I would say that my day is split 80%-20% (at least) on driving our growth through these impact driven activities and whirlwind. It’s a nice mix because ending on easily completable tasks means when I get home to my 3 kids and wife – with her own busy career – I’m able to wind down easier than if I was focusing on larger activities that require more long term solutions all day.

Thanks to Mike Thorne, JUST JUNK! 

#9- Like a series of wind sprints

My entrepreneurial life is actually a side hustle, and I'm also a mom of 2-year-old and 4-year-old girls, so my average day looks like a series of wind sprints. After feeding my girls breakfast and getting everyone dressed for the day, my sitter shows up, and my work day gets started. I work from home for a healthcare advertising agency during the day; once my kids go to bed, my second job begins. For 3-4 hours each night, and 5-6 hours on the weekends, I juggle updating my website with SEO improvements and new products, writing blog posts, processing orders, reaching out to influencers, preparing social media posts, finding new vendors, and the multitude of other small but time-consuming tasks that come with entrepreneurship. I try to make some kind of progress on each of my work streams every day or two. It can be exhausting juggling so much, but I love the exhilaration of it!

Thanks to Katie Stansberry, Breastfeeding Bliss!

#10- No typical day

The funny part about our work is that since we are in client services there is not a “typical day” – and that’s part of what makes the work fun. That said, we travel a lot to be alongside our clients and believe the face-to-face interaction and communication leads to faster and higher quality outcomes. Our days often reflect this nature as we work around the country alongside our clients.

Thanks to Carlos Castelán, The Navio Group! 

#11- Flow with what needs to be done

I wake up pretty early with an alarm around 4 or 4:30 a.m. I usually will get up and read for about an hour, then knock out a run in the morning. Throughout the day, I ebb and flow with what needs to be done: meetings, whiteboarding, analyzing and testing processes, evolving the application and working on strategic alliances in the industry. I finish off the day with another run in the evening. 

Thanks to Nick Carter, IngeniousIO!

#12- Starts with turning on NPR

First thing I do when I wake up is turn on NPR so I can catch up on the news while I shower, dress and get ready for my day. Then I check e-mail, make notes while my mind is fresh, review my to do list and calendar, wake my husband, eat breakfast and get going. I usually wake naturally (no alarm) ~5am or so and breakfast is typically ~730am so I do not have to rush, it is a slow ramp up to my day which is great. Some days I start with Pilates or Tai Chi at a studio other days I head to town for meetings or jump on a conference call. I am a morning person so once I start my day it flies until lunch. I always eat breakfast and like to work out at least 3-4 mornings a week to get my day off to a strong start. I feel I have more energy all day when my heart and brain kick right in! I prefer lunch meetings to breakfast ones wherever possible. I typically do calls and meetings in the afternoon and networking events at night 2-3 days each week. Weekends are for admin and catching up on non urgent client and personal e-mails. 

Thanks to Paige Arnof-Fenn, Mavens & Moguls! 

#13- Follows the same routine

As a founder and CEO of Red Beach Advisors, my days start at 5 AM. I am in the gym from 5 AM until 6:30 AM. I shower, get cleaned up, and prepare breakfast by 7 AM. I take my first meetings or calls typically around 7:30-8 AM. The morning consists of client calls and meetings or introductory calls until 11 AM. During the morning meetings and in between, I respond to e-mails and communication to keep other initiatives going. At noon, I try to eat. I prefer to eat with staff, partners, or network. If we have to eat..might as well eat together. After lunch, I typically take more meetings until 2 PM. After 2 PM, I try to buckle down and respond to all e-mails and move forward with any proposal developments that are needed or additional client initiatives. My children typically get home at 3-4 PM and I help them with their homework, ask how their day has gone, and have a bit of fun. Then its back to client work and initiatives for the business. Then my wife, kids, and I have dinner and laugh a bit. After dinner I focus on developing the firms social media profile. After that is over my wife and I settle in and watch TV or read books to wind down. Then….I do it all over again. 

Thanks to Ray McKenzie, Red Beach Advisors! 

#14- Ends at 1 am

After waking up at 5:30 AM, I drink the necessary cup of coffee that makes my 45-minute commute to work a possibility. After arriving at the office, I begin to sift through the unopened emails, immediately replying to those of high-priority. Meetings and phone calls generally occupy my time from morning to early afternoon. With meetings out of the way, I check in with my engineering team to see the status of our weekly engineering goals. At 5:00 PM, I jot down any issues or to-dos for the following day. I usually make it home by 6:00 PM, where I'll have a quick meal and take the inevitable 1-2 phone calls that fall outside of typical business hours. My alarm rings at 7:30 PM, reminding me to follow-up with the emails that didn't make the high-priority status earlier in the day. When 10:00 PM rolls around, I drop all business-related tasks to ensure I follow my self-made rule of designating the later hours for personal growth. Before falling asleep each night, I will have watched 1, 1 hour-long documentary, 2, 30-minute news segments, and 5 short videos of my choice. My eyes are closed by 1:00 AM. 

Thanks to Alex Quinn, Disruptel! 

#15- Spend time in God's word first thing

As the owner of a tax Preparation/Accounting Firm, Number Cruncher LLC, I am not sure there is such a thing as an average day for me as each day brings its own set of adventures. What I do make sure I do each morning is spend time in God's word first thing. I have found this helps me to have peace in my life and helps me handle unplanned hurdles that come along the way. After my time with God, I cook my foreign exchange student breakfast and visit with her for a bit. When she goes to school I take my dog for a walk. Following is what I plan for work, but as I said it can change depending on if my client's need something ASAP. I first check my email's to see if there is anything time sensitive that needs to be taken care of first. I then move on to marketing for my firm. Working on my client's tax returns or bookwork is how I end my day. During tax season, my workdays usually end very late. Finally, it is off to bed to rest and be ready for the next day. 

Thanks to Candace (Candy) Stevens, Number Cruncher LLC!

What's your average day look like? Tell us in the comments below. Don’t forget to join our #IamCEO Community.