It was the moment when my staff thought they were about to get sacked…

They were sat around the meeting table on a Friday morning, coffees steaming in front of their laptops.

They all looked up as I said….

“I need tell you all some major news.”

I could tell they were nervous because some of them started fiddling with their pens. Others stared down at their hands.

“Nick and I would like to have more time and freedom in our lives,” I said, gravely, “so we’ve come to a big decision.”

You should have seen their faces!

It was quite a picture.

They all stared up at my husband and I with wide, panicked eyes, mouths slightly open.

You can imagine what was going through their minds…

Perhaps we were selling the business…

Perhaps we were retiring early…

Perhaps we were going to run it ourselves without any help.

WHAT WAS GOING ON!?

Then I dropped the bombshell.

“We’ve decided that we’re going to have a four-day week from now on,” I said.

Their jaws dropped a bit lower.

“And that goes for everyone in the office,” I added, “you are ALL now on a four day week…. with the same pay, of course”.

Now the atmosphere totally changed.

They were so happy!

But even then, I could tell they were still a bit suspicious.

After all, why would my husband and I CHOOSE to reduce the number of working days if we weren’t in trouble financially?

Well, the truth was…

We were doing very well indeed…

And switching to a 4-day week was only going to make things even better.

You see, this event happened well over two years ago.

We dropped to a 4-day week BEFORE the pandemic.

And it had nothing to do with global events or declining profits.

We did it because there is proof that reducing the number of days has many advantages.

We knew that in 2018, New Zealand financial services company, Perpetual Guardian, switched from a five-day to a four-day week, while keeping pay at the same level.

This experiment was monitored by academics who found that there was no reduction in the work achieved, despite them dropping the equivalent of 50 days a year.

In fact, they recorded a 20% rise in productivity, along with increased profits and improved staff wellbeing.

So we decided to give it a go.

And to our sheer delight…

Working less INCREASED our profits

Two-and-a-half years later, we’re still on a 4 day week and have no intention of going back.

Our profits have increased, all our annual targets have been hit for two years running – and everyone is much happier!

And no wonder…

Our staff are much more focussed on their work during the 4 days, knowing that if they get everything done, they have a lovely three-day weekend to enjoy.

I mean, just imagine having a bank holiday weekend EVERY weekend…

• Downing tools on Thursday and knowing you’re done until Monday.
• Avoiding the Friday afternoon rush on the roads and trains, so you can get away more easily.
• Being able to take breaks away at weekends because you don’t have to cram trips into just two days.
• Having a weekday free to do some gardening, go to the cinema, prepare a lovely lunch, take the dog on a country walk, run a side hustle….whatever you like.

And, really, this was the real reason we decided to reduce our working days….

Nick and I wanted more time to spend with the kids… to pursue our interests outside work… to read books and pursue courses…. to take breaks in the countryside….

So what was stopping us?

After all, the whole point of running your home business is to give yourself control over when and how you work.

There is no point in damaging your mental and physical health just to make a profit. Especially when you don’t have a boss to please or any risk of being sacked.

Yes, money is important, but it’s how that money can change your life for the better that’s much MORE important.

The really precious thing is time, more than money, and when you run a business you can give yourself the gift of a three day weekend without losing any profits.

This is something you could discover for yourself – and sooner than you think.

A life with less stress and more time to enjoy yourself

If you are prepared to put the effort in to creating your first online course, you too could gain control over your working life.

You see, with a digital course, most of the income is passive.

Once you’ve done the hard work researching it, building it and setting it up online, the sales happen automatically.

As does the delivery of the content…

And all the customer emails and upsells happen automatically to.

The whole thing works like a machine with different parts moving together seamlessly online.

Which means that you’ll get time to set up another course….

And then another…

Very soon, with a handful of courses running together, you could easily have the kind of income that replaces what you already earn, without you working the same amount,

You can choose how much work you do, and how much you earn, depending on your goals in life.

Want a 4 day week? That’s up to you!

Want a 3 day week? You could do that too!

As you’ll see, reducing the amount of days you work doesn’t necessarily lower your productivity and income.

What’s more, you could get the time to enjoy the kind of lifestyle you dream about… whether it’s raising your family, jetting off on holidays, having fun with your mates or pottering in your garden.

It’s all possible!

If you aren’t already one of my lovely CCA students and you’d like more advice on how you can create your first course, then I’d love to help.  Check out my free online masterclass here and we can get you started.