How to Set Regular Business Hours (vs. Booking Hours)

Setting regular business hours helps your audience know what to expect. When they know what to expect, they trust your company more.

Interestingly, many solo providers think being available 24/7 means higher client satisfaction. Actually, that lack of boundaries sets a standard that can eventually become impossible—and very uncomfortable—to maintain.

Interestingly, as a 1- or 2-person operation, being available 24/7/365 can make your audience, at least subconsciously, respect you less. (They realize you’re sacrificing your sleep, happiness, and life to cater to them at your asking rate.)

And when you don’t feel respected, you burn out. Fast. Especially when working ‘round the clock.

So let’s choose working hours that help you earn more and work better, but less. ;}

Business Hours Are Not Booking Hours

Business hours are the times you’re open for clients to reach you. This is when they can expect you’ll be available in general, i.e., to communicate with them and take appointments. But “booking hours” are only the times clients book appointments.

Booking hours go inside your business hours.

Your booking hours might change seasonally, weekly, or on a daily basis as your schedule changes.

But your business hours need to stay the same, hardly ever changing.

Static business hours are a keystone of a reliable, long-lasting business.

This is probably why Google looks at your hours when it’s deciding how legit your company is (and, consequently, where to rank it in search results).

Your hours need to be the same across the entire internet. (Wouldn’t it suck if Google reported a later closing time than Yelp, and a Google lead drove an hour just to find that your business was closed?)

First, consider who your clients are, what their day is like, and their needs and preferences.

• When are they likely to need your services?
  When are they most available to interact with you about it (if needed)?

Then, consider your own schedule and energy levels.

• Are you a night or morning person?
• When are you most productive?
• What family, social, self-care, or other commitments will affect the schedule?
• Have you been trying to force yourself or team to keep a certain schedule, causing disruptions and unhappiness?

Ditch the “9 to 5” if you think it sucks.

You’re not in business for yourself because you love playing by the rules and doing “status quo” sh*t. lol.

Finally, consider your long-term business goals.

Ex: If you want to attract more clients (most companies), maybe consider their availability more heavily than your preferences. (Note, I said more heavily than your preferences, not your needs.)

Better yet, find the types of clients that like to do business at the times you do.

Ex: If you want to build community connections or partnerships, maybe align your hours with recurring local events or activities.

Reasonable, productive people understand that professionals have schedules. And that there are different types of work to do (e.g., deep focus vs. one on one).

Don’t know about you, but I want our client base filled with reasonable, productive people.

I also want us to have the leeway to do the type of work we need to do, when we need to do it.

When off work, it’s good practice to use autoresponders to let clients know when to expect replies. (Just don’t consistently still reply after your autobot says you’re away. Mix signals much? 😓)

Bonus: The autoresponders also help remind you that you’re supposed to be with family, eating, reading, yoga-ing, showering… or whatever. 😅

What hours do businesses in your category keep? This affects what clients expect and helps you stay competitive.

Also, when are you most productive?

Or when is the only time you can do a certain type of work?

For instance, if you’re more focused in the mornings with longer uninterrupted time, maybe use mornings for deep focus work. Only take appointments in the afternoons.

Think about seasonal variations, too. The time of year often affects demand for our services. So you may want a different set of seasonal business hours.

As I said, booking hours fit inside business hours. By now, you should have a great idea of when you want to take bookings. A few more things to consider:

How many appointments of each type do you want per day? Per week? And on what days?

Let’s say you run three appointment types the most:

1. Discovery Calls (15m)
2. Coaching Calls (55m) and
3. Training Calls (90m).

Several important things will also be true about your workflow. Maybe:

You can only handle 4 coaching calls daily before your head starts to spin.

It only makes sense to do 2 discovery calls daily, because they usually convert to new clients. (Which means more coaching calls!)

You do trainings for Partner A on Mondays and Fridays. On those days, you need some deep focus time before and after the calls.

So, your booking hours might end up looking like:

Monday: 10-11:30AM, 1-2:30PM (trainings); 4P, 4:30P (discovery)
Tuesday: 11AM, 1PM, 3PM (coaching)
Wednesday: 11AM, 1PM, 3PM (coaching)
Thursday: 11AM, 1PM, 3PM (coaching)
Friday: 10-11:30AM, 1-2:30PM (trainings); 4P, 4:30P (discovery)

Finally, consider:

What will I do with overflow (appointments)?

Let’s say you need to squeeze in extra appointments of a certain type. It’s good to decide in advance on which days you’ll fit them in.

Personally, I need to have certain days of the week completely free of appointments. I use them for deep focus stuff, like technical fixes, creating/writing, and my wellness work. (I also use them to incorporate more needed self care than I have time for on appointment days.)

I’ve been through dozens and dozens (and dozens) of booking services in the past 10+ years. Now, we recommend and set clients up with these standard ones, depending on their needs:

TidyCal: Currently offering a low, LIFETIME price through AppSumo. Great for simple needs. Quick and easy to set up, minimal branding, clean design. Great to be accepting bookings in under an hour.

Calendly: Reasonable monthly rate for more flexibility with reminder timing, event types, and really every aspect of booking. If you need a lot of flexibility, use this or the next one. We also love that they’re Black-owned and that support has been excellent. (In several years, I’ve almost never needed it.) They offer automated workflows, so I’d suggest this one if you don’t have email automations through another service.

ScheduleOnce: Even more flexibility than the previous, so much as to be really confusing! Plan to spend a couple hours getting used to their interface. Monthly rate is reasonable (but higher). Their standout features are booking limitations and artificial busy time. If you’re not quite as busy as you want yet, this helps you not look like a complete newbie with 100% open availability! You can also set bookings to approval only, or make people select more than one time for YOU to choose from. This option is great if you need tight control over your bookings.

My most important reminder is that YOU WANT to love your business. So why not start by setting regular business hours that work for YOU, your workflow, your team, and your life?

Each day, you’re creating the future you want. (Or… the one you don’t. 😥)

Constant availability doesn’t mean better service. Instead, it often means overextending, burnout, and doing too much.

And, well… isn’t that why you came here?

Be courageous enough to build your LIFE how you want—and let your business hours reflect that. Now go update your booking calendar, website, and web presence with your adjusted hours. (If it makes sense, list booking hours, too!)