Working 70 Hours a Week Running a Building Business?
The short answer
Write down every half hour for one week, sort each task into only-me, could-train and anyone-could, and hand over the anyone-could list first. Most owners find their 70 hours are on site, in admin, on the phone, pricing jobs they won't win and chasing money.
- Write down every half hour for 7 days. Mark each block A (only I can do this), B (someone could with training) or C (anyone could do this today).
- The C list is your first hire. Usually admin: calls, bookings, invoices, chasing. The B list is your second.
- Protect your A hours. One or two days a week for sales, pricing and key people only. One of our clients cut admin from 4–5 hours to 30 minutes a day and moved those hours to sales.
It's 9 pm. You've been on site since 7, priced two jobs in the van at lunch, and now the invoices are open on the kitchen table. The phone buzzes again. Your family has stopped asking when you'll be done.
Most advice on this is written for office founders: meditate, delegate, take a break.
This guide is for owners working 70 hours a week running a UK trade or building business. You're still on the tools and doing all the admin. It shows where the hours go and the order to get them back. If you want help with yours, book a free strategy call.
The next 24 hours: count yesterday
Don't change anything yet. Tonight, take ten minutes and write down yesterday in half-hour blocks, from the first call to the last email.
- Where you were Site, van, office, client's house, merchant.
- What you did Worked on the tools, priced, answered calls, did invoices, chased money.
- Who could have done it You only, someone with training, anyone today.
Then do one thing for the people at home: pick one evening this week that you will not work, and tell them which one. Keep it. Trust comes back one kept evening at a time.
Days 1 to 7: the hours audit
For one full week, keep the same sheet every day. It takes about 5 minutes if you fill it in at lunch and at night. Mark each block with a letter.
| Letter | Means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| A | Only I can do this | Pricing big jobs, meeting new clients, key hires, the numbers |
| B | Someone could do it with training | Running a site day to day, pricing small jobs, ordering materials |
| C | Anyone could do it today | Answering calls, booking visits, sending invoices, chasing payments |
Here is what a filled-in day looks like (example, not a real client):
| Time | Task | Letter |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30–7:00 | Calls and WhatsApps from subs and clients | C |
| 7:00–12:00 | On the tools, kitchen first fix | B |
| 12:00–13:00 | Site visit for a £3K job, no budget asked | C |
| 13:00–16:30 | On the tools | B |
| 16:30–17:30 | Merchant, collecting materials | C |
| 19:00–21:00 | Invoices, chasing two overdue payments, a quote | C / A |
At the end of the week, add up each letter. The C total is your first hire. The B total is your second. Your A hours are the work that grows the business, and in most owners' weeks they are the smallest number.
Hiring another labourer because you're busy. It adds a wage and more questions to your day, and leaves every C task with you.
Firefighting the same problems every week? Take the free 4-minute Construction Business Scorecard: 18 questions on your pipeline, sales, pricing, cash flow and systems, with your weakest area shown first. Need an experienced operator for a day or two a week? See our fractional COO service.
Working 70 hours a week: the 5 places the hours go
When owners do this audit, the same five sinks come up again and again. Here is what to do with each one.
| Time sink | How you spot it | Cut, automate or hand off | First move this week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site firefighting | You're the only one subs and clients call | Hand off to a site lead | One job, one site lead, a daily photo report |
| Admin | Invoices and emails every evening | Hand off to admin or a virtual assistant | Write a one-page checklist for invoicing |
| Quotes for people who won't buy | Long visits, no budget asked, quotes ghosted | Cut with a phone qualifying call | Ask budget, timing and decision maker before any visit |
| Chasing money | Same invoices chased every week | Automate reminders, hand off chasing | Stage payments due before each stage starts |
| Answering every call | Phone rings during every task | Set phone windows, one person on new enquiries | Voicemail that says when you'll call back |
Qualifying on the phone first is the quickest win for most owners. Our qualifying guide has the questions we use, so your evenings stop going on quotes for people who were never going to buy. On bigger jobs, charge for the detailed estimate and credit it against the contract.
What to hand off first
Hand work over in an order where every hire takes hours off you, not adds to them. This is the order in our Runs Without You guide. Taking someone on for the first time? Read hiring your first employee.
- Admin or a virtual assistant: calls, bookings, invoices, chasing. Your C list.
- Site lead or foreman: runs the job day to day, sends a daily report with photos.
- Estimator: prices from your rates library; you check the big ones.
- Project manager: runs several jobs, clients and subs.
- Sales: follow-ups and relationships; you present the big quotes.
Before anyone starts, write each recurring task down once: a one-page checklist or a five-minute screen recording. Start with the ten things that happen on every job: enquiry, visit, quote, contract, start, weekly update, variation, payment, snagging, handover. More in our Systems Blueprint.
I started on the tools as a labourer and carpenter. Today I run Craftex without being on site every day — the team brings the numbers and the problems, and I make the decisions.
Working every evening and can't see what to hand over first?
Book a free call and we'll go through your week with you.
A week that fits
Once admin and one site are off your plate, rebuild the week around your A work. The end point is a company you can run remotely, and leave for two weeks. Here is the 2-week holiday test if you can't take a holiday yet. An example:
| Day | Morning | Afternoon | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 15-minute pipeline review, then site visits | Pricing (A) | Off |
| Tuesday | Sales: calls, meetings, quote presentations (A) | Sales (A) | Off |
| Wednesday | Sites: walk every live job | Client and sub meetings | One hour, if needed |
| Thursday | Sales and pricing (A) | Sales and pricing (A) | Off |
| Friday | 30-minute numbers meeting | Sites, Friday client updates sent by the PM | Off |
| Saturday | Off, or one planned visit | Off | Off |
Two rules make it stick:
- Phone windows. For example 7–8 am and 4–5 pm. Outside them, calls go to voicemail and you call back in the next window. Your site lead takes site calls.
- A days are protected. Nobody books a site visit into Tuesday or Thursday without asking you first.
Scripts that buy your evenings back
Voicemail, outside phone windows:
"You've reached [name] at [company]. I'm on site right now. I return calls between 4 and 5 pm. For a new enquiry, text your name, postcode and the work you need and we'll call you back today."
To a client who expects you to answer at 9 pm:
"Thanks for your message. I keep evenings for my family so I can give your job full attention in the day. I'll call you at 7:30 tomorrow morning. If anything on site is unsafe, call [site lead] on [number]."
To a new enquiry, before you drive anywhere:
"Before I come out, can I ask three quick questions so I don't waste your time? Roughly what budget have you set aside? When do you want the work done? And who else is involved in the decision?"
What it looks like when it works
Adam ran 90% of his business himself: pricing, admin for 4–5 hours a day, materials, trades and site visits. In 4 months of one-to-one work, he moved to 6 hours a day on sales and 30 minutes on admin. He subcontracted delivery and hired two full-time multi-trades, so jobs run without him on site.
Admin from 4–5 hours to 30 minutes a day
Adam & Ali moved the hours to sales and signed £91,796 in 8 days, then a £528K project. Individual results, not typical or guaranteed.
This is why BizMentor's main program is one-to-one mentoring with Sviat, not a course for hundreds of businesses. Your 70 hours are not the same as anyone else's. Some owners are strong at sales and drown in delivery; others run a perfect site and can't close.
Sviat runs Craftex today, finds where your hours leak and what you're best at, and builds the plan around that. Smaller firms start in small groups (max 10–20) with regular one-to-ones. Here's how business mentoring for tradesmen works and what it costs. Or book a free strategy call and we'll look at your week together.
Build a Construction Business That Runs Without You
The bottleneck test, the order to hire in and a hand-over plan. Free PDF.
Get the free guideIf it's more than tired
Long hours, money worries and family strain can pile up. If you or someone on your team is struggling, call the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity. Its free 24/7 helpline is for construction workers and their families: 0345 605 1956. In an emergency, call 999.
Talking to someone isn't a business plan, and a business plan isn't a substitute for talking to someone. You might need both.
Want a plan for your week built around what you're best at?
Apply for a free 1-on-1 call.
Your 7-day checklist
- Yesterday written down in half-hour blocks
- One evening this week agreed with your family, and kept
- Full week audited and every block marked A, B or C
- First C task handed over with a one-page checklist
- Phone windows set and voicemail recorded
