Time, is our most precious resource. How are we to make the most effective use of each twenty-four hour span? Most people give little thought to the actual value of their time, possibly not even during conventional working hours. Entrepreneurs know better. We cannot afford to haphazardly approach the workday. We must have a plan and execute it to the best of our ability, leveraging time to our greatest benefit.

Dave Navarro at Jonathan Phillips' Freelance Folder proposes a thought-provoking method of accurately valuing our time.

"Your time is worth exactly this much:

Cash Money / Hours Worked = Your Rockin' $DPH (Dollars Per Hour)

Now, in the last 30 days, how much did you earn? Stop reading, and think about this seriously. Don't read any further until you do. How much cash crossed your hands (or how many orders came in) in the last month? Stop and think about it.

Now that you have that number firmly in mind, it's time to get brutally honest. How many hours did you spend in the last 30 days doing business tasks or business-ish tasks?

Translation: Business tasks = stuff that actually drove your business forward Business-ish tasks = pointless stuff you did when you were supposed to be doing stuff to drive your business forward.

That's right ? those business-ish activities robbed you of the revenue generating goodness that you know and love. But you still gotta include them in the equation. And they bring that $DPH down, down, down."

Most self-employed people are acutely aware that their time investment must produce immediate income. Most generate income in proportion to the amount of hours spent working each day. Many other entrepreneurs however, are in the position of remaining gainfully employed as they pursue their entrepreneurial dreams part-time. This strategy is often a wise one, born of necessity, in the absence of venture capitol investors. It provides that safety-net of income and benefits for our family while we tend to our dream.

If we calculate the incoming-producing value of our time at $120 per hour, we must also further understand that idle, non-productive time is then costing us $120 per hour. This is opportunity cost. While not immediately recognizable, this cost can cripple a fledgling business if not properly managed.

All activity, however relevant to the business, does not directly produce income, yet remains important to the overall business operation. Such activities are best completed during non-prime-time hours, where selling and revenue generation must remain the priority otherwise. Designing advertisements, marketing materials and selling strategies, bookkeeping and other administrative functions fall within this category of necessary activities. It may make sense to consider outsourcing many of these tasks to others who will charge far less than $120 per hour for their services, yet deliver a top-notch solution for your needs, thus freeing you to generate more revenue with your precious, limited selling time.

There are many occasions where a personal phone call, sales call or a group sales presentation are necessary. For effective sales results under those circumstances, our conventional, personal efforts must focus on our best sales prospects during the most productive, prime part of the day. For most businesses, this the 8:00am until 6:00pm time slot. Our automated sales systems however, such as our web site, blog, advertising and various marketing channels are available 24/7/365 to a world-wide audience of prospective buyers. These systems often provide us many warm prospects for dealing with during prime time. Learn how to let your assets work for you.

Keeping tabs on your most productive selling hours, managing your time and other assets to your maximum advantage while minimizing idle, non-productive time is the formula for a successful business. Try watching less TV and invest that time in your business. Be certain to eat well, drink plenty of water, sleep well, scheduling both downtime and family time.

Become well-rounded in order to renew your energy each day; energy sufficient to fuel your income-producing hours. Your goal should be to have all of your assets consistently working at maximum levels for your benefit.