When You Have More Time than Money
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Introduction
Sometimes a business cycle brings more money than time. In that situation you’re making good money but long for the time when you can put your feet up and just think, plan, and even dream. Then there are times when money is scarcer, or at least it seems like everything is a little harder: turning prospects to clients, getting them to agree to a fair price, and then actually collecting the money. During times like these—when you have more time than money—it can feel like a weary job with few rewards. You know you’re on a multi-day trek up the face of a mountain, and you’ve heard about the convenient places to stop for the night, but they aren’t in sight.
Given a choice between the two extremes, lots of time or lots of money, we’ll usually opt for the money. I’ve joked that most of us would rather die of overwork than starvation. But really, time is so much more valuable than money, and when you enter a business cycle in which you find yourself with more time than money (e.g., 1990/1991, 2001/2002, and 2008ff), there’s a rare opportunity that’s ripe for the taking. What should you do with that extra time?
