Founder of online cosmetics retailer Ry.com.au James Patten eats toast with English marmite each morning.
“It’s a habit I can’t break even though I am now an Australian citizen. I normally make a few early morning phone calls on the way to work for people I am trying to chase down,” he says.
“I like to arrive at the office between 8.30 and 9am. I listen to ABC radio and will often spend 10 minutes sitting in the car park mentally thinking about the day with the radio on before I hit the office.”
Prior also starts his day in the same way each morning.
“I start with a good, long meditation then I do yoga, then I go for a run, then I sit down to a big breakfast of fruit, yoghurt and granola. I’ve been like that for long, long time,” he says.
Freelancer.com founder Matt Barrie’s whole day is planned.
It’s as simple as “get up, go to work and stay at work”, even on weekends.
“It’s all-consuming,” he says.
For entrepreneurs with families, finding time to spend with their children and partners is often a challenge, but many set aside time in the mornings to see their loved ones.
Net-a-porter founder Megan Quinn juggles business commitments (she now has a small consultancy firm called Q&CO) and spending time with her kids.
“Unless I’m giving a business breakfast speech, the day starts at 6.15am, when I wake my eldest daughter and let the dogs out,” she says.
“After dropping Imogen to the school bus, it’s back to turn music on throughout the house, wake my younger daughter and get her off to school. While it’s a nuisance having to do two school runs, I love being able to chat one-on-one with the girls at the start of every day.”
With three kids, Anytime Fitness co-founder Jacinta McDonell-Jimenez’s mornings are understandably hectic.
“I get up around 6am. I’ve got to get my eldest daughter off to high school and then one going to day care, and then the six-week-old baby to take care of,” she says.
“For me, it’s really important when the kids are as young as they are to have the time with them. Until they’re at school I wouldn’t look at going back to full-time.”
Setting priorities is crucial for every business owner to save feeling swamped under an endless pile of tasks.
Using the morning to prioritise the day’s tasks is an effective way for entrepreneurs to get the most out of each day.
Zhou prioritises his day while eating breakfast, before returning to the office and meeting with his team.
“I make sure everyone is on the same page and then we get into action,” he says.
Riegelhuth has a daily meeting with the whole Wealth Enhancers team to make sure everyone is on track.
“We have an 8.45am dial-in meeting and every one across the country dials in and we go through the challenges we’re facing and the critical numbers and this takes five to 10 minutes and then everyone is on with their day,” she says.
