5 Ways to Avoid Burnout in your Business
Prevent Burnout from Affecting your Business
When you are running your own business and it is going well, that can feel like the best of times. There are plenty of opportunities to grow, new clients coming on board, and signing contracts with businesses you admire. But unless you have an abundant source of unending enthusiasm, there will be downsides to running your own business.
Business owners will encounter periods where they are worked to the bone in order to keep up with demand or meet new clients’ needs. And that means that running a small business can lead to burning out if you don’t take the right steps to manage your workload and avoid stress.
But how do you know when this is happening? How can you prevent burnout from affecting your business?
Here are five simple ways to avoid burnout when business is thriving...
Ask for help when you need it
One of the first signs that you are burning out is that you stop asking for help. You are far more likely to try and get through everything on your own when you are close to the edge, and that can lead to a downward spiral if you don’t recognise your need for help.
It is not a sign of weakness to ask for help when you need it. It actually shows strength and that you have the ability to recognise that you need help. There are many ways to ask for help. You could get someone to share the workload by hiring an assistant or contractor, you could hire freelancers to do jobs you don’t want to do, or you could hire a virtual assistant to take on some of your administrative tasks. You could also outsource some of the work you do to subcontractors. Whatever it is, never be afraid to swallow your pride and ask for help.
Delegate tasks to others
One of the best ways to avoid burnout is to delegate tasks to a team of people. Obviously, you can’t delegate every job that is coming in, but you can delegate certain tasks that you don’t want to do and that you aren’t interested in doing. Not only do you free up your time, but you also free up mental energy so you can focus on the business, your customers, and your employees.
You can delegate tasks to employees you already have on staff, or you can hire contractors or virtual assistants to do work for you. Delegating tasks to an employee might cause resentment, but it is better than burning out. Delegating to contractors or freelancers won’t cause resentment, but it will free up your time and mental energy for other jobs that need your attention.
Take care of yourself physically and mentally
Running your own business can be very stressful, and that can have a major impact on your health. You are more likely to experience high blood pressure, heart disease, and other physical ailments. You can also experience anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses. Taking care of yourself is essential to avoid burnout.
Eat right, exercise, take holidays and get enough sleep. These are all basic ways to take care of yourself physically. Mentally, you need to find ways to decompress after a long day of work. That could be spending an hour at a yoga studio, taking a hot bath, or going on a long walk. It is important to do whatever works for you and that you make the space to do it too.
Recognise your limits and honour them
Burnout can happen when you get caught up in the idea that you have to do everything. You have to take on new clients, get involved in every industry event, and make sure that you are always expanding your business. You don’t have to do any of those things.
Sometimes, it is better to say no. It is better to recognize your limits and honour them. If you are too busy to take on new clients, say no. If you don’t have the capacity to get involved in an industry event, don’t get involved. Find ways to recognise your limits and honour them. That will help you avoid burning out and will make you a better, more focused business owner.
And Finally...
Running your own business can be very rewarding, but it can also be very stressful.
You need to find ways to manage your workload, avoid getting caught up in the stress of business, and find ways to recharge your batteries when they are running low. If you do that, you are far less likely to burn out and more likely to stay happy and healthy whilst running your business.
The Entrepreneurs Circle Business Growth & Networking Group in St Albans meets every month to support local business owners. We're part of The Entrepreneurs Circle - the UK's largest Membership Organisation for Entrepreneurs who want to get
and keep more customers.
If you'd like to find out more about how this local group can help support you as a business owner or if you'd like to join us at one of our meetings just contact us and we'll be happy to help.
