Trying to do it all is exhausting

Running a successful business requires skill, perseverance, insight, expertise in your field, hard work and time management. Many who begin their own businesses, don’t really know how many hats they will wear. Sometimes it feels like you shift roles several times a day (you are the sales agent on the phone, then you’re in procurement, then you’re HR, then you’re an IT trouble-shooter.) Trying to do it all is exhausting!

Not only is trying to do it all overwhelming, it also isn’t practical or good for your business and I’ll tell you why. We tend to gravitate towards the roles and parts of our business that we enjoy; when we are good at something, it’s easy for us to do more of it. But when we lack  experience or knowledge in an area, we tend to do the opposite; we avoid giving our attention or effort to that area because we feel inadequate or we find those tasks to be more difficult, boring, tedious, etc.

Most business owners don’t enjoy every aspect of running their businesses; it’s totally normal. But, it can be very dangerous for your business. Here are a few suggestions that might help:

1. Recognize your strengths and make time to use them. You probably started your business because it allows you to use your areas of talent and interest. Make sure that you don’t get so bogged down doing those tasks you don’t enjoy that it robs you from having the time or energy to do what you love. Making time to use your strengths will keep you energized and excited about your business; it is what will keep you going when times are tough.
2. Partner with or hire someone to help you with those tasks you tend to avoid. You must address what it takes to have a successful business. If you hate AP/AR, then hire someone to take care of that part of your business. If you just avoid your bills, you won’t be solvent for long. Yes, it will cost you, but in the long run, it could save your business. If you try to do it all, you will burn yourself out.
3. Overworking yourself won’t help your business. ‘You’ are your business, so taking care of ‘you’ is vital; that means scheduling time for ‘you’ to refresh. Pushing too hard for too long will lead to burn-out, exhaustion, health problems, relationship problems, and the list goes on. More isn’t always better when it comes to the number of hours you spend on your business. Your creativity, productivity, and excitement for your business will suffer if you don’t allow yourself the time you need to refresh and refuel.

You want your business to succeed. Remember that taking care of your most valuable resource – ‘you’ – is essential to the success of your company.

The Solopreneur and Small Business Owner’s Guide to Creating and Living a Life You Love

People choose to start-up or open a new business for several reasons. Here are a few, see if any of these resonate with you:

• You are creative and love the process of creating something out of nothing
• You love a challenge and want to prove, either to yourself or others, that ‘it can be done’
• You like having autonomy, setting your own schedule and being your own boss
• You produce more than the ‘average’  so you want and expect to earn more because of that
• You have an image of the life and/or lifestyle you want and think owning your own business is the key to achieving it

So you decide to start a business. You are excited about your new venture and feel like you can conquer the world. Then you get a taste of reality and it’s not quite what you had imagined. It tends to look something like this:

• You discover that you’re spending a majority of your time on tasks you don’t enjoy, instead of doing what you love (the work you are passionate about)
• You discover that getting the ‘right amount of business’ is illusive. Your sales are either under what you had hoped and you worry about lack of income or your business ‘has taken off’ and you can’t keep up with the demand
• You try to keep costs down by doing everything yourself, yet you realize that this is running you ragged. Your business is now running you and time off seems unthinkable

Now what? You’ve made the financial investment, your plans are in place, you’ve taken a leap of faith, and you really do want to succeed. But, you don’t want to be miserable or give up your quality of life in the process.

Having owned several successful businesses of my own businesses, I’ve learned a lot over the years. My goal is to share with you how you can stay balanced and enjoy your journey. I will be posting more tips in the near future.

Hello world!

I would love to get connected to blogs that small business business owners look to for support. Do you have any ideas?