This upcoming July I will have been in business seven years. In actuality you can say in this moment I am celebrating seven years. January the following year after I quit my job I started laying the ground work for my now company. In these last seven years I have rode the entrepreneurial rollacoster and have experienced burnout several times over.
How does burnout happen as an entrepreneur exactly you might be wondering? Well, it happens when individuals like myself or you run yourself into exhaustion, stress, aniexty and more. We go past our limits that say take a moment to breathe, readjust and more. We have all been there before even if it has not been in business. Early in my business journey I landed in the hospital for dehydration and the case of doing too much. I was pushing myself too hard to win at the start when I should did a couple things else.
Empty Your Plate
This is something I talk to clients about all the time. They will pile on everything to their plate then have no move things around. Then that cause stress and wanting to crawl into fetal position from the stress. Stop adding every project to your plate. One thing I do at the start of the year is sit down with my Yearly Project Tracker and determine what products I want to put out that year. I know what is on my plate and what is not on it. Pretty simple.
Know Your Limits
People love pushing limits in the worst ways. I am all for stepping out your comfort zone to achieve new levels in business but if that means you should’ve said no to a project that you’re not ready for do it. I have been asked to do things that were beyond my limits at the moment. Yes, I would’ve loved a check but I love my healthy and sanity more. What are your limits when it comes to business? How can you operate in them but still leave your comfort zone to grow as business owner?
Take Vacations
A couple years ago, I remember Marissa CEO of Yahoo saying how she goes on vacation once a quarter and takes off the last three days of the month. When you’re running a company you will run yourself in the ground thinking it will be the quickest way to succeed is to always be there doing something. No, thats the quickest way to entrepreneurial burnout. Learn to take mini vacation once a month or once a quarter. Staycations are great if you’re on a budget. Hop on Hotels tonight app and book a local spot. Even stop at the spa.
Assign Task
No man nor woman is an island that can build or amass a fortune on their own. It takes having a team surrounding you. If you are trying to run every aspect of your business in this moment stop. Its not going to work. Especially, if you have not adopted day designation to help you achieve this. My business is able to run smooth because there is a team that surrounds me. Graphic designer, copy editor, lawyer and tech person all have their jobs within my company. I don’t need to do there jobs.
Dealing with entrepreneurial burnout head on is the most important thing you can do. Adding more to your plate and pushing your limits is not going to get you to the top faster. It will add stress actually. Learn how to take time for yourself and build a team that can help you.
