The big 3 for avoiding entrepreneur burnout
Most entrepreneurs, particularly those with a small business made up of 3-10 employees, believe that pushing everyone (including themselves) 24/7 may be effective in accomplishing short-term goals. While this may yield favourable results for a while, it’s only a matter of time before you succumb to burnout.
Here are three ways you can avoid just that.
1. Start delegating tasks – seriously, today!
It can be tough for entrepreneurs to delegate tasks, especially if they are just starting out with a relatively small team. However, the importance of delegating or outsourcing tasks from the outset cannot be stressed enough.
You can either focus on building and growing the business or looking into the accounting side of things. Attempting to do both at the same time, along with everything else (such as sales and marketing) is a recipe for burnout. So, for example, work with an accountant or invest in accounting software. It’s always better to focus on one thing at a time that you’re really good at or enjoy doing – rather than trying to be the jack of all trades, master of none.
No matter how many employees you currently have in your small business – 2-4, 6, 8, 10 – you absolutely need to delegate work at the first possible opportunity. Because if you don’t, and your business starts growing steadily, you’re going to find it increasingly difficult having to do everything yourself. So… don’t!
Find experts fast who can help you manage a particular aspect of the business, such as a financial expert or accountant.
2. Give people, and especially yourself, time off
Breaks – everybody needs them. You need them!
A breather from work can actually boost productivity as it will make the time spent working together more meaningful once everyone returns. In addition, take breaks throughout the day and unglue yourself from your desk or computer screen every now and then. Ask your employees to do the same. Did you know that even a 5-minute walk every 1-2 hours can rejuvenate creativity and improve overall mental health, especially in the long run?
While breaks are important, spending some time away from the business is equally important. It’s understandable that you want to see your business grow, but you need time away from all the numbers, computers, electronic devices, and what have you.
Shorter, more frequent holidays are a great way of staying fresh and remaining consistent, as opposed to a ‘once in a while’ long holiday.
3. Create Standard Operating Procedures
Document all your processes to come up with standard operating procedures (SOPs). It will help you run business operations more smoothly and also protect you from burnout.
SOPs will speed things up as far as running things and getting stuff done is concerned. It’ll leave you more time to tend to other important matters, especially in your personal life.
Our firm can help you improve your existing business processes and, therefore, your firm's efficiency, as well as your overall business planning and strategy.
We can help do away with the need to wear so many hats, so you can focus on the work that only you can do (or want to do). This will give you the time and mental freedom to work on the bigger picture, and higher-value tasks that contribute to growing your business.