How to Stress Less as a Small Business Owner
We’ve all been there. As a small business owner, the feeling of being overwhelmed can creep in at any given moment. Overthinking how to make your small business succeed becomes second nature. You may be thinking, how can you get everything done and still have time for yourself and your family? The never-ending checklist of to-do’s, constant emails and follow-up are enough to make some people throw in the towel! Before taking any drastic measures, let’s talk about what you can do to eliminate stress and push through the growing pains of the small business blues.
So, how can you manage and eliminate stress as a small business owner? We break down 5 ways that you can implement today to help you live a stress-free life as a business owner.
#1 – Prioritize + Plan
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” First things first. Set a calendar reminder to plan. Yes, you need to set aside specific time for planning. During this time you should brainstorm and write down everything that you need to do and everything that you want to do, and then rank these lists by the top priorities. The act of brainstorming and physically writing it down will not only help you get clear on your goals but will psychologically make you feel like you are already on your way to progress. We love this list of reasons why writing things down is crucial.
#2 – Outsource + Delegate Effectively
This may seem easy but it’s hard to delegate tasks to other people who are not you. We get it! It’s your baby and you have a hard time trusting others to deliver the goods as you would. This may be one of the hardest steps you will take as a small business owner but not delegating tasks will only slow you down and create a slew of other issues. We suggest starting with the things that you can hire an assistant or virtual assistant for like: fielding phone calls, scheduling appointments and running personal or business errands. Here are 5 tips from Inc. that will assure you it’s the right call. If you are already working with an assistant, contractor or other employees, be sure that you are assigning the right tasks to the right people. Another important function of the delegation process is knowing what major operational functions need to be outsourced by professionals. If you are not great at digital marketing, accounting or bookkeeping — hiring an expert is the smart move.
#3 – Focus on What You Can Control
There are many things that you cannot control as a business owner; such as customer feedback, macroeconomic forces, and shipping delays from vendors. If you focus on these negatives, you will never have the mental stamina to get all of the things that you can control accomplished. We love this quote from Inc., “Recognize that sometimes, all you can control is your effort and your attitude. When you put your energy into the things you can control, you’ll be much more effective.”
#4 – Keep Your “Why” as Your Motivator
Don’t forget why you started in the first place! If you keep your WHY as your motivator — you will stay focused on what gets you fired up about your business. This energy and passion will create a neural pathway for you to keep going and believing in yourself and your business idea. This motivation will be seen by others and help the image of your business. Your WHY helps you stay true to your purpose which helps you stay on the right path to success. Learn more about what to do when motivation fails and read this Forbes article.
#5 – Take Time for Yourself
Without your physical and mental health, your business cannot exist. As a small business owner, you may struggle to take your mind off of the day-to-day operations! Create a time (you may have to schedule it) where you can decompress doing something you love so you can reboot and come back to your business even more engaged and idea-driven. Here are some more tips on how to take time for yourself.
These tips on how to eliminate stress may seem overwhelming to some small business owners, so we recommend starting with one and working your way through the rest. We hope you’ll implement some of these tips to keep stress at bay as a small business owner this summer! Check out more small business guides to better business on our #betterbookkeepingbuzz blog!