What makes business owners and entrepreneurs burnout? Why is it important to understand the signs? With so much focus on employee burnout and its impact on businesses we sometimes fail to take care of ourselves. A business owner’s burnout could be the reason their business suffered a breakdown.
Entrepreneurs aren’t supernatural beings, and the sooner you realize this, the better it will be for you and your business. Here are a few ways you can protect yourself from burnout.
Separate Yourself from the Business
When entrepreneurs talk about their businesses, they sound so passionate. In fact, they’ll be the first to tell you that their employees can’t be as passionate as they are; business-wise.
While passion is okay, being unable to separate your business from yourself is not. Too many entrepreneurs have this problem. The business slowly becomes them, and they pay no attention to their own health and wellbeing. We found a great video to help you create a self-care action plan to make caring for yourself as much of a priority as your business is.
Notice the Signs of Burnout
Do you have sleepless nights and worry over what makes business burnout? Worry and anxiety can lead to burnout and frustration. Are you dreading going in to the office or procrastinating on simple projects?
As soon as you notice any of these signs, it’s time to take a step back and rest. Go on a vacation or an extended holiday. Whatever you choose, take some time off once you notice any of the signs of burnout.
Delegate More
Every entrepreneur has heard this or a version of this advice several times. The response is usually the same. “I can do it best so why delegate?” Well, you can’t be everywhere at the same time.
Often in business, there will be many fires to put out simultaneously. You can’t fix it all yourself. Trying would only earn you a spot on the entrepreneur burnout list.
If your staff can do it well, let them do it. After all, your employees are there to work for you, not the other way round. Only attend to a few important tasks at a time; then delegate the rest.
Outsourcing is another great way of delegating your tasks. Contact us if you would like someone to help you with bookkeeping, payroll, or managing your business licenses.
Reflect More
We tend to focus more on our current struggles than our wins. Entrepreneurs are even worse culprits than the regular person. Many focus on their current struggles so much that they fail to realize their wins.
A sure-fire way to ensure that you celebrate your wins is by reflecting. Make time out to reflect on your business and the wins you’ve experienced. In addition to this, focusing on your wins leaves less time for you to worry about your business.
Get off Work!
One of the most destructive myths about being a business owner is how long entrepreneurs work. Memes with quotes about entrepreneurs working 20 hour days are a dime a dozen. But it shouldn’t be that way. Entrepreneurs aren’t superhumans; they also need some time away from work.
Pack up your desk, shut down your computer, and leave when your employees are leaving. Whatever cannot be finished today can be finished tomorrow.
Get off work. Even entrepreneurs can squeeze out a few hours of downtime outside of work. Setting up a default time to leave work every day might help you develop the habit of taking time off work to rewind.
Focus on Quality, not Quantity
A lot of young entrepreneurs are focused on signing on as many clients as they can get. It is all about the money and being able to say that they work with many clients.
After signing these clients, the entrepreneur then struggles to stretch his available resources for so many clients. Firstly, this could lead to sub-par work, and secondly, the stress could lead to burnout.
Don’t concern yourself so much with quantity. Be more worried about the quality of clients and the service you offer.
As a business owner, you protect yourself from burnout when you realize that you are one being. No matter how much you wish it, you can only be at one spot. So, make things easy for your business and yourself by making sure you don’t burnout.
