Let’s face it, most of us would start our own business if we thought we could, right? Some people know what they want to do and how to do it with ease? Others know where they want to be but perhaps don’t know exactly how to get there? Then there are the ones who dream of it, occasionally make unwritten plans but never take themselves or their ideas too seriously, and that is where it ends.
And why is that?
It’s because it seems like a daunting thing to do. The responsibility, the financial aspect and of course, the fear of failure! These things will all be experienced on different levels depending on the type of person, of course, but one thing that can easily affect every single person that starts their own business is STRESS. There‘s not much chance of escaping it completely. If it is not recognised, handled or dealt with at the time it rears its ugly head, breakdowns and burnouts can take place, affecting your business and, more importantly, YOU and the people around you in a negative way.
So how do we handle it? How do we deal with everything that we need to do and put into starting a successful business?
Who has the secret, and how do we make them tell us?
Well, there is no magic or secret answer. Sorryyyyy.
We are all so different in our ways of thinking, and how we handle situations, answers will vary from person to person. The ‘magic’ trick, if anything, is recognising the signs first and foremost, or in an ideal world, putting things into place in order to prevent it from happening. Yeah yeah, I know; the percentage of that working completely might be small but still worth a go, surely? Ultimately, you need to learn how to keep motivation levels high and stress levels low in order to avoid burnout.
Don’t burn the candle at both ends! Be realistic about what you can and can’t do in business and social life. By no means remove the social element, as that is what will likely keep you sane; just take into consideration what you need to achieve in the time frames you have to do it in. You’re not a machine; you can’t keep going no matter what. Even the most strong-willed individuals with a real passion for entrepreneurship can’t keep up a high pace or work under constant stress without eventually breaking down. Be mindful of your mental and physical health. If you don’t look after yourself, how can you look after your business?
Make sure time for self-care is included in your schedule from the get-go. Address things as and when they need to be addressed, don’t let them go or put them off because you don’t want to deal with it. There will always be jobs or tasks that you dislike, but ignoring them doesn’t make them disappear. They will just play on your mind and build up even more dread. Plus, you can always delegate, which leads me to my last point...
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP.
It is not a sign of weakness or lack of ability; if anything, it shows that you do what you need to in order to make things happen. There are lots of time-consuming tasks setting up a business, especially with the admin side of it. Having someone to handle this will free up your time to deal with clients, new business and all the other big important stuff that you, as the face of the business, should deal with. A Virtual Assistant is perfect; they have a wide skillset, years of experience, and financially they suit as they do not have to be permanent fixtures. They’re there as and when you need them and are guaranteed to get the job done in a highly professional manner.
Think of them as your business wingman.
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