Starting a business can be stressful. It feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders because any success or failure is solely on your shoulders. You may be responsible for the livelihoods of employees as well as yourself. If you do not look after yourself properly, it is easy to burn yourself out. Here are some tips to prevent burnout as a new business owner.
Protect Your Work-Life Balance
Look, as a business owner, there will be times that you will need to pull all-nighters because something has not gone to plan. But working long hours should not be a regular thing outside of major issues. If you work all the time and don’t allow yourself enough downtime, not only are you risking burnout and your mental, emotional, and physical health, but you are not doing your business any favours either.
As a business owner, you are the driving force behind your company. Your passion and determination are what will keep your business growing. If you are burnt out, tired, and just not feeling it anymore, your customers will pick up on it.
Know When to Seek Expertise
Instead of spending your time trying to learn video editing, hire an expert. There will always be tasks that fall outside of your knowledge and skills. People spend years learning how to do these tasks well; what makes you think you will be able to learn enough in a weekend. Get your time back and put it to use doing something that will have a better ROI. (Yes, your time is a precious resource too)
Know When to Hire
In addition to hiring a freelancer or paying a business to handle some tasks for you, you should also know when to hire employees. There will come a time when the main profit-generating tasks become too much for you to handle by yourself or don’t leave you with enough time to focus on things that will grow your business. This is great news; it means your business is growing!
Hiring the right employees takes time, so you need to recognise when you are nearing the point where you need to bring someone on board. This will allow you to spend the time finding the right candidate and training them before you become overwhelmed.
Use Your Leisure Time Well
How you use your leisure time will also help you to avoid burnout. While it may seem that spending all of your downtime relaxing would prevent burnout, that is not actually the case. If you do not make enough time for socialising and hobbies, you will be just as unmotivated as if you were burnt out from working too much.
Do things that inspire you that open your mind, that touch your heart. You will carry that inspiration and energy into your business. Yes, spend time vegging on the sofa watching Friends reruns, but also spend time out experiencing the world and speaking to people.