This is one of the most common burn-out statements by people engaged in a business. Truly, entrepreneurship is not for everybody. That being said, it is easy to throw in the towel when the going gets tough. But most business owners often fail to see the bigger picture – when experiencing crisis, set your eyes to one thing: the opportunity. It’s out there somewhere!
Business sales going down? Employee turnover in an all-time high? Your growth strategies not working? While these are definitely not the news you want to open the champagne for, these are the times that will define you as an entrepreneur.
You hate your business? Good. There is something better coming. I have been there. I know the fear, that dread when you feel you are no longer in control. The best laid plans are turning out to be the very thing that is pulling you down. What do you need to do?
Dig deeper!
In my book “The Secret Road to Wealth”, I highlighted the importance of having that all-consuming “why” in building your business. What do you want to achieve? What will make the sacrifice all worth it in the end?
Revisit your “why”! Business burn out is more common than you think, and most entrepreneurs, if not all, have gone through the same doubts as you are going through right now. Dig deeper! Hold fast to your reason for what you are doing. You want the business to grow, why? What’s the end goal?
Try remembering the passion behind the business. What made you excited about it? What are the things in your business you just can’t stop talking about? Re-discover your “why” and fight for your dream!
You don’t have to do what you do
You need to understand that the things you do for your business right now is not a prison sentence. You own the business, so go over your daily tasks, think about how each is affecting your emotion and psyche, and then systematically remove yourself from functions you find too toxic for you.
If you enjoyed doing all the social media posts before, maybe it’s getting too busy for you now and you need to hire someone to do that for you. If you love being hands-on with finance in the past, perhaps the transactions now are too heavy so you might want to consider hiring a bookkeeper to do that for you.
If you have been micro-managing your business, now is the best time to stop it.
Create a freedom business
I like to look at business as money-making machines. It is not just people that will run the business, it is the system you build inside it that will enable it to operate without you. I started a BPO company more than a decade ago and while I was venturing into uncharted territory at that time, I made sure I set up the business to run on its own when the right time comes.
Today I travel freely and do what I want. I can choose to work or not but my business is still making money for me. My property business is giving me positive cash flow and my BPO company is earning while I am away on trips, my virtual workforce doing all the work for me.
Creating a business is a good start but the end goal should be business freedom. Only then you can experience happiness and fulfillment in entrepreneurship. Do you hate your business right now? Maybe it is time to make some changes and get your business running without you.
