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Many people dream of working for themselves, being their own boss, and having the freedom to only take on clients and projects they love. What they don’t realize, though, is that there is a huge difference between building a business and being self-employed.
Business owners scale their income. On the other hand, people who are self-employed trade dollars for hours. Business owners leverage the skills and talents of others. While self-employed people rely only on their own skills.
Discouraged yet? Don’t be. Every business owner started out self-employed. The key is, to not stay there.
The following tips will help you build a sustainable business that doesn't burn you out.
Don’t Try to Do It All Yourself
Building a sustainable business requires that you leverage the talents and time of others. While it might seem cost-effective to simply do everything yourself—especially in the start-up phase when you likely have more time than money—it’s a surefire path to burnout and stress.
Instead, separate your tasks into those that you love and are especially suited for (such as planning or product development) and those you dislike or aren’t that good at. Then make a solid plan to get those that you aren’t good at off your list of things to do. If you feel like you can’t afford to hire someone or outsource it all right now, start with what you tend to procrastinate the most on, even if it’s just a few hours each month.
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Don’t Allow Yourself to Work All the Time
The trouble with working at home during the start-up phase of your business is that you live at work. And that means, there’s no clear line in the sand between your work day and your home life. Let's be honest... the pandemic didn't help this at all.
Since there’s always work to do, it’s easy to find yourself working every available moment—often to the detriment of your family relationships. If you must work from home in the beginning, you can help avoid crossing that line by:
Setting—and maintaining—clear work hours
Having an office with a door you can close when you’re done
Scheduling time for your family and other activities
Taking time for yourself
Vacations and Downtime Are Important
Don’t create a business that requires you to be 'in the office' every day. At the start, you may need to be available more, but you should definitely be planning for the day when you can be 'off the grid' for extended periods of time.
Have trusted employees who can handle things when you’re not available
Leverage automation tools such as autoresponders and automated webinar systems
Create repeatable systems so you’re not always re-inventing the wheel
While you might not be able to hit the road with no internet access for weeks at a time, at the very least you should be able to reduce your workload to a daily check-in.
Sound impossible? It’s not. With some coordination and planning, you can create a team—and the systems they need—to successfully run your business without becoming overwhelmed and overworked, so you can reap the rewards of a growing and thriving business.
Has traffic slowed down or sales slacked off in your business? Find out some possible reasons why and what you can do about it.
Download my free guide, "Why My Business Isn't Growing - Brainstorming Exercise".
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