How to Be a Less Stressed Business Owner
As a business owner, your mind is always jumping to the next task at hand. It seems like the work never ends, and the stress that comes with running a small business is anything but small! Here are 5 tips to eliminate stress:
Focus on the Wins
When it seems like your to-do list is a mile long and every step forward feels like two steps back, it is so easy to get frustrated. Take a step back and focus on the things that are going well for your business. Think about the wonderful feedback you got from your biggest customer last month. Remember that you provide the fastest shipping time in your industry. Dwell on how awesome your new product line is. Focus on the areas where your company is doing great, even if it’s as basic as having all the bills paid on time. (You paid all your bills on time! So few companies actually do that. Way to go!) Focus on what you are doing right, and it puts your never-ending workload into perspective.
Don’t Multitask, Prioritize
The fastest way to get bogged down in an endless list of responsibilities is to jump around from task to task trying to get everything done at once. You’re a business owner – you are no doubt an expert at multi-tasking. But your business is most successful when you give time to your strengths. Is deleting spam as important as getting in touch with that new customer? Of course not! When you have a million things to do, prioritize. Even if it takes 10 minutes away from your work to write down your priorities, you will more than make up that time by working more efficiently. At the end of the day you can rest knowing you finished what really mattered whether you got to the small things or not.
Try Signing Off
Once you have a list of priorities, your day can still be derailed with the stress of new tasks being piled on and on continually. The best part of running a small business in this age of technology is also the worst – everything is instantaneous. We are bombarded by emails, text messages, and phone calls at every moment of the day. To help you stay on task, shut down email while you finish that client proposal. Or turn your phone to silent for an hour while you ship out products. Reducing the distractions will help you remain focused on the day-to-day activities of running your business and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.
Take a Break
On that note, if you are feeling overwhelmed, take a break! There is no rule saying business owners are not allowed to take breaks. (Though sometimes it feels that way!) If you are stuck trying to solve a problem, take a few minutes to step away. Go for a walk, take a nap, eat a bite – do whatever you need to do to take your mind off of your work for a few minutes. Any time that you lose taking a break you will more than make up for itself. You’ll be amazed how much more work you get done when you’re relaxed and well-rested.
Delegate
Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day! Most business owners do everything themselves. But eventually as your business grows, you will need help. Don’t be afraid to delegate! Outsourcing some aspects of your business will give you more time to focus on the big picture of running and growing your business. If you spend hours delivering your product to your customers, hire a shipping or courier service. If keeping track of your expenses has been taking up all your time, hire a bookkeeper. If answering phone calls distracts you from bigger responsibilities, hire a receptionist. No one can run your business better than you, and delegating some things will give you more time and energy to direct toward managing and growing your business as a whole.
If you are ready to dedicate more time to your business’s growth by hiring a bookkeeper, check out RW Books! Rebekah Wright Bookkeeping handles the books and payroll for small businesses just like yours. Pricing is upfront and affordable, and the work is done quickly and accurately month after month. To learn more, visit RWBooks.com or email Rebekah at Rebekah@RWBooks.com.