| |
| |
|
Small Business Information |
|
|
|
Proper Care and Feeding of the Business Owner
That sizzling sound you're hearing may be a symptom of a major hidden cause of businesses closing their doors. It's called burnout. And you may be its next victim. Often the last thing a business owner considers is his or her health and sanity. The burnout that results from overwork and stress can deliver a death blow to the very enterprise you've been giving your all to create. Setting a course for your business that includes the proper care and feeding of the business owner is a critical success factor in every business. Burnout occurs after prolonged periods of stress and physical and/or mental fatigue. It leaves business owners feeling hopeless, powerless, cynical, and resentful. It creates an atmosphere of failure, stagnation and reduced productivity. Burnout carries throughout your business showing up in your relationships with your clients and employees and ultimately impacts your bottom line and the growth pattern of your business. Typically, burnout occurs in situations where you feel: ? overworked ? like no one understands what you're going through ? confused about priorities and direction ? resentful about tasks that you don't feel rewarded for performing ? concerned about financial survival and security ? you have more on your plate than you feel you can handle. In short, self employment and burnout go together like salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, and Donald Trump and real estate. The result is often a very unhappy, unfulfilled business owner who finally decides to throw in the towel and get a nice simple 40 hour a week job. Recognizing that burnout is a serious threat to the survival of your business is a critical step in preventing or bouncing back from burnout. Burnout steals your passion, the very passion that caused you to start your business. Without that passion, your ability and willingness to do whatever it takes to make your business a success quickly diminishes. You find yourself resenting your customers instead of wanting to help them. You dislike your employees because of their constant demands. You snap at your spouse when asked how your day went. And you constantly feel pressured and unable to relax. Understand that you have two roles in your business. You need to play both the role of employer and the role of employee. If you worked for an employer who expected you to work non-stop, never allowing time off, paying you far less than you're worth with no benefits, you'd soon have your resume updated and be out the door. And yet, that is the daily reality for many small business owners. Remember, you are your employer. Are you creating a work environment of tyranny and maltreatment? Treat your help like you would want to be treated-incorporate benefits like flex time, comp time, and regular time off. Review a list of job duties to see if it's a fair and logical distribution of work. You need to take care of the talent just as you would if you had actual employees. Your business depends on your health and sanity. Preventing burnout is a critical piece of your business plan. How will you keep yourself fresh and engaged with your business? What do you need to do to keep yourself from becoming overwhelmed? What tasks are overwhelming you? Develop a plan to outsource those tasks or find easier ways to do them. What adjustments do you need to make in your business so you can take regular time off? Often business owners insist they can't take time off and can't afford to hire help. Regardless of where your business is today, as the owner of the business you have the power to chart the course of your business. If you feel you can't step away as things stand right now, begin to plan a direction for your business that will allow you to do so in the future. Caroline Jordan, MBA is adept at helping self employed professionals create successful businesses without losing their minds. She provides advice, training, coaching, and services to help her clients Get Knowledge?Get Focus?and Get Results. If you are a self employed professional who is really serious about wanting to end the stress, frustration, and confusion you feel trying to run your business, visit http://www.TheJordanResult.com for more tips, articles, and services designed just for you.
MORE RESOURCES:
Small-Business - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Predicting Business Retirement Satisfaction for Business Owners Most business owners do not think of selling their companies as "retiring". Instead, these vital entrepreneurs see selling their business as a "transition. Obtain Maximum Results For Your Small Business Through Better Time Management Most small business owners are faced with so many responsibilities and an unbelievable workload throughout the day. Mainly because of the many different roles that we have to play. Keeping a Partnership ALIVE and THRIVING What are the best methods for keeping a good business relationship?Once you have a business relationship in place, you need to work on that relationship to keep it intact. As a matter of fact, people nurture their business relationships more than they do their families! The first and most obvious method is to follow up with questions and requests in a timely manner. Starting a Pressure Washing Business Are you thinking of starting a small pressure washer business to help clean up the world and make a little money? You might be surprised how many mobile pressure washers companies there are in the United States; approximately 45,000 of them. And since God made dirt on the Third Day; Genisis 1:9 - 1:12. How to Manage Your Pipeline How is your pipeline structured?I assume most of you have heard about the sales pipeline. Your pipeline is what keeps your business going. Politics, Environmental Rules, and Mobile Car Washes During the California Recall Election, I was very interested. Without getting into the political scene at all; my entire company, The Car Wash Guys, and all our staff and franchisees were closely watching The California Recall and Election. Dont Let Your Small Business Fall in the FDCPA Trap When someone owes your small business money, you certainly feel like a victim. But did you know that if you aren't careful, you could break the law by trying to get the money back?How to Break a Federal Debt Collection LawYou have a small business, and your bills are coming due soon. Finding the Right People for your Business Where do you find the right people for a business relationship?Finding the right people may not be as difficult as you may think. Quite often they are in your neighborhood and within your inner circle. Franchise Buyers from Hell I ran a franchise company for many years, a car wash franchise, and we use to get the most ridiculous franchise buyers who thought they wanted a franchise. It seems we had to deal with these Kookoo birds because they have consumer rights and the Federal Trade Commission, which looks over franchising goes out of their way to let these consumers get away with these tall tales. Small Business and Branding - Why and How? When we speak of branding most of the time people try to relate it to big business house, however, the fact is that every business needs to establish their brand in order to survive the competition. This is nothing new; experts and management gurus had been preaching the same sermon for years now but what they have not told is why you need to brand your small business? How is branding going to help you to establish your business? How can you establish your brand without spending a fortune on it?You might be having a very small business but would you like your client to perceive your business as a small time entrepreneurial effort? Definitely not, and your business cards, letterheads and other marketing collaterals does just that. What Happened to the Money and Freedom? Ask anyone trapped in a cubical about their entrepreneurial dream and they will tell you, "I want to own my own business. I'll make more and have more time. Window Cleaning Business Case Study How do window cleaning franchise businesses start? It is a fascinating case study indeed, as most all window cleaning businesses start from such humble beginnings; a bucket of water, a sharp entrepreneur and a quality squeegee. I never thought in a million years I would ever enter the Window Washing Industry. Dig Deep for Small Business Ideas Before You Start the Wrong Business If you're serious about wanting to start a business, the first thing you want to do is take the time to understand what really makes you tick. Where do you get your drive? What gets you in a "zone?"However, there's a lot more to figuring out the BEST business idea that will make you more money and give you more freedom to enjoy more success in your life. The Game Plan - The Difference Between Small Business Success And Failure It is an American dream to own a business. But sadly, according to the U. Looking for a Business to Run in the New Revitalized Downtown Area? Looking for a place to add a Quick Lube away from your Super Wal-Mart Competitor? Down Town Revitalization, Why You Should Be Part of Such a Committee.A study showed that within the next five years 20% of LOF- Lube, Oil and Filter Independent Owners said they had plans on adding one or more facilities. How to Effectively Design Your Business Image In many industries, image is one of the last things business owner looks at. If business is not booming, they assume there is something wrong with the sales method, as opposed to the image. Small Business Survival In today's economic climate, the first priority for the small business entrepreneur is survival. A glance at newspapers, business journals, or cable news channels reveals a succession of corporations striving to stay on top of their game, and often failing, to slow the growth of outsourcing or to show real growth within their market space. 10 Hiring Tips for Small Business Owners As a successful small business owner,you're accustomed to long hours; non-existent holidays and weekends spent working.When was the last time you went to your dentist? When was the last time you had an uninterrupted night out with your partner?Whether your goal for 2005 is to find more time for family or personal enrichment --like attending classes and conferences -- you'll want to consider bringing on some help. Small Business - A Thing Worth Doing Is Worth Doing Badly A thing worth doing is worth doing badly. Yes I know that it should be 'well'. Overcoming Your Biggest Competitor Before you read any further in this article, I'd like you to take a moment and write down who your biggest competition is.OK, got it?I'm going to go out on a limb here and tell you that no matter what company you wrote down, you're wrong.
|
|
|
|
|
