The weight of the world feels heavier these days.  With consistent traumatic events and economic woes, it becomes difficult to have the bandwidth to manage any other crisis or interruption. As burnout sets in, managing a business can feel like a monumental task. Small business owners are no stranger to having to put out fires, but what can you do when it feels like the fire is everywhere? We’ve got a list of tips to help you combat the stress and get back to running a successful business.

Pain vs. Suffering

There are many things that are out of our control. Breaking news, a client dropping out due to unforeseen circumstance, illness—these are just a few things that can hurt. However, we do have a choice on how we deal with that pain. We can choose whether we suffer from it. In the aftermath of a tragic event, do you spend hours on social media or watching the news? Constant exposure to negative events out of your control will not help you cope. Similarly, if your business is struggling to make ends meet, frequently checking your budget or bank account when you know they haven’t changed will only keep you in misery, not motivate you. Consider whether your actions are helping or making you suffer needlessly.

Rest

Another thing that we do when overwhelmed is overwork or make rash decisions.  Pushing yourself beyond burnout under the guise of “hustling” will only hurt yourself and your business. Quality suffers, mistakes get made, and you will only feel worse. Make time to recover from exhaustion and overwhelm and then make sure you are taking breaks when needed to help prevent you from getting to that place to begin with. Many small business owners don’t see downtime as an option or, even worse, they view it as lazy or only as a reward for their accomplishments. But rest is both productive and necessary.  Even machines need maintenance to keep running. Do yourself and your business a favor by giving yourself some time to decompress.

Delegate

It can be hard to make time when there are so, so many things to do as a business owner.  Somedays the to-do list seems endless.  How much work do you have on your plate that could instead be done well by an affordable freelancer?  Delegating some of the minutia will help free up your time for more important tasks (including rest!). Are you spending hours trying to learn or keep up with current marketing techniques? Outsource the work to someone who already has the experience and is waiting to get it done for you. You’ll be surprised to find that these services are being offered at prices you can afford. Don’t fall for the myth that you won’t be successful if you aren’t doing everything yourself. Savvy business owners value their time and delegate as needed.

Get Involved

When things feel overwhelmingly bad, one of the best ways to combat that is to put good into the world. (As a caveat- if you are feeling burned out, rest first and then go out and do good!) Think about some ways you or your business can help your community. Do you have space to host a food or blood drive?  Are you a food service that can offer “pay it forward” meals where customers can pay for a meal that can later be claimed by someone in need? Can you function as a drop off location for your local Mutual Aid organization? Can you add links to your website for local charitable organizations? When the going gets tough, the most important things we can do is to show up for one another.

Assess the Situation

There are a lot of things that we cannot control, but we can mitigate risk and do our best to fix what isn’t working. Overwhelmed business owners can benefit from sitting down and analyzing their current practices.  You may find that you are spending too much time and too many resources on ideas that are not panning out.  Are you underselling your work or offering too much away for free in hopes to woo a client? Are you missing out on a demographic you wouldn’t have thought to market to?  Make a list of your biggest goals as well as your biggest setbacks. This will help you get a clear handle on where you need to be focusing.  Is it time for a change?

In times like these, even the smallest setback can feel like the end of the world. Owning a business is no easy feat. But working hard doesn’t mean you have to be burning the candle at both ends and suffering through the process.

Need help growing your business? Download our free guide, so you can Outsource with Confidence and gain back precious time.