Small Enterprise Burnout? Use This Time to Relaxation, Rejuvenate, and Reframe Your Enterprise Technique

It’s been a damn good year hasn’t it? Between pandemic and politics – not to mention the everyday stressors that the average small business has – keeping your head above water, let alone thinking about the future, has been a challenge.

As things are slowing down a bit this holiday season, I invite you to do three things: Rest, remodeling, and rejuvenate. Trust me, both you and your company will be better off this.

Rest your body and mind so that you can destroy it again

Even if you usually go on vacation, you may not have taken one this year. Where should it go? The idea of ​​getting on a plane wearing a mask for several hours and wiping every available surface does not appeal to many of us. I try to do at least one international trip a year and canceled three trips this year due to Covid-19.

Yet entrepreneurs desperately need this time to separate and relax. Starting and running a business understandably requires more work and is more stressful: 61% of entrepreneurs are more stressed than when they started their business and 60% have difficulty taking time off.

It’s bad for business.

Even if you cannot go on the annual ski vacation this year, you will find time for rest. That could mean taking a Friday off every now and then (an exercise I highly recommend!) Or spending a long weekend in a cabin in the woods. Hell, it could just be a massage or turn off the phone after work if that’s the best you can do. But I encourage you not to discount the importance of being well rested. A brain that is not stressed and overwhelmed can develop innovative ideas.

Update how you do business

The biggest takeaway from 2020 is that we can’t rely on how we’ve run our business. Whether the quarantine stopped you from serving customers personally or whether you had a tremendous learning curve in using video calling with customers, something has changed radically.

Don’t take this as a one-off lesson. You may now have difficulty attracting businesses the way you used to, either because of the economic climate that consumers are reluctant to spend money or because the market has changed. The worst thing you can do is keep doing business as usual. These are not ordinary times, and even if things calm down, we need to have a permanent plan of what our business will be like in the future.

Do you remember the business plan you designed all those years ago? Now would be an excellent time to visit again as it will most likely need an update. Where you can find customers, what you sell, and where your long-term strategy may have changed, write those changes in writing. Your company is meant to remind you of how you may need to turn in order to survive.

I am always amazed at how resilient small businesses are. I read about a day spa that switched to offering facial treatment kits for the home. A wizard who can’t do in-person appearances and has now paid shows on Zoom. Restaurants that have cleverly navigated by changing rules, adding outdoor seating and more takeout and delivery options. Even if this year ruined your business, think about how you can rise from the ashes like the beautiful phoenix that you are.

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Rejuvenate your love for what you do

I occasionally get extremely burned out in my business and lose passion for what I do. It can be difficult to do the same thing for years. But if I feel like I won’t be able to walk another day, I step back. I rest. I take time for my business and don’t even think about it for days or weeks. When I come back, I’ll inevitably be better.

This could work for you. You could try something different, such as For example, develop a new product or service, or find different industries to work with. You could learn a new skill. Or hire help to take the pressure off you.

You started this business because you had a passion for it, but just like in a relationship, sometimes you need to rekindle that spark. Don’t let your passion die or running your small business will consume your soul.

And if those rejuvenation ideas don’t work, keep in mind that it might be time to call them finished. Just like in a relationship, sometimes there is a shelf life on your business and if you deny it it will only leave you unhappy. Find an exit route and make space for something new that will make you shine.

I wish you the best holidays this season. Even with such conflicts we still have a lot to thank. And who could not use a little holiday joy to end this overwhelming and stressful year for everyone?

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