End Business Owner Burnout

It’s a super gloomy, cold rainy day, as I share this, so why am I so excited?  Why is my team so excited?  It’s progress and momentum!  This is what feeds my energy, and the energy of my team, more than even accomplishments do!  At the end of the day, we get really excited whenever we’re making progress and feel like we’re getting momentum.  It also helps you end business owner burnout.

When you’re in the thick of business, the daily tasks and mounting goals can make it difficult to recognize progress.  I want to share a few ways to ensure that you and your team are tracking progress and celebrating momentum.  After all, business is hard.  In fact, it gets harder as you grow and scale.  So, by practicing this method of celebrating small wins, you’ll stay energized for the big wins ahead!

MEASURE BACKWARD

I want you to imagine you’re climbing a mountain.  Your arms are burning, your feet are tired, and the top seems so far away.  Have you accomplished the goal yet?  Nope.  You might feel like you’ve given all you have, and now you’re feeling the effects of burnout and ready to quit.  After all, that mountain top is still so far away.

Now imagine you look down (and you aren’t afraid of heights).  You realize that you’re over halfway up the mountain already!  This is the farthest you’ve ever climbed, and it’s a huge accomplishment.  Then you realize that if you’ve made it this far, you can make it the rest of the way.

This is the way measuring backward works.  You might be trying to accomplish a six figure revenue goal, and you’re falling short.  However, if you look at the same quarter’s earnings from last year, what is your progress?  Most often, you’ll recognize that you’ve experienced a significant increase in your profits, even if you haven’t hit your goal yet.  This is the momentum you want and need to hit that final goal.  It should fire you up to keep going.

HOW I AVOID OWNER BURNOUT

Here’s something about me (Bradley) that you should know.  I have ideas for days!  My team thinks I share too many ideas sometimes, but there are at least twice as many rolling around in my head.  This means that I have a bunch of different ideas I want to launch, goals I want to hit, and products I want to share.  If all I’m focusing on is the next thing, I tend to experience owner burnout.  I’ve learned to measure backward instead of measuring how far I have left to go.

An example of this is our Annual Business Plan workshop and Blueprint Launch.  If you’re brand new here, recently, our launch of Blueprint really fired us up.  It is a group coaching program for owners with teams of 2-12 people who are earning six figures, and it’s been my brainchild for a long time now.  As we have been architecting things ourselves, we are getting even more excited to serve you at the highest level possible.  Before we even made any sales, I was so energized!  It’s an amazing feeling to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Now, a few weeks into launch, we have a small core group of members and are hosting our first open Blueprint session as a workshop.  The Annual Business Plan workshop hits all of our guiding principles.  It’s going to help owners gain clarity in their business vision so they can lead better, it makes a difference through the registration fee being donated to Operation Underground Railroad, and it gets results for all of our attendees!  You’ll be able to implement a plan that will help lessen owner dependence and eliminate the burnout you may be feeling in your business.  The thing we are most proud of?  This business plan will actually work for you year after year.  (If you haven’t already, get signed up here.  It’s being held Tuesday, December 14th at 9 AM CST on Zoom.)

This is some powerful momentum that will carry us into the new year!  

ALIGNMENT ENDS OWNER BURNOUT

If you look back over your last business year, I bet you could recognize projects and processes that left you energized.  Conversely, I bet you could also pinpoint things that drain your energy.  I’ve found that when my activities, programs, trainings, or anything else don’t align with my core values, they drain my energy.  At Business Growth Curator, our Core 4 drives all of our decision making and motivation.  If I’m doing something that doesn’t align with these core values, I need to take a good hard look at why I’m spending my time on it.

You may be wasting time on services that don’t help your ideal customer.  Or, you might be trying something out that a friend recommended, but it doesn’t serve you or your team.  If you’re ending the year feeling drained and maybe even resentful of something in your business, it’s time to reassess where you’re spending your time.  These are some of the biggest symptoms of owner burnout.  Chances are there are activities that don’t align with your values, or you’re ignoring the boundaries you have in place with your business.  Either way, this is not healthy for you or your business.  Once you have clarity on what’s most important, you can align your business and schedule to match!

CLARITY PROTECTS YOUR ENERGY

If I gave you a shovel, dropped you off in a field, and said build something, what would you do?  It’s hard to know what you’re building, why you’re building, or if the shovel is even useful.  You need clarity, or you aren’t going to get anything done fast.  Even if you do something, it will not be useful.

Now imagine I gave you a shovel, dropped you off in a field, and told you to build a four foot pile of dirt.  You know exactly what you’re doing, and you know how to use the tool I gave you.  (Most people don’t need a dirt pile, but at least you know what you’re doing.)

Clarity in your business empowers you to focus on the tasks that accomplish your goal.  It also allows you to lead better through delegating specific tasks.  Then, you and your team can work together to move the needle in your business.

THINKING TIME

What’s something happening in your business that is energizing you this week?  What is something that is contributing to feelings of burnout?

LEARN MORE:

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