Regardless of whether the economy is favorable or not, most small business owners are always facing a great amount of stress. Running a small business is not a walk in the park; you have to balance between work and family, keep records of sales, plan a budget, hire employees and market your business among many other tasks. At some point the pressure will be too great to handle and this is where you need all the tips you can get your hands on on how to manage small business stress. Stress can be as a result of a busy schedule in a growing business or the lack of any meaningful steps in your business. Let us look at some tips on dealing with stress when running a small business:
1. List Down All Your Problems
Most small business owners will say that they are stressed but when asked; they cannot pinpoint the real problems bothering them. You need to find out what is causing the stress. You cannot simply say that the bad sales are stressing you out. There must be a reason why your sales are bad; it could be overpricing, quality, or bad marketing strategies. Try to solve bigger problems by first addressing the smaller issues. Join small business groups or consult a business expert if you have to.
2. Differentiate Between Fear And Anxiety
Fear is that rational healthy emotion that will prevent you from doing a reckless act. Most people consider venturing into the world of business a reckless act. The exact definition of business is a calculated risk. Most business owners are afraid of a lot of things when running their business that they become stressed. If you are to overcome fear, you need not look down. When you focus on the negative you will be filled with fear and moving forward will be a daunting task.
On the other hand, anxiety can be termed as a worry that is irrational and unwarranted. When you have unwarranted worry over everything, you will be stressed to the point of being unable to run your business as you should. Eliminating anxiety is easier said than done, but you can do it if you focus. See a professional if you need to and couple that with enough exercise as this helps in relieving stress.
3. Be Ready To Forgive Yourself
No one said business will be easy and along the way, you will make mistakes. What creates stress is spending time looking back at your mistakes and feeling guilty about it. If all the large business owners would do this, most company founders and entrepreneurs would lock themselves in small rooms and weep. This does not mean that you should forget about the mistakes. Instead of feeling guilty, feel proud that you know how not to do things and use the mistakes to make better decisions for your business.
4. Have A Different Perspective
If you look around, you will realize that bad things are always happening to people, and most of them will not happen to you. This should not mean that you should rejoice because they are happening to other people, but be happy you have survived to where you stand. Self-pity can only match the effects of kryptonite to a super entrepreneur. Most successful people have had serious setbacks along the way but succeeding is about working hard and more about how you perceive things.
5. Be Responsible
Most business owners do not want to accept that they are responsible for the welfare of their business. They will want to stand and take all the glory when things are going right and point fingers when they are not. If your employe did something wrong you are responsible for hiring and firing. If it is an external factor, you should plan your business well and cushion it against these forces. The more you try to blame other people, the more stressed you will be because you will not have time to correct any mistakes.
6. Be Positive
This is a cliché in all types of advices but it really works. You will always be stressed if you have a negative attitude towards everything in your business. Be positive and a lot of good will come your way. As you do what you can to run your business, remember that life is too short to be stressed.
