One might argue that being stressed is a natural condition for entrepreneurs and doesn’t push yourself enough unless you suffer from stress.
That’s right. It is true that starting a business is often accompanied by nervousness, anxiety, and even stress. But being stressed all the time can harm your psychological and physiological health, and ultimately the health of your business.
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Practical tips to overcome stress and win the mental game of business
If you continue to worry about unfinished work at work and aren’t getting enough sleep, it’s time to regain control. Whether you’re just starting out or owning an established business, here are tips to beat the stress of life as an entrepreneur.
1. Spend your money on legal advice early on
Consulting with an attorney when starting a business can help you avoid stressful and potentially costly situations that can arise at any stage of your business. Knowing that you have fulfilled your legal obligations as a business and that all business contracts have been signed will give you peace of mind.
2. Look for business money instead of family money
Starting a business with money borrowed from friends or family can be very stressful. Instead of doing the right thing for your business, you will be overwhelmed by the thought, “Can I take the risk when someone else’s money is at stake?”
There are smarter ways to raise money for your business, such as getting a small business loan from a bank, credit union or Small Business Administration (SBA). You can also explore crowdfunding sites for entrepreneurs.
3. Learn to Say “No”
It is tempting to accept every job opportunity that comes to you in the hopes of spreading awareness of your growing business. However, if you do more than your limited resources can handle, you can quickly start feeling overworked and exhausted.
Instead of a ‘more is better’ approach, be a little more careful in choosing what you want to do. This will give you the time and energy you need to continue marketing your business to attract the desired customers.
4. Organize your day
You may have days that are out of your control, but you can do a lot of things in your work routine to organize your day. Create daily and weekly schedules for tasks such as responding to emails, meeting customers, updating business websites, interacting with customers, and more.
One way to reduce stress is to reduce your day-to-day decisions. For example, former President Obama and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg are known to love grays (suits and t-shirts), but they help simplify morning routines. Similarly, if you have multiple client meetings, you can reduce the stress of performing those tasks by deciding on the outfit and pre-determining the route to the meeting point.
5. Hire an online business assistant to help you with your day-to-day tasks
If you are a sole trader, you can reduce your stress by outsourcing your daily work. An online business assistant can take a lot of responsibility off your plate.
Explore routine, iterative tasks that can be outsourced, such as updating databases, maintaining business blogs and social media content, or managing e-commerce or membership sites. By assigning these tasks to talented team members, you can spend time managing and running the more dynamic aspects of your business.
6. Trust the team
As an entrepreneur, leaving your company to go on vacation can seem like giving up control. But getting rest is very important for your mental health.
Even a small number of teams, if lucky, should organize them so they can handle the day-to-day tasks and decisions. Start small with a few days off to see how your staff manages your work during your absence.
7. Keep Visualizing the Bigger Picture
It’s easy to get frustrated when you don’t get the job of management and don’t feel like an entrepreneur. On days like these, it’s important to remember the ‘why’ of starting a business and not worry about the ‘what’ you have to do to get there.
Stay focused on the bigger picture of your business and see everything else as a step on the ladder to entrepreneurial success.
8. Maintain a positive attitude
Rejection of life hurts, disappoints, and discourages. The same goes for failures you experience as business owners. Rather than being caught up in the thought of “I don’t want to do this,” we need to ask ourselves, ” What can I learn from this?”
When your brain is obsessed with negative thoughts, recognize them and defeat them by doing other things that will help change the negative thoughts in your head. You can listen to music or call your business mentor.
Reading quotes/lessons from famous business leaders on what it takes to be successful will help you stay motivated. Below is an infographic with valuable advice on managing stress in the business world.
9. Focus on progress, not perfection
Instead of trying to do everything perfectly, now is the time to choose the battle. Use a business plan to set quarterly goals for your business and devise action steps to achieve those goals. Concentrate on removing those items one by one. If things don’t go well, learn from experience and move on.
10. Make time for fun things.
Take a break or do something creative every day to help recharge your battery. It could be running, taking a yoga class, painting, spending time with family, or taking a long walk with your dog.
Avoid the urge to check your office email during this time. Even a brief break from the work environment will energize you and increase your ability to think creatively about your business.
When your body and mind are better able to deal with stress and your workload is lighter, you can focus on what matters most: growing your business. May 2018 be more successful and less stressful!.