Business Owner Stress

Business Owner Stress

Being a Business Owner can be rewarding, but it also comes with its fair share of stress and challenges.  So many, in fact, that you may be feeling stress about things you didn’t even know you were stressed about.  Certainly, the fear of failure is always on a Business Owner’s mind, and therefore the need to control is overwhelming.  Then if the business is not doing as well as expected for a prolonged period, fatigue and burn-out begin to set in.  If the business is doing well then, the constant need for perfection is a stress in its own way.

Here are some common sources of stress for business owners:

1. Financial Pressure: Managing cash flow, dealing with expenses, and ensuring profitability can be extremely stressful. Economic downturns, unexpected expenses, or changes in the market can add to financial pressure.
2. Uncertainty and Risk: Business owners often face uncertainty, whether it’s related to market conditions, changes in regulations, or the actions of competitors. The risk of failure and the responsibility for the livelihoods of employees can be overwhelming.
3. Long Working Hours: Entrepreneurs frequently work long hours, including weekends and holidays. The constant demand for attention and the need to be available can lead to burnout.
4. Decision-Making Burden: Business owners are responsible for making crucial decisions that can impact the success or failure of their enterprise. The weight of these decisions and the fear of making the wrong choices can be stressful.
5. Employee Management: Dealing with personnel issues, hiring, firing, and managing a team can be challenging. Balancing the needs and expectations of employees with the demands of the business is a continuous juggling act.
6. Market Competition: Staying competitive in the market is a perpetual challenge. Business owners must adapt to changes, innovate, and differentiate their products or services to stay ahead.
7. Customer Relations: Maintaining positive relationships with customers is vital for business success. Dealing with customer complaints, managing expectations, and ensuring customer satisfaction can be demanding.
8. Regulatory Compliance: Navigating the complexities of business regulations and ensuring compliance with legal requirements can be a source of stress for business owners.
9. Work-Life Balance: Achieving a balance between work and personal life can be difficult for business owners. The demands of the business may encroach on personal time, affecting relationships and overall well-being.
10. Isolation: The role of a business owner can be isolating. There may be fewer people to share the decision-making burden, and the sense of responsibility can be overwhelming.

On top of all of these common stressors there can be additional pressures from the outside that are related to your “Business Life”.  They can be:

1. Trouble on the Home Front: You missed too many baseball games, your mate is giving you a hard time about how little you are home, finances are tight, or one of many other issues that come up because you are trying too hard to succeed at your business.
2. Legal Issues: Your company is being sued, you owe the IRS, or you personally have legal issues.
3. Regulatory Issues: A new law that affects your business, a code violation, minimum wage changes, or government agencies breathing down your neck.
4. Not Providing the Way You Want: Perhaps there is not enough money to do the things with your family that you wish, or just the opposite, there is plenty of money but not enough time to do those things.
5. Drinking Too Much: Or otherwise abusing your health.  We often try to escape our pressures temporarily to provide relief from the stress.

It’s important for business owners to recognize these stressors and implement strategies to manage stress effectively. This might include seeking support from mentors, building a strong support network, delegating tasks, and taking breaks to avoid burnout. Additionally, maintaining a healthy work-life balance and investing in self-care can contribute to long-term success and well-being.

The first thing to do is separate all these stressors into two categories:

1. The things you can do something about
2. The things you can do nothing

Then focus on the things you can do by prioritizing them in order of importance and impact.  Make a list and start checking things off.  I DO NOT mean that figuratively!  A real list that will give you great satisfaction each time you check something off is critical.  That way at the end of a frustrating day you can look back and say: “I didn’t get it all done, but I really made a dent in the list”.  If you simply move from task to task or fire to fire, then you will not feel any accomplishment at all, so memorialize your progress and stay on track, that way even a bad day has a silver lining.

The second thing to do is to delegate.  Whether that is to bring in a partner or hire a manager that has skills that you do not, or to do a better job delegating some of your to-do list to existing employees, it is critical to lighten your load to reduce that stress and just as important so that you can do some dreaming and planning work to take your company to the next level.  Try to get others to take care of today’s fires so that you can do some future fire prevention.

The Third thing is to go back and look at the “Things you can do nothing about list”.  Reexamine the list to see if you have any influence on these topics, or if you can hire a lawyer or other professional to help with the issues.  If you can, then put a plan into motion.  If you can’t, then listen up:

The most frustrating part about being an entrepreneur is the things that are out of your hands, like:

1. Waiting for a permit or license.
2. Waiting for a Potential Customer to make up their mind.
3. Being sued and waiting for a decision you have no control of.
4. Waiting for someone to get back to you.
5. Or anything else that is out of your control.

Our business is our world and our domain; therefore, we want to be in control of every aspect.  Even if that were possible today, and it is not, it would prevent you from growing.  And that is the first lesson of growth, you won’t be able to control it all!

Learn to let go a little, don’t stress about what you can’t control, go home early and surprise the family, fix what you can, and don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for what you accomplished today and what you’ve accomplished so far.  It is a long, hard journey, take a breath, make a plan, execute the plan, and get help where needed.

Skip Williams

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