If business owners know one thing, it’s that there is more than one element of ownership that has the potential to stress you out. From business development to employee management and operations, there is never a dull moment.
According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 45 percent of entrepreneurs claim to be stressed.
Owning a business is stressful, but there are stress management techniques available to mitigate the anxiety levels and find a more calming way to run your company.
Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
If you have an SOP for every aspect of your business from sales and recruitment, to client management and employee incentives inclusive of each service you offer, your team can work more autonomously. A standard process to follow means fewer questions being asked of you in a day.
You can communicate this with training videos or process documents. If you hire talented staff who are experts in specific roles, they should be able to follow these instructions, lowering your time commitments. This will, in turn, remove unnecessary stress from your role.
Set a clear direction for your business
If you have a specific vision in mind for your business, make sure you stick to it. This could mean learning to say no to clients or projects that work against it or are not the right fit. I did this when I decided to specialise and become the queen of cosmetic marketing.
This will save you many headaches, and unnecessary stress as your projects and clients will become more enjoyable.
Some directional goals to consider are…
- Growth goals
- Team building and upskilling goals
- Personal development goals
- Specialist goals
Maintain physical and mental health
It is well-documented that exercise and good physical health reduces stress and anxiety. Personally, I always aim for eight hours of sleep and at least one day off per week to refresh and recharge.
This can be helped by ensuring you have a hobby outside work to balance and better enjoy life. I usually golf and take hip-hop dance classes which help me to relax and recharge mentally. Take time to travel and have a break every few months.
I aim to travel twice a year internationally and take a complete break from work for at least a couple of weeks to see the world. This helps me to feel refreshed, and I often return in a more creative and appreciative mindset.
Always remember what is going right
As we focus on building a business, it can be very easy to concentrate or dwell on the things that are going wrong. This leads to stress that can be quickly dissipated by reminding yourself of everything that is going right.
You can do this by listing accomplishments and milestones you’ve achieved, an exercise that may reveal more than you initially realised. Even the smallest achievements are a great way to distract from the things that are going wrong.
Running a business is stressful, there is no way to avoid it, but hopefully, some of these tips can help decrease it.
A little bit of stress can be healthy; just don’t let it overrun your life.