Desk with laptop in background with blog title over the photo

Because of the nature of my work I meet and chat with a lot of business owners! One of the things that I encounter almost daily is talking with people who are on the edge of entrepreneur burnout. When I hear the passion that fueled their dreams and why they finally decided to step out of their comfort zone and do what they love, I’m always inspired! I speak with some amazingly inspirational people and their creativity and passion get me all fired up!

Then… then we get to the place of where they currently are in business.

They’ve found a measure of success and the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel has grown closer and brighter, yet seemingly further from reach. I hear how they are frustrated trying to “nail down a system” that will help with the monotonous tasks. I listen as they describe trying to prioritize the life-sucking to-dos that they hate while falling further and further behind. We discuss the fact that they can’t figure out how to escape the rabbit hole of social media and the never-ending comparison it so often brings. I’ve met entrepreneurs who are insanely talented and have ideas and gifts that will seriously change the world who have only taken one day off each quarter for the last three quarters! I hear people tell me they find themselves crying a lot and sleeping less than 5 hours per night.

I hear of burnout.

I hear deflated dreams crashing to the ground. I hear passion that has fizzled flat and sits untouched and forgotten in a dusty corner. I see buried talent that has the potential to reach the sky but sits weighted down under a pile of to-dos that nobody even has any desire to tackle.

As disheartening as it all sounds, I want to shout from the rooftops that it’s also unacceptable. I want to shine a light on the gifts and talents and uniqueness that I can see shining out from their eyes and hear in their voice. But even more, I want them to know I can empathize. I get it. I’ve been on this slippery slope that stands ready to consume us any minute, threatening our dreams.

Entrepreneur burnout can sink your business so I’d love to share some simple strategies that really work! They have helped me come back from burn out and find balance. Let’s see if we can help you find balance as well! Let’s find the place where we can LOVE what we do without being consumed by it to the point of burnout, frustration, and broken relationships!

Here are 7 Strategies to avoid entrepreneur burnout:

1. Mapping it all out

To begin, we have to clearly define our goals, gifts and passions, and understand how our mind focuses. If we’re going to get to our destination, we need to know where we’re going and the best route to take to get there - avoiding the potholes and traffic jams, please.

I’m not a long-term goal setter. But I am aware of what needs to be done each month and each quarter. I know where we need to be at the end of each and how to move the needle to get there. Please take a few minutes to look at this in your business. Don’t concentrate too hard on the 1-year and 5-year goals. We can’t look around a corner!

I know what I’m good at and what I’m not so good at. I know that my passion is to help people and what God-given gifts I can use to make it happen. Please don’t discount this! You need to really consider the following:

1. What are you really good at?
2. What do you love to do and want to get up each day to do?
3. What do you hate doing and how can you systematize or minimize these tasks?

2. Work when you’re the best you!

Ok, we’ve heard about the time-management apps and the Pomodoro Technique and all the others. This is different! I was introduced to this podcast when we added our incredible Team Manager to Rock Solid. Steph suggested we listen to Daniel Pink on Carey Nieuwhof’s podcast where they discuss the science behind perfect timing and how it relates to our productivity. GAME. CHANGER!

I am not a Lark - an early bird. There I said it… out loud… publicly. (Well, typed it at least!) I am always up early, I’m just not “up and at ‘em”! For optimal functioning during the day, I really need to have quiet time each morning where I can read and pray. By 9 am, I am ready to tackle the daily tasks. This time works for me for catching up with emails, speaking with potential clients, and team meetings. However, if I am needing to do something creative like writing a blog post, I probably won’t get to that until after lunchtime when I feel more settled and inspired!

You’ve got to listen to the podcast -- really taking the time to evaluate when my brain is in which mode was an amazing relief, not only to me but to my team as well! It has also truly increased my productivity simply because I know when to do each task to be able to do it with excellence!

3. Evaluate your surroundings

I don’t think this is a new strategy by any means but because it has proven so beneficial to me, I have to include it. It fits nicely with the perfect timing tip above, but this one relates more to the perfect place for each task. When I’m reviewing invoices or looking at VA skills or strategizing with my team for an upcoming event, I need to be at my desk. My office is bright, semi-organized, and “feels” like work. It gently jolts me into work mode where I can shift my mind into that gear and knock out some great work! However, when it’s time for me to write or create or brainstorm our next big thing, I need to retreat. In my case, it’s back to the big, comfy easy chair in my bedroom where it’s bright and quiet and cozy. Even though I live in Arizona, I’ll probably grab a blanket, my noise-canceling headphones, and a cup of something warm to drink. It’s here that the creative work happens!

My amazing Christina (our hiring manager and social media rock star) loves to get out one evening a week to work at a local restaurant. I also know that both Christina and Steph occasionally work at the gym! A change of scenery is inspiring, refreshing, and might be just the thing to break up the monotony and reignite your spark!

4. Work From a Place of Rest

This one might be harder for me to explain, but I’m going to try. I’m not the girl who believes in “HUSTLE!” and has it all over my office and 3 stickers on my laptop shouting the praises of the hustle. I believe that “Go, go, GO!” usually results quickly in burnout and honestly don’t see how it could end any other way. I know, business is very challenging and often, down-right hard! It brings us to our knees and has the ability to make us question our knowledge, skills, and sanity. I’ve gotten caught in the vicious teeth of this trap myself, but that’s all the more reason why I believe I have a solution.

I know what I can do and I know what I can do with my incredible team. I started out as a solopreneur just like you most likely did and I know that growth would never have happened without my amazing teammates. I also know what happens when we lose focus, get out of our lane as a team as well as out of our individual lanes. We know our purpose and we work each day to do what we’re called to do very well. If we were to jump at every opportunity, not considering our focus, goals, plans, and dreams… we’d soon be in over our heads and not performing with the excellence we’re known to deliver.

We are able to rest - right in the midst of the busiest workday. Yes, we’re always looking for more business growth because simply, that means helping more people, but at the same time we know that if we just keep doing the things we’re called to do and trust that we’re doing them with excellence, integrity, and maintaining our character all the while, everything will work the way it’s supposed to work! I remember when I was a solopreneur and didn’t quite have my feet all the way under me just yet, I got up each day making the decision to do what I could do and what I knew to do to the best of my ability and let God handle the rest. A couple of years later, an amazing team on board, and a lot of business growth… and that’s still my M.O. each day! It allows me to rest in the midst of work!

5. Comparison is a Killer. Just stop!

I bet if I asked you right now to list who is the biggest competitor in your industry and two up-and-coming competitors, you could do it within a minute! You might have just envisioned their Instagram feed or their logo and website as you were reading. Here’s a nugget to consider -- do you know how many people might have listed YOU and your business when pressed for the same answers? I love to remind women of this when I speak to them about comparison: When you walk into a room and immediately notice the best-dressed, most beautiful woman, or the gal with the nicest shoes and sweetest kids, stop for a minute and remember that she might be looking at you noticing and wishing for the same things! Never forget that!

You are beautiful - even on your worst day! The amount of talent you have been gifted with has the potential to change the world in one way or another. The smile you offer to the stranger in the grocery store might just be the warm gesture they needed more than any other thing at that moment. You are amazing! You can’t be like the lady who catches your eye because then who would be you? Who would offer your incredible skills and talents to this big ol’ world that is desperately in need of a refreshing breath?

Please remind yourself of this daily! Put it on your mirror. Say it out loud every morning.

You are a gift and you have so much to offer that nobody else does!

Now, let’s translate this to business! Who is going to do your business with your talent, your care, your passion, your heart? Sure, there may be similar businesses out there, but they don’t have YOU! They may do things a bit different and that’s not what YOUR customers or clients need. There’s space for all of us on this planet and in our respective industries… as long as we bring ourselves! We need to bring our specific gifts and talents and not try to duplicate what the next guy is doing! Be you and do it well every. single. day. Watch your business flourish as you do!

6. Remember, you’re not meant to do this alone!

I’m in awe at the business resources available these days! From the business coaches that are out there helping people find success to those teaching systems and organization, so many people are sharing their knowledge. We are blessed to work with some really amazing people who are incredibly gifted to help other business owners and their hearts and passions take my breath away with excitement! Read the newsletters, visit the blogs of those who are perhaps a few steps ahead of you in business. Seek out those people on social media and follow them for their tips! Soak it all in, Friend!

Technology is on our side as entrepreneurs as well! From the productivity apps and CRMs to the cloud sharing and saving platforms, so many tools exist to make our business lives better!

Reach out to the successful coffee shop owner or local florist or any other successful business owner you’ve noticed. Invite them to coffee; pick their brain while you offer some tips and tricks you’ve learned along the way. The introvert in me wants to run away at the thought of it, but the couple times I’ve actually stepped out of my comfort zone and did it, I loved every minute and came away feeling refreshed and energized for business!

Finally,

7. Delegate, delegate, delegate!

Let’s be real - there are just some tasks that you’re not good at and no matter the amazing teaching you might enroll in or the books you read, it’s never going to be your thing! I tell everyone that QuickBooks is my kryptonite! Could I figure it out and do it as well as our Sarah from Steadfast Bookkeeping? Well, maybe -- IF I loved it which I absolutely do not! UGH!! I absolutely hate having to deal with finances. Before I outsourced this part of my business, invoices were late and for all I know, I might still be missing a payment or two from those days! I procrastinated reconciling anything until it was a full-day job that took every little possible breeze out of my sails and left me with frustrated tears by early afternoon.

There are also those things that you can do and even do fairly well, but are you the best person for that job? Is it taking you away from your true passion and that thing that gets you out of the bed in the morning? Christina is the hiring manager at Rock Solid and though I didn’t mind interviewing and evaluating our VAs, she happens to do it far better than I ever could have. I would be crazy to not hand this off to her!

Building a team is hard and we talk about it a lot on our blog and social media, so I won’t go into it too much here, but never forget that there is someone out there who absolutely loves to do what you hate and someone who is far better at those tasks that don’t excite you! When we’re talking about moving the needle in business, we have to consider how investing in a team member will allow for growth and expansion as it frees you to do what you’re made to do!