Business Owner Burnout

I’m a small business owner twice now. My two businesses are drastically different in some ways, and similar in others. The common denominator is me, and I use my personality and skills in both of them. When I started my first business, a real estate brokerage, I didn’t think much of just doing it. I figured out what I needed and went for it. The second business started as more of a hobby because I loved to write and a blog was a great way to express myself in my writing. Since I decided to make it an actual business, I’m not learning about the ins and outs of the industries I’m part of through this business. 

Owning a business or businesses is an extremely rewarding path in life. It opens up portals you never knew existed, and it shows you so much about yourself in all the most amazing and raw ways. There are days where you’re on top of the world and days you’re completely depleted and burnt out, and you have no idea how to get into a better space. What I’ve realized in my own businesses is that when I’m feeling overwhelmed, depleted, stressed out, burnt out, I have to remember that less is more at times. I’ve felt at risk of burnout so many times over the past fifteen years as a business owner, and there are days where it still creeps up on me. I’m going to share about warning signs of burnout and how to prevent burnout as best as possible. 

Having Some Fun So Not to Burnout

Being an entrepreneur is something that not everyone is able to be or wants to be. I happen to think we are either born entrepreneurial or not. Some would argue it can be taught, but being one and knowing many people who aren’t makes it clearer to me that we are wired differently. There has to be a combination of self-confidence, risk-taking comfort, idea generation, execution, and self-discipline that many don’t have naturally and will never learn in their lifetime. This is not a knock on anyone; it’s simply an observation and data that I’ve noticed as I’ve been in this world. When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re likely to experience entrepreneurial burnout throughout your life, and I’ll talk about some of the causes of the burnout below.

You Have too Many Hats to Wear

As a business owner, you’re responsible for all the things. Whether it’s keeping toilet paper stocked in your customer bathroom or paying the bills on time, there’s no one else ultimately responsible for any of it. When you know this and own this, it’s both empowering and overwhelming. If you’re not doing these things yourself, you must make sure the people you hire are, and when they’re not, what’s the right action? Firing? More training? Ignoring? All of these are your responsibilities, and this can be a big source of burnout.

Financial Responsibility

Money is one of the biggest stressors in business because it’s necessary to have, whether in the starting phase or when your employees are in need of payment for jobs rendered. You also have to account for paying your taxes as well, which is (to me) the most boring part of the money responsibilities. Having to balance, re-balance, make spreadsheets, talk to CPAs, etc can lead to exhaustion and stress, and ultimately burnout. It’s good to have some systems in place with money, and it’s taken me years to do so. Some of it is trial and error, some just error, and eventually success if you do it right.

Perfectionism

It took me 45 years of life to understand and own that I have a perfectionism problem. Frankly I had no idea I was this way, but when I started to break down my reactions to things, my inner critic, my nonstop obsession over certain things, I realized I’ve got elements of a perfectionist. This has gotten me quite far in my life and in my businesses, and it’s also gotten me burnout. My mental state suffers when I am overly critical and nonstop in my thoughts around my business decisions. I’ll never want to get rid of it completely because it’s serviced me well, but I’ve learned to manage it much better.

That Lonely Feeling

Feeling alone is a really common thread among small business owners and entrepreneurs. Like I said before, entrepreneurs are wired differently, and that makes us make different decisions than most people do in life. And that leads to isolation at times. It is a major effort for me to create and maintain community because we tend to struggle to relate to people who aren’t as “eccentric” as we are. Often I’d prefer to be on my own than with most people because I have zero desire to partake in small talk and topics I deem completely uninteresting. I’ve learned to keep more of my work and personal life separate, but often it’s difficult and being on my own is the option that makes the most sense. This doesn’t come without a bit of isolation burnout, though and that can be difficult.

There is No Work Life Balance

People who say there is such a thing as work life balance are not entrepreneur and business owners. Your work often times ends up being much of your life, whether you’re talking about it, thinking about it, or operating in it. The ability to prioritize self care helps a lot, and self care can look very different to each person. You have to set boundaries around obsessive work habits and do things that sometimes are simply “for fun.” Writing out things you enjoy doing outside of work helps when you’re on the brink of burning out and you need a break. One of my go-tos is walking. It gets my body moving and my mind in a different state. This is something you develop when you’ve experienced burnout enough, and it’s helpful when you can disrupt the potential burnout before it gets to be too much.

Is Your Direction Clear?

It’s so easy to do a million things and forget about doing the three important things things in a day that move the needle in your business. There is no shortage of tips and tricks of how to prioritize your business and your time, and you just have to see what works for you. If you’ve started a business and are running it, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t yet, you’ll figure out that the most important thing is the most important thing, and everything else doesn’t matter. Anecdotally, I decided to build up my business by hiring a company to help me focus on writing one blog per week, editing one blog per week, and committing to it for a year. It’s a long game, and I have to still remind myself that the focus is that and not the other distractions I sometimes welcome to get me off topic. Stay focused and clear, and you’ll avoid burnout much easier.

Clear Burnout

Burnout can hit pretty suddenly for a lot of people. You’re plugging away, going along in your days, and suddenly it feels like a huge pile of shit landed on your head. As a woman, there are factors that can affect you especially, like hormone changes at different times of the month, and if you’re like me, perimenopause. One day I’m bopping along happily and the next I want to go on a raging tear of my entire life, lighting dynamite and blowing everything up (figuratively). Many times this is signaling my burnout and I need to dial down the pressure I put on myself. Let’s look at some detectable signs that might help you reduce the amount of time to get out of burnout.

• You’re drained emotionally, physically, mentally

• You’re mean to yourself (extra mean if you’re like me who is regularly mean)

• You’ve stopped taking care of yourself

• You’re drinking more (caffeine or alcohol)

• Your productivity plummets

• You’ve got fatigue

• Your body is screaming at you all the time

• Your sleep is the pits

• You don’t care about your work efforts so much

• You’re avoiding people or tasks that pay the bills

• You’re gettin sick more than normal

• Your friends are wondering if they smell bad or if you’re just burnt out again and avoiding

• You’re feeling hopeless and other not great things

Resting and Happy from Knowing My Limits!

Avoiding burnout as a business owner seems almost impossible at some point in your career. We’re all guilty of working too much, taking on too much, taking on too many projects or clients, etc. In my opinion, the best way to learn how to deal with it is to be aware that it will and can happened, maybe suddenly and to accept it and have a plan. The plan can be as simple as going on a walk or cooking a healthy meal or taking a nap. Most people experience burnout in some capacity, so it’s a really good idea to know some of the ways you can mitigate it more quickly. Here are a few tips I’ve learned over the years as a business owner.

Check in with Your Feelings and Emotions

As an entrepreneur, I’ve had to get really clear on multiple feelings and emotions so I can identify how to deal with myself. There are differences between anger and frustration, joy and temporary excitement and on and on. I’ve learned to be pretty centered on a day-to-day basis, so when my feelings or emotions start to become off center, it’s easier for me take action and go back to baseline. My baseline wasn’t always where it is now - it used to be much more reactive and impulsive. If you’re going to live as a successful entrepreneur, it’s important to get these things in check so you’re not acting like a feral cat all the time. My feral still comes out now and then, but it’s less the norm now, and that makes me feel good about myself. Learn how to understand yourself and how you feel so you can cut burnout off at the pass when it does creep up. When I’m feeling emotional exhaustion, I know what’s coming and I can mitigate it much better.

Change Your Behavior

If you’re typically a high performer and can get things done in some form or fashion and suddenly you can’t, burnout might be knocking on your door. When I am working nonstop and see that I’m accomplishing less than normal, I know things are very wrong in my world. Sometimes I’m procrastinating things that I don’t know how to do or don’t want to do, and the best solution would be to step away and give myself a beat instead of trying to shame myself for needing space from the task. I’ve also noticed that I go way inward when I’m experiencing burnout and isolate from friends or people I’m close to. That’s actually not a terrible thing because sometimes you do need to take time for yourself, but not so much that you lose sight of the importance of your tribe and community.

Let’s Talk Body Stuff

Physical signs are one of the best ways to identify burnout. Not so long ago, I had what I thought was a stroke. It turns out that it was a full-on panic attack, and it all boiled down to repressed emotions. They manifested physically, which is normally how it goes, and must be dealt with so nothing turns fatal or extreme. Things like fatigue, headaches, poor sleep, or nonstop getting sick can be warning signals that you are in need of realizing you may be in entrepreneurial burnout. You want to get these in check because they could lead to things like heart disease or actual stroke, which absolutely no one wants to go through. After my episode, I made some major and minor mentality shifts and physical shifts so I can better honor myself as a whole. It’s been exceptional and I feel much more grounded.

How’s Business?

Halfway through my real estate brokerage ownership, I was rather tired of it. I needed to find fulfillment in what I did, so I changed some things in my business model. First, I decided that I wanted to make my niche, and my niche was helping people move to New Orleans. When I did that, I realized these adults had no friends in a new city, so I would host parties at my house and invite them to meet each other. My business became so personal and robust and meaningful, and it rejuvenated my love for real estate. When you are bored or avoiding things in your business, it might be time to take a hard look at what you’re doing and how you’re doing it so you can make any changes that will give you the ability to love it again. Reduction in quality is a slippery slope when you’re not happy, and your reputation can be at risk if you continue to do the same shit with a worse attitude. Look at your business once or twice per year like it’s a relationship, and make any changes necessary to perpetuate it in a way that makes you proud.

You've Got This

We’re business owners, right? No strangers to hard things and decisions and comfort levels. And burnout is something we experience somewhat regularly if we’re not careful. Even if we’re careful it happens. It’s part of the advantages and disadvantages of of being an entrepreneur. My routines in life are pretty solid, and I still get burnt out on things because I want them to go faster and better and at the pace I demand. When you know you’re doing the best and the most for yourself and your business, you know that burnout is just one of those things that you need to deal with as a business owner, and you gain more data and tools to deal with it. Make sure you take care of yourself in all the best ways because we need you, your business, your ideas, and your energy as a business owner. This is not for the faint of heart, and I’m cheering you (and me) on everyday. We’ve got this. And we can deal with any way burnout shows up and tries to rule the roost. Not today, burnout, not today.

If you liked this blog, you might also like the one I wrote on finding your path as an entrepreneur.

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