The buck stops with business owners, so how can we protect ourselves against burnout?
In the run up to Labour’s first Budget, I want to step back from the prediction game and look instead at resilience. Given that the new government has shown they are not afraid to make tough decisions, we may need it.
Resilience is key for anyone who wants to start a business, because getting off the ground is no easy feat: as a business owner, you will have had to wear multiple hats, juggling a wide range of tasks from administration and accounting to product development, delivery, marketing and public relations. If it needs doing – and “it” could mean getting a delivery out on time or bolting together the desk for a new starter – the buck stops with you. While getting things done can be energising and rewarding, constant multitasking can lead to burnout and overwhelm, making it difficult to focus on the core aspects of running a successful business. It’s all too easy to deal with the urgent calls on your time first and while the important things suffer neglect.
The challenges of wearing many hats
The constant pressure to handle so many tasks can lead to feelings of overwhelm and burnout, particularly if you find yourself lacking in the necessary skills, expertise or time to excel in all areas of your business. You need to use your limited time and resources wisely if you’re going to avoid compromises in quality and efficiency (and resource allocation is another skill in itself).
The risk of getting it wrong is that you’ll be too busy handling day-to-day operations, and miss out on valuable opportunities for growth and expansion. Hence the mantra: “work on your business, not in your business.”
How to avoid burnout and where to find support
To avoid burnout and ensure the long-term success of your business, it’s essential to find ways to lighten your workload and delegate tasks. Here are some things I’ve done to keep my head above water:
- Prioritise tasks: identify the most critical tasks and focus on completing them first. Delegate less important tasks or outsource them to freelancers or contractors. As your company grows, have clear divisions of responsibilities that everyone understands so that you don’t become the gatekeeper or task allocator.
- Set boundaries: establish clear boundaries between work and personal time. Avoid checking work emails or taking calls outside of set times. Businesses can and do fail because even though the numbers are good, the “always-on” founder burns out.
- Tap into your community: others will have trodden similar roads so build your network. That’s where you’ll find leads, customers, new staff, support and much more. Your local business community is a great place to find win-win partnerships, recommendations and ideas.
- Professional help: virtual assistants, accountants, or other professionals will help with specific tasks and free up your time and bandwidth. Even in the earliest days of the smallest business, a good accountant is worth investing in to keep your figures in order. Coaches and mental health professionals can help you prioritise.
- Get technical: there has been an explosion in software tools and automation to streamline processes and save time. Some are shiny new toys, others are genuinely useful: people in your network will be able to help you sort the wheat from the chaff.
- Invest in the right people: if you surround yourself with a talented and reliable team, you’ll have valuable allies to support you and share the workload.
Going through this list, it can feel like yet another overwhelming set of things “to do” – but you’re not stacking one thing on top of another, you’re building a pyramid. Your stable base should be making those early delegations to professionals who can tackle the things you find most difficult and time consuming. That should give you an immediate sense of relief, enabling you to build your network, hire good people and find the right tools to help you. The tall tower is vulnerable to pressures on all sides but a pyramid is stable. Creating that stability is the first task of business growth.
Funding your growth
Stability is not easy to achieve by yourself and external support can be invaluable for SME owners. Swoop offers two key ways to help your business:
First, Swoop simplifies the funding process, making it easier for you to secure the capital you need to grow your businesses. Even if you’re not a financial expert, Swoop can guide you through the application process and connect you with the right lenders. This can free up your time to focus on other critical aspects of your business.
Second, Swoop gives you access to the funding needed to hire skilled employees to fill existing skills gaps within your team. This can help you offload tasks, improve efficiency, and focus on high-level strategic planning.
Thousands of businesses have brought Swoop in to help them meet the need for funding, saving themselves time, money and stress in the process. On the eve of the next budget, I hope it will deliver the sustainable growth the government wants, not make it more difficult for people to create thriving businesses. Building pyramids, in other words, rather than towers.
