Life happens, right? You can’t predict the ups and downs in life anymore than you can predict how successful your business will be. As an entrepreneur, it’s all too easy to set your work aside to deal with personal issues. You are the boss, after all. You are the one in charge. But if you allow life to dictate how you run your business, you are doomed from the start!
Is Your Business Model Appropriate for Your Life?
Many times, we jump into a business idea that we feel is the best thing since sliced bread, but it’s never going to fit in with our lives. Opening a brick and mortar business probably isn’t a good fit if you have health issues that prevent you from standing up for long periods or have frequent doctor’s appointments.
The best defense is a good offense. Make sure your plans for entrepreneurial life will match up with your current lifestyle. It’s not always about what life throws at you, but how well you are prepared to handle life in the here and now too.
Running a business takes some practice. Don’t get down on yourself when you’re finding balance and dealing with the curveballs from both the business and your home life. This is par for the course.
Respect Your Business
If you want others to respect your working hours, you have to do the same. Set clear boundaries with yourself and your loved ones. Make sure everyone, including yourself, are clear on when it’s appropriate to interrupt you and when things can wait.
Think about it. If you were on the 9-to-5 job and your child called from school with a headache, you’d likely tell them to stick it out and wait until you get home. Now, just because you’re the boss, doesn’t mean you need to drop everything and run to the rescue. Sure, you can if that’s what you want to do, however, you are setting a precedent. Make sure you respect your business enough to make it a success, and the first step is to run it like an actual business.
You Aren’t Responsible for Everyone and Everything
Life is going to seem like it’s hurling torpedoes at you left and right, especially when you’re trying to run a business. You are desperately trying to focus on your business, but life and the people in it, are playing on your emotions and laying the guilt on pretty thick. Don’t fall for that trap!
You aren’t responsible to fix everything for everyone all the time! You aren’t at their beck and call, and if you give them an inch, life will take a mile. If you’re in the position to work from anywhere, kudos to you. Some entrepreneurs don’t have that luxury and need to run a store or reach out to sales leads, etc.
Even if you have to limp your way through some situations, keep pushing forward. Train the people in your life to be resourceful and offer solutions rather than problems that only you can remedy. With a little creative thinking and supportive family and friends, this too shall pass.
Don’t Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill
All too often, running a business feels a lot like you are running yourself into the ground. You spend countless hours building up your business. When you are done with your work for the day, you just don’t have the brain power left to deal with much of anything. You’ve put in so much time and effort, when something small happens we turn it into an enormous travesty. Be rational. Don’t jump to conclusions. Try to see things from all vantage points.
Most importantly, decide what you can learn from the hiccup. If you turn it into a lesson, the next time something similar happens you will be ready for it.
Building a business takes a lot of discipline and resiliency. You’ve got to bounce back, and quickly, if you want to be successful. Being a business owner is going to test you like you’ve never been tested before, but the rewards are phenomenal and well worth the struggles. Life isn’t going to stop just because your focus has shifted. In fact, it will probably feel like issues are coming at warp speed and they seem to be multiplying faster than you can combat them.
Take one step at a time, one issue at a time and one day at a time, and don’t forget to take care of you before overwhelm takes over. Building your business should be fun and exciting. When you are faced with the bumps in the road, go back to your happy place and remember why you started your business in the first place.
