Running a business can be all-consuming and exhausting at times, making it vital SMB owners take time out, recharge their batteries and keep the passion they feel towards their business blazing.
I often get asked why I went into business for myself and my response normally contains my reasoning, which at that point was I was sick of working for someone else and watching clients receive poor service and no value add.
It all boiled down to the burning desire that I could do it better.
So, I did things a little differently and started from scratch. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and I wanted to start from scratch so I could use my experience and do things differently. Starting from scratch didn’t mean I was reinventing the wheel, I was just able to put the procedures in place I thought would work better. This came from watching my previous employers and their mistakes.
I’m sure you had similar feeling when you started your business?
Unfortunately, sometimes business doesn’t go to plan and issues arise which makes it easy for the passion you feel towards your business to subside and for you to begin questioning yourself. When the excitement of starting a business dies, you could find yourself feeling unsure about exactly what it is you’re doing.
Business owners should also be on the look out for the tell tale signs business is slipping and internal processes are failing. These slips lead to the loss of clients, sales and income, which means you need to be quick to turn this around. It might be that that your staff are slipping and under performing, which could be simply fixed with a small raise or some motivation.
If you can’t see these signs and if you’re feeling a little lackluster towards your business, it could be that you need to take a break and do something to refresh. Running a business means long hours, and for many it means keeping their focus fixed firmly on business – but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have down time.
Every business owners needs to take time out, time to switch off from business and recharge. After taking some time out, you might just find the very next day you have fresh ideas and a new way of dealing with something.
So remember, don’t feel guilty about taking time out.
Work hard, play harder….
