Taking Care of Business (Owners)

Posted on 08 December 2010

Being in business isn't an easy ride! It means a lot of hard work, long hours and few holidays… at least until the business is established and the cash flow has steadied... which can take a number of years!

You don't go into business unless you are naturally hard-working, passionate about what you do and, above all, determined to succeed. These are all admirable traits and can help to keep you going when times get tough - as they certainly will. Recent research shows that 55% of business owners report that stress levels have increased in the last 12 months (Grant Thornton IBR 2010) seemingly as a direct result of the effects of the current economic conditions across many world markets.

What's happening? One theory is that business owners are working so hard to bring in business, keep their business afloat and keep existing customers happy, that they're forgetting to take care of themselves. As a result many are becoming susceptible to various minor ailments - coughs, frequent colds, headaches, stomach bugs, and sometimes much worse medical conditions - because they have let their immune systems become run down.

Long hours spent working to meet deadlines, then early and/or late meetings and networking, combined with sleepless nights eventually take their toll. Can you truthfully say that you haven't lain awake at some point this year wondering what to do next to get more orders, raise cash or solve some other overwhelming challenge in your business?

More and more people don't take 'proper' holidays - making do with a snatched weekend away, or a few days off when "things are quieter"… which they rarely are! It's not just a summer issue, either - if you've allowed yourself to become run-down during the summer, is it likely that you can reverse that as the year draws to a close? Ask yourself this question… "When am I at my most resourceful and effective… when I'm full of energy and feeling healthy - or when I'm feeling drained and unwell?" We all know the answer to that!

There is an answer to this problem… it's focusing more on Self-Care… put simply, its focusing on the things that will help you get back a healthy and energetic balance in your life. Here are 4 tips that are guaranteed to help do that!

Sleep - while the number of hours needed each night for us to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed varies from individual to individual, finding your personal balance is important. Once you know what yours is, you can take steps to make sure you get your full quota as often as possible. The quality of sleep also contributes to how refreshed you feel the next day. Follow a routine that gently relaxes you and make sure the bedroom itself is conducive to peaceful and sweet dreams.
Diet - Now that the days are getting shorter and temperatures dropping, it's tempting to overload with too many stodgy and starchy carbs. Maybe you find yourself reaching for sugary foods when your energy levels drop - and such foods can be a comforting reward for putting a tough day at the coal face. But overall a balanced, healthy diet is another vital component to business owner self-care.
Exercise - Some like it… some don't! Even if your "thing" isn't hours at the gym or pounding the pavements in running gear, figure out what you like - whether it's walking the dog, cycling to the office or a swim at lunch time - and then give yourself permission to do it for 30 minutes every day, or as often as you can.
Switching Off - computers, laptops, iPads, iPhones, BlackBerrys, ringers, buzzers, pagers .... unless you work for the emergency services you do not need to be contactable or online 24/7 - it's a habit… and a bad one, at that! If your business provides a service 24/7, find someone to cover for you while you're switched off and recharging your personal batteries... if you are so important to your business, you need to look after yopurself!

It's too easy to push self-care to the bottom of the list of the busy business owner's priorities - but without good health and energy our productivity, efficiency, motivation and eventually business profits too, will all suffer badly.

So please do something about it today! To find out more give Ology Coaching a call.

[Return to our business coaching news index page]