Starting and running a business requires a litte extra effort than your job. There are the financials, the marketing and finally the responsibility. Everything ultimately falls on your shoulders, but with enough supports in place, that load doesn’t have to be so heavy.
What might support your business? Let’s look at a list of possibilities.
Let’s support YOU.
You need to feel vibrant, sharp and most of all, inspired! When overwhelm and doubt begin to creep in, the business feels heavy. What daily practices can you create to support your well-being?
Daily routine – create consistent sleep and eat times. This will help your body regulate its rhythm, calming the nervous system and mind. SUPPORT: add some alarms to your calendar to remind you until you have established your routine (usually by 30 days).
Get enough sleep – don’t skimp or over-indulge on what your body needs. You should wake feeling fresh and ready to get out of bed. Try to go to sleep before 10pm and wake early. SUPPORT: Start to prepare for bed by 9 so you don’t get delayed. Use that hour to wind down. Get off electronics, read fine literature, avoid stimulation.
Healthy eating – choose foods that are cooked, warm, gently spiced. Avoid processed, raw and cold foods. Avoid snacking between meals. Try to make the bulk of your meals from whole grains and fresh ingredients. Restaurants and take-out should be treats, not daily meals. SUPPORT: Don’t stock foods at home you wish you had the willpower to not eat.
Healthy drinking – sip warm or hot water all day. If you enjoy herbal or digestive teas, those are nice as well. Avoid cold and ice water. Minimize coffee and alcohol. SUPPORT: put hot water in a thermos so you have it with you all day. Drink your coffee and boozy treats in smaller cups.
Exercise – Don’t let this priority sink behind your other tasks. This is the nectar. It can be as simple as a 15-minute walk, but ultimately you want to break a sweat. Consider yoga, dancing, biking, hiking, strolling the beach, taking the dog around the neighborhood, joining a sports team or league. This should be something you enjoy and not some sucky suck suck thing you hate doing every day. SUPPORT: Exercising with other people can help you establish a commitment so you don’t give up.
Mental focus – meditate, get in the zone. The mind is an untamed beast without a practice to keep it healthy and focused. Consider a daily meditation where you can sit and just be. Let everything else go. If meditation isn’t your thing, exercise the mind with something you’d like to learn. Get flash cards, memorize a new verse, study. Or if you like to get in the zone, try painting, playing music or do something where you solely focus on the activity with no disractions. SUPPORT: The mind loves to engage in new things. Pick something new and fun that you can commit to.
Support the business.
Now that we have you taken care of, let’s look at your business. What kind of support can you have in place to keep things simple, easy and create a day that you look forward to?
Hire professionals – work with people that are experts in their fields that can save you time and anguish trying to do it yourself. You only have so many hours in the day, spend them doing what you do best. Isn’t better to earn top dollar than to spend time spinning your wheels doing what you don’t enjoy or aren’t skilled at doing? Have an accountant or bookkeeper. Have a marketing or social media assitant. Get an adminstrative assistant. Try an IT person. Treat yourself to a cleaner for your home and office. And of course have a creative designer and writer, even if you still do a lot of it yourself, you deserve that professional edge. SUPPORT: Keep a list of reliable contractors handy to help you when you are overwhelmed.
Have a network – build relationships with people. It’s human to want to help others, so by investing in professional relationships, you will enjoy referrals, connections and resources to the things you need. SUPPORT: Get out of the office from time to time. Meet your community and travel to attend live events and conferences.
Schedule things – Set up one day a week for financials. Put all of the emails for bills, taxes, payroll, etc into a folder. Tackle them on their special day. Have a marketing day to put together your social media, articles and images. Have a monthly “business day” where you can review a list of ideas each month and refine your strategies and processes. Have an annual board retreat where you travel to a fun destination and can reflect and focus on your business plan and future dreams. SUPPORT: Schedule personal time. Make sure you get at least a full day off each week, with no laptop or phone.
Stay organized – Address things as they come in so nothing piles up. Have folders for your email – the NOW, the LATER, the IF I GET TO IT, and the TRASH. Now that we are on electronic communications, there is a lot of minutiae. SUPPORT: Take what you want and leave the rest.
Have business hours – don’t fall prey to taking work home with you. As part of your daily routine, include your working hours so that there is a boundary set. This is huge part of valuing your time, your health, your personal relationships and your vitality. SUPPORT: It’s better to fail at work than to fail at life. It’s ok to say no.
I hope some of these ideas help you thrive in your business, alleviating that impending feeling of overwhelming doom and fear. As a business owner myself for over 25 years, I assure you these are all time-tested and impactful practices. Time and energy is all that we have, so it’s best not to abuse them, else we become depleted, burned out and joyless.
If you are embarking on a new entrepreneurial business dream, please consider me as a valuable pillar in your journey. It is my passion to help others create beauty, buzz and big success for conscious-based businesses such as yoga, ayurveda, healing, conservation, arts, non-profit and small home-based businesses. We have created new DIY packages to support entrepreneurs who might not be ready for fancy designers and big budgets. Book your FREE Exploratory Session to learn more!