The reality of being a business owner is not all fun and games. At a certain phase, some will come across a series of days, weeks, or even months of intensely stressful work.

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The effects are not to be taken lightly. 45% of small businesses, or almost half, fail during the first five years. 

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One can start noticing decreased productivity and poor decision-making. It can also result in decreased sales, customer loss, and employee attrition.

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Don’t worry. Awareness is the first step to avoiding going too far down the rabbit hole. Know what to watch out for, and then plan your next course of action so you can continue to grow your business to the next level. 

Know the Warning Signs of Business Owner Burnout

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1. Discouraged and skeptical - you feel like everything’s just heading in the wrong direction. Both small and big challenges seem to be pulling your business downward. Small mistakes can look like major errors even if they’re not.

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2. Lose sight of what’s important - it can be easy to forget your priorities when you get busier and busier every day. Everything suddenly becomes urgent and important.

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3. Dropping performance - you might be seeing numbers go down whether it's sales, customer satisfaction, engagement, or traffic. You feel like you’re always not doing enough. 

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4. Overwhelmed every day and drained even before ending your work day - there are indeed days that can get overwhelming. But as soon as you notice that they seem to stretch out for weeks, and you feel exhausted every day, it’s a sign of burnout.

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5. Working long hours and can’t manage to set time to rest - working long hours during critical days like campaign launches is a given. Business owners who are always ON and don’t set aside personal time are setting themselves up to experience fatigue.

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6. Less socialization - you notice that your energy for building a healthy and engaged work culture is dipping. Your face time with your team and customers become less to almost none at all.

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7. Sleep issues - you sleep late at night and then find yourself waking at odd hours. Sleeping hours continue to reduce and constant bedtime is non-existent. 

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8. Health issues - constant and excessive stress will take a toll on your health. You might be noticing physical pain like headaches, shoulder pain, or tummy aches when your body is subjected to nonstop stress.

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9. Procrastination - delaying work means your lizard brain has been activated. The lizard brain or our survival instinct signals our body that it senses danger. Therefore, causing us to put off some tasks or work for later.

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Control What You Can and Strengthen Your Business

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1. Review your goals - reviewing your goals should be done regularly as your business grows and evolves. This will also help you stay focused on which tasks you should use your energy and focus on.

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2. Set your work hours - business owners can enjoy flexible hours but sometimes the reality is tending to work even longer hours because you feel like there’s so much to do. So set your work hours as this will also help you block time for rest, social life, and hobbies.

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3. Identify pain points - to avoid feeling like problems arising in your business are dragging you down, take time to identify your pain areas and prioritize which ones should be addressed first. There are challenges that you don’t necessarily need to resolve on your own. Tap someone who can help you out.

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4. Work-life balance - there isn’t a clear-cut ratio for the length of time and frequency you should allocate work and personal activities. It’s different for every business owner. What’s important is that you should set a good balance that works for you and your mental, emotional and physical well-being.

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5. Organize - as your business grows, organizing can continue to be a challenge, especially if you’re not the type who’s into filing and tracking. Get an assistant to help you take care of this so you can focus on other matters that require your attention and expertise.

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6. Delegate or outsource - organizing isn’t the only thing you should delegate. There are a wide variety of tasks that may require you to delegate instead of taking long hours on something that’s not up your alley. Find out if a current team member can take it on or hire a freelancer or another business specializing in certain tasks like bookkeeping, website design and management, and social media management.

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7. Maximize tools - in today’s digital world, there’s an abundance of tools that can be used in different aspects of your business. You might think it’s an additional cost, but it could turn out to save you both time and money in the long run.

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8. Say no - while your business is growing, different opportunities and offers will come around. Knowing your goals and priorities will help you determine which projects you’d want to add and which ones you should say no to.

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9. Celebrate achievements - never forget to take time to acknowledge and celebrate your achievements. Whether they’re big or small, remembering and celebrating your milestones helps lift you and your team.

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Whenever you feel like you’re lacking motivation, take a break and do a quick self-check to see if you’re exhibiting signs of burnout. Always reach out to your support group, whether it’s your family, friends, or a community like the Next Level Academy, to help you keep both your business and personal wellness intact.

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Remember that you can overcome mental exhaustion with these tips in mind and make way for an overflow of energy and ideas. Continue to look and move forward to get your business to the next level!

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