Chaos and The Small Business Owner

Taking the leap and starting a small business is an exciting time for any entrepreneur. You have a vision of how it’s going to go, plans for how things will run, and your strategies for growth. You will be your own boss and find the perfect work/ life balance.

But no matter how organized you are, there’s a lot to do on an ordinary workday, and many random questions:

  • Who will you hire?
  • How will you market your business?
  • Can you find the best suppliers?
  • What will your company culture look like?

The list continues and evolves constantly. As a small business, you may have great resources for the basic day to day, but when unexpected challenges arise that require extra time, money and resolution, will you be able to handle this additional pressure by yourself?

This is a common dilemma in the world of small business. Wearing all the hats, multitasking, and wanting to oversee everything. But you can’t be everywhere at the same time, particularly in a challenging situation. This entrepreneurial struggle dilutes the specific skills that you bring to the success of your company.

Sadly, most small business owners are stressed, because rather than get help to maintain their business, they wait until they are overwhelmed and backed into a corner by Small Business Owner Chaos.

Small Business Owner Chaos leads to burnout and stress – which by the way is the number one underlying killer – and influences your working and personal relationships. But do you realize how it also affects your business, your customers, and your employees?

Things can spiral out of control so quickly – a dissatisfied customer, a halt in production, a disgruntled employee. To solely take care of unexpected problems like these, you will have to drop some of your everyday tasks. That creates a whole different pile of neglect which will also be overwhelming to face when and if you get the crises under control.

Here are some tips for Calming the Chaos that can develop in small businesses:

  • Don’t wait. Take action and come up with a plan.
  • Break down the necessary tasks, put them in order of priority, then address one task at a time.
  • Delegate what you can to your staff
  • Outsource services in your non-expertise areas
  • Take a moment to focus on what is going right by acknowledging accomplishments and milestones
  • Learn to say “no”. Don’t get distracted by other requests or less important issues
  • Take breaks during the day – lunch, coffee breaks. Get some fresh air.
  • Revisit your expectations. Be realistic.
  • Take care of yourself. When you are healthy you are more focused and handle stress better

Don’t let Chaos take control. If you need outside support to get your business back on track, schedule a complimentary consultation call with me today. Let’s assess the situation and adjust processes in place to ease your business owner stress and Calm Your Chaos.