11 minute read
Entrepreneurs Tackle Stress
Entrepreneurial Success
Finding Ways to Manage Stress
By William Carter, Jr.
Low sales numbers, excessive debt, low funding, staff problems, supplies and management issues — all can stress you out when running a small business, keeping you awake and worried at night. The strain of always looking for opportunities to strengthen your company’s net income continuously mounts.
It’s impossible to avoid the stress of running a business, and the sooner you understand how to manage it, the better. Here are some ways you can deal with stress as a small business owner.
Use some time to relax
Taking a break is the most basic yet valuable stress management advice for entrepreneurs. Taking a slight pause can sometimes be all you need if you’re constantly racking your brain but not making any headway. Even as little as 10 minutes away from your source of stress may help recharge and soothe you. Scheduling regular breaks might help you avoid becoming burned out.
You should do something that calms you when taking a break. Take a stroll, make a call to a buddy, get a cup of coffee, or browse social media for a while. Do not engage in any business-related activities. You’ll have a clear and fresh mindset when you return to your work, and you’ll be able to face your assignments with renewed vigor. Furthermore, taking a break may help you discover a different and improved method to finish your work. Pride Magazine’s CEO, Dee Dixon, explains how she relaxes from the rigors of operating a successful publication company. “As a small business owner, there are really no words to convey the amount of stress involved with publishing Charlotte’s African American magazine … my stress management routine includes several basics …Incorporating some form of exercise each day, including long bike rides on the greenways and listening to audiobooks — mostly bios and memoirs… having a strict routine ... keeps stress at bay and helps me maintain my sanity.”
Dee Dixon, CEO and Publisher of Pride Magazine
Organize and prioritize your tasks
Working on too many tasks simultaneously and not accomplishing any of them is a major cause of stress when running a business.
You should sort and categorize your responsibilities. Make a list of everything you need to accomplish. Then, from most important to least important, prioritize your duties. The tasks you must complete initially should be first on your priority list. After you’ve completed those, you can go on to the next item on your list.
When facing several tasks, it’s only natural to become worried. Try not to become intimidated by the magnitude of your to-do list. Concentrate on one, then follow the next task at hand.
Cleanse and relax your mind
There is hardly any distinction between professional and personal life for a business entrepreneur. You find yourself thinking about your company all the time and what you should be doing, and you can’t seem to get your mind off your business at times. Even while you’re attempting to sleep, your brain is constantly working.
Try writing down everything you’re trying to remember. Jot down any concerns, potential ideas and other notes. Writing everything down may take some time, but it’ll help ease your mind. You can relax and rest easily because your brain isn’t struggling to keep tabs on everything. You won’t be too concerned about your company for a while since you have a physical note containing all your tasks and notes.
Practice self-care
Your health is crucial when making a living as an entrepreneur. It takes a lot of energy to provide a product or service. Late hours, early mornings, no days off and no actual sick leave are all part of entrepreneurship. This constant lifestyle strains your body, in addition to causing great stress.
Throughout your day, drink plenty of water, eat regularly and get sufficient sleep. Also, try to accomplish personal goals geared toward your health, like using vitamins, supplements, and organic foods or lowering your caffeine usage. You can better manage stress when you’re in good health.
Charlotte Garnes, founder and executive director of ReNforce, a Georgia-
WOMEN, WISDOM & WEALTH
EMPOWERING WOMEN TO BE PROACTIVE IN MAKING SAFE AND SMART FINANCIAL DECISIONS
Joyce Palmer is the managing partner of JP Financial Group LLC, Charlotte base boutique financial firm dedicated serving women, as well as joint owner of JPFG Wealth Management LLC. Joyce has passionately committed over two decades of her career to helping create financial legacies for ladies.
Joyce Palmer
JP Financial Group | Charlotte M : 704 543-6269 E : joyce@jpfinancialgroupllc.com https://proactivewomen.libsyn.com/
ABOUT JP FINANCIAL GROUP
JP Financial Group LLC , is a financial boutique for women. We exemplify the highest standards of business ethics and personal integrity, while providing you with the resources to make smart financial decisions. The products and services we offer focus on protecting your principal first and foremost, followed by reasonable rates of returns and protecting your future income from market fluctuations and inflation. By providing you with both smart strategies for investing and creating retirement income that you can’t outlive.
www.jpfinancialgroupllc.com
based nonprofit shares how self-care is essential to her professional stability. ReNforce provides training to businesses looking to hire system-impacted people who face barriers to employment relating to incarceration or the legal system. “The best way I handle the stress of running my business is by focusing on me and my needs. Self-care is my biggest remedy to protect and keep my sanity… it comes in the form of praying and worshiping, listening to motivational speakers, quotes and traveling is my biggest stress reliever,” she said.
Master barber and founder of 34th Design Barber Shop in Charlotte, Shawn Howard, shared how staying physically fit also helps maintain his business mindset. “Working out helps best. Taking out stress with weights, on the basketball courts and other fitness activities,” he said.” Having a good personal partner or companion helps with the physical and emotional stress. Being with your family and your kids. Go on vacations to take a break or read different things or success stories to keep your mind stimulated.
Shawn Howard, Master barber and founder of 34th Design Barber Shop in Charlotte
Photo courtesy of Shawn Howard
The most challenging businesses
Given the challenges, it’s hardly surprising that 50 percent of all startups fail within five years based on small business statistics. If you’re planning to start a business, keep in mind the following industries are
Business banking made personal.
We’re more than a bank. We are a partner committed to your success. Because it’s not just about rates. It’s about a relationship.
more difficult to launch and maintain than others:
Multimedia and information
providers: Developing a firm in the information sector can be difficult due to entrance hurdles. For example, telecommunications businesses must obtain rare government transmission permits. Also, massive corporations dominate this business, making it difficult for newcomers. Growing these media businesses and showing profit is hard in this industry is hard. Radio and television broadcasting, newspaper and book publishing are among the lucrative businesses.
Hospitality and restaurant
industry: Building hotels are expensive, and establishing a brand can cost you even more money, along with being difficult based on business analytics. Opening a successful restaurant is also costly, from the property location and equipment to the staff personnel. And a restaurant won’t make you instantly rich overnight. In 2017, restaurants and food services were also on the list of minor profitable businesses.
Wholesale trading: Wholesalers distribute commodities and supplies to other companies. They operate as a link between producers and retail businesses. Creating and maintaining a small wholesale business can be difficult for many reasons. According to analysts, this sector is highly competitive, and retailers struggling from slow sales have problems paying wholesale wholesalers.
Health and social aid
organizations: Healthcare is a rapidly developing industry, even though the entry barriers are substantial. The industry is heavily regulated, and it also takes several years to become a healthcare professional. And not all health and public support organizations are monetarily successful. Senior housing and assisted living facilities, for example, are among the least lucrative based on business data.
If you’re an entrepreneur — new or experienced — take time to relax, organize and prioritize your tasks, and practice self-care regularly. As many business owners can attest — being the boss isn’t easy. P
SPONSORED CONTENT
The Diner is Open
WAITRESS begins its historic 5-week sit-down Equity production April 19-May 22 in the intimate 440-seat Booth Playhouse
by Sara Bareilles
In 2012, I sat across from Diane Paulus at a restaurant in Times Square while she told me about her work on the stage adaptation of Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 independent film “Waitress.” She was curious if I had any interest in trying my hand at composing the score. I was shocked and incredibly flattered to be considered, but totally overwhelmed by the idea. I hadn’t seen the movie; I had only just met Diane and I had no experience writing for the theater. It seemed like an absolutely crazy idea. Lucky for me, though, I had just entered a phase of saying yes to doing crazy things.
It was an emotional time in my life. I had just moved to New York from Los Angeles, my home of 14 years, and was processing what felt like a total overhaul of my personal and professional worlds. I watched the movie on my laptop in my one-bedroom West Village apartment with no furniture and found myself immediately drawn into the eccentric fairytale that is Jenna’s story. I loved the slightly exaggerated quality to the characters that orbit our heroine,
Ephie Aardema, Christine Dwyer and Melody A Betts in the National Tour of Waitress
and the fact that each person in our story is profoundly human, deeply flawed and yet ultimately still worthy of love. I felt a kinship with Jenna and her personal journey to rediscover her own strength. I think I felt that if I could help her find it, I might stumble upon my own along the way.
The film is funny and dark and feminine and irreverent and emotional and so very, very musical. I found a piece of myself in each of these characters and learned so much from trying to tell their stories. It has helped me rediscover a purity and a playfulness in my own songwriting that I haven’t felt in years. I felt liberated to find new ways to express my ideas and energized by my incredible collaborators as well as the giant puzzle we were all trying to put together. The next four years of my life were all but consumed by this process, this story, this music, and a fierce devotion we, as a team, had to preserving Adrienne Shelly’s vision and the heart of this very special piece.
My role as a composer has been such a gift to me. This show has changed my life. I have learned so much about perseverance, truth, humility, failure, faith and the essential ingredient of laughter. I am forever grateful to my collaborators ... the producers, creative team, cast, musicians AND crew, and I am so very proud of our work together. I get to be a part of the first all-female creative team in Broadway’s history, and hope to inspire other hopeful creative minds to say yes to doing crazy things. :) May we all be so lucky.
Sugar, Butter, Flour, Thank you. Sara Bareilles
For more information on WAITRESS and to buy tickets, please visit Blumenthalarts.org.
