You dream of being your own boss, calling your own shots, and having the freedom to work only with the clients that bring you joy.
You’re putting in the work. You wake up early and go to bed late.
You pass up opportunities to hang out with your girlfriends or have dinner with your spouse because you’re always playing catch-up in your business.
What you’re learning is that there is a huge difference between building a business and being self-employed.
Business builders scale their income. Self-employed people trade dollars for hours.
Business builders leverage the skills and talents of others. Self-employed people rely only on their own skills.
Business builders think big picture. Self-employed people focus on what’s right in front of them.
Discouraged yet? Don’t be. Most business builders started out self-employed. They just didn’t stay there.
These tips will help you build a sustainable business instead of just another job.
Use Leverage
Building a sustainable business requires that you leverage the talents and time of others. While it might seem cost-effective to simply do everything yourself, especially in the start-up phase when you likely have more time than money, it’s a proven path to burnout and stress.
Instead, separate your tasks into those that you both love and are especially good at (such as sales) and those you dislike and aren’t so good at (like creating graphics). Consider using business starters to help make life easier for you. I love Creative Market because the site offers a wide variety of fonts, templates, mock-ups, slide-decks and the like that help my creative juices flow. You can check them out for your business here – Creative Market.
Then work towards creating a plan to start moving the things that you aren’t good at completely off your list of things to do by outsourcing. If you feel like you can’t afford to outsource it all right now, start with what you tend to procrastinate the most on, even if it’s just a few hours each month.
Take a Break
The trouble with working at home is that you live at work. And that means that there’s no clear line in the sand between your work day and your home life.
Since there’s always work to do, it’s easy to find yourself working every available moment—often to the detriment of your relationships and even your health.
Avoid burnout by:
- Setting—and maintaining—clear work hours
- Having an office with a door you can close when you’re done (My number 1 goal for January)
- Scheduling time for family and other activities
- Taking time for yourself
Block whole days off on your electronic calendar and your paper planner. I love using my Day Designer Planner and have already blocked quiet Me-Time mornings, afternoon massages, and general time away from the office far into 2017! You can check out the entire Day Designer line of products by clicking here – Planners
Vacations and Downtime Are Important
Don’t create a business that requires you to be “in the office” every day. At the start, you may need to be available more, but you should definitely be planning for the day when you can be “off the grid” for extended periods of time. Currently, I try to schedule in short 6 hour blocks where I’m “OTG” and NOT sleeping!
- Have trusted contractors who can handle things when you’re not available
- Leverage automation tools such as auto-responders and evergreen webinar systems
- Create rinse and repeat systems so you’re not always re-inventing the wheel
While you might not be ready to hit the road with no internet access for weeks at a time, at a minimum you should be able to reduce your workload to a daily check-in.
Sound impossible? It’s not.
With some forethought and planning, you can create a tea, complete with the systems they need, to successfully run your business without becoming overwhelmed and overworked.
Join me and my tribe in the Straight Talk for Entrepreneurial Women Community and get the no nonsense, straight talk that you crave in your business, learn the strategies you need to build a sustainable business and hang out with a few hundred other freedom seekers as we travel the journey to full-time entrepreneurship.
You can also follow me over on Instagram where I drop golden business nuggets every day! You can find me at ProfitSherpa on all social media!
So, do you still think you’re building a business or creating another J-O-B? Tell me about in the comments below!