Got the business owner blues? Is being a business owner tougher than you expected?

What business owner hasn't, at one time or another, said to him(her)self - What was I thinking??? I must have been out of my mind to do this!!!

You buy a business or start one from scratch for many reasons:
  -  you want to be your own boss
  -  you want to be more in control of your time
  -  you think you have what it takes to run a profitable business
  -  you look forward to enjoying some perks (more income, more time, ...)

Then, after you're in, commited, you realize that you're putting in more hours than you ever used to, your debt has increased due to start up costs, your taxes are higher, and that being profitable most likely will be reached later rather than sooner. One evening after a very long day, you sit on the edge of your bed with your head in your hands and ask yourself, 'what was I thinking!!!'

Well, hang on to that dream of yours; it's in you for a reason. Sure, your vision is tougher in 'real life' than you expected, but that doesn't it's time to bail. It means you just have to get crystal clear on your vision and then get super organized in your office. It also means you need to learn time management, people management, and self-management.

Self-management can be a big challenge for many. You think you need to be everything to everyone one. You try to do it all yourself. You feel pulled in a dozen different directions (probably because you are). Here are a couple of self-management tips:

  1.  Be realistic about what is feasible/doable. Making ridiculous expectations of yourself will only lead to frustration and anxiety.

  2.  Regardless of how much work there is to do, you still have a human body that has physical needs for rest, exercise, and rejuvenation. You can push yourself hard for x period of time, but you can't do that indefinitely. If you do that, your body will at some point give out on you; you will get sick or diseased.

  3.  Make sure you stay connected to the aspects of the job that drew you to ownership. For example: If you opened a service business because you enjoyed customer contact, then make sure you still make time to interact with customers. If you started an orthopedic office because you like doing surgery, make sure you still do a few surgeries now and then.

  4.  Get some support. Connect with other business owners who might share similar challenges. Hire a coach to help you make time for yourself. Hire help, when you can, for job responsibilities that you don't need to do yourself (e.g. - administrative, bookkeeping, shipping,etc.).

You're not crazy to doubt your ownership goals. You just need to step back, reconnect to your vision, give yourself a well-deserved break, and create a support-system of peers or other professionals who can help support you along your journey.

(If you have never used a coach before, why not give it a try, see what it's like. I offer a complimentary session that focuses on 'you'.)

Don't do the same things you've always done if you want different results!

On one level this seems quite obvious, duh! But, we somehow convince ourselves otherwise. Here are just a few examples, not pointing fingers as I've done all of these at one time or another.

• If you are still giving your work your all and coming home with nothing left for your spouse, don't expect that relationship to suddenly flourish.
• If you want a love relationship but aren't making time to meet and interact with prospective people, don't expect Mr. Right to just show up at your door.
• If you haven't sat down and really looked at where you money is going, don't expect your debt to decrease.
• If you haven't scheduled 'me' time into your calendar, don't expect extra time just to 'show up' when you need it.

I think you get my drift. If something you deeply want hasn't shown up in your life yet, maybe you need to do something differently? Humm, so what is it you're supposed to change?

Sometimes it's our mindset that needs to change. We either don't believe that what we want is possible for us. Or, we find ways to limit the good that does come our way (these are called limiting beliefs). Until we truly believe that what we want is possible for us, it probably won't show up in our lives.

Sometimes we need to take a different action! Perhaps your words and your actions are not aligned. When what you do is not the same as what you say you want (the two are in opposition of each other) humm, how is the Universe supposed to know which to bring you? Remember, taking no action is just as contradictory to your words.

So, the moral of the story is - (I'll just restate the title in other words) if you're not experiencing the life you want, don't keep doing what you've always done. If you want to create something new, do something new!

I'd love to hear about your experiences with this. What change did you make that then brought you the results you'd been looking for?