If there’s anyone who lives with constant stress, it’s today’s solopreneur! The very definition means that you’ve taken on the responsibility for running your business single-handedly! While having your own business can be very rewarding, allowing you to do work you love for clients who value your talents, there’s no question that there’s a lot of pressure. Anything you can do to de-stress your life is a big step in the right direction!
Here are a few suggestions:
1. Make it easy to work anywhere.
If you haven’t yet moved your files to the cloud, I suggest you do it right now. Instantly, you’ll discover how astonishingly convenient it is to be able to access all your documents from anywhere you happen to be! You’ll never again have to copy files to flash drives or attach them to emails in order to work on a project while traveling.
You’ll also eliminate the confusion of wondering if you have the most recent version of whatever you’re working on. With only one version, available from any device, you’re always certain.
2. Delegate tasks.
As a solopreneur, you may scoff, “Who in the world am I going to delegate to? It’s just me here!” In fact, the reason you’ve chosen to run your business solo may very well be specifically to avoid the complications and complexities that come with employees.
The truth is, you need to find others who can take on those tasks that don’t require your personal touch. Otherwise, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. This is one of the benefits of networking with other small business owners. Not only can they be a source of referrals for you, they can also become trusted colleagues to whom you outsource tasks that you don’t have time for, don’t like to do, or aren’t very good at. It’s the circle of life!
As you build your network, you’ll undoubtedly meet web developers, graphic designers, computer experts, marketing specialists, bookkeepers, and all sorts of other solopreneurs you can do business with. You can, in effect, re-create most of the functions of a traditional company using only independent contractors!
3. Minimize decision making.
Every business has recurring events and routine procedures. Don’t burden yourself with the fatigue of thinking through every decision you make all day long as if it’s the first time you’ve ever dealt with that particular situation. Discover the “best practices” for doing these things, and make them your standard operating procedure.
Create checklists, templates, policies, and procedures whenever there’s something you do on a regular basis. Put routine chores such as bill paying, repetitive tasks, etc. on autopilot, and never worry about forgetting them again. Anticipate difficult situations, and decide in advance how you’ll handle them instead of waiting until all of a sudden you’re on-the-spot, under pressure.
If there’s something new you’re thinking about, don’t reinvent the wheel. See what others are doing that’s similar. Find out what has worked and what hasn’t. Distill the best from what you learn, then put your personal spin on it. No two people execute the same idea in the same way.
Running a business by yourself is a complex operation. No wonder it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed. Anything you can do to de-stress your life is a big step in the right direction!
If you could use a hand implementing these and other de-stressing techniques, schedule a no-obligation phone call with me here, and let’s see how I can help.
