Starting a new business is hard as it is. But when it comes to being an online business owner, it seems that the list of to-dos is pretty much neverending. Let’s figure out how to avoid burnout as a new business owner!
Here’s the thing. Most of the “must do’s” everyone will say you have to follow to build a successful online business is complete bullshit. The only “must-dos” that should be on your list are things you truly feel necessary yourself.
Ok, but you might say “I’m new in all this and I don’t know what do to or what to believe in!”, I get it.
That’s where I come in with this blog post on how to avoid burnout as a new business owner AND understand YOUR priorities.
Turn on your “Is this the best for ME?!” filter to avoid burnout
These days, you’ll find tons of resources for new online entrepreneurs that will cover it all: how to create your website, build your product, market yourself and make a difference in the world (yay for neverending difference making!).
At the same time, it gets SO-DAMN-OVERWHELMING to read all these “best tactics”.
Keep in mind: what was the best tactic for someone, might not be the best one for you.
That’s definitely the very first tip to remember when trying to establish your online presence. Don’t do things just because “someone said so”. Do things because you believe in them and you believe that’s the best way for you.
Don’t be afraid to use your best judgment on whether or not the specific task, accomplishment or goal is important for your business. Although you might make mistakes, it’s important to follow the intuition.
If you really feel like getting stuck and can’t find any right answers, consult a business coach or a mentor. But turn off the voice of the crowd!
How to understand YOUR business priorities
No matter whether you are in your first month of the business or you’ve been an online entrepreneur for years – burnout can happen to anyone.
Understanding YOUR business priorities is the biggest step to avoiding it so let’s learn how to set your priorities straight.
STEP #1 Set your goals
First of all, write down your overall goals for the next few years (whatever timeframe you prefer).
See the bigger picture and think of where you want to be in life. We all have different visions, therefore, give yourself some time to really consider all the possibilities and listen to yourself.
- Do you want to be working full time or earning passive income?
- Would you like to stay solopreneur or build a team around you?
- Would you have an office or you’d be working on the road?
Make sure to set goals you truly believe in and really want to happen. There is no need to scale and try to understand whether or not it really will happen. As soon as you set your goals, your business will start moving in the right direction! And knowing your goals, understanding your path is an important step that will help you to avoid the burnout.
STEP #2 Make your goals actionable
Separate these goals in more actionable chunks. What do you need to do to get there?
While “having a business team of 5 people” might seem like a too big of a goal to separate, it’s actually not that hard.
Where do you need to get to hire the first person? What are your monthly monetary goals? How many clients per year you have to take on? Here you can see some actionable numbers.
If your goal is related to growing your blog, for example, you want to get your blog to 10K monthly readers – write down what exact steps will attract more people, what marketing strategies should you try and how to improve your blog.
You might not write down all the specific steps and some of them you might even not know yet but write down your ideas and inspire yourself to make these things happen!
STEP #3 Set your priorities
When you’ll see this layout of your future plan, you can start to crystalize your actual priorities.
For example, the actual goal to someone who’d like to create a blog that supports living in a mansion should be to create as good blog posts as possible and get as much traffic as imaginable to start monetizing.
Therefore, your first goal would be to improve your content and make it ah-mazing!
The next step would be to master your marketing strategies and grow from there.
Don’t follow the crowd
The biggest misconception is – you have to be everywhere and do everything. NO. You have to set your priorities and stick to them.
- If everyone is loving FB groups but you feel like it’s a waste of time – scratch that!
- If everyone is blogging but your business is all about video making – FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS.
- If your peers say your packaging matters while your audience appreciates your handwritten notes more than anything – do what matters to your business not people around you.
Yes, once you’ve set your path straight and most of your business systems are successfully working, you should grow, improve, find new ways to make your business bigger and better. And that’s how you avoid burnout, reach out goals and follow your own destiny!
It is important to learn how to avoid burnout as a new business owner because your business depends on your sanity! You will succeed only as long as you can work for it. Therefore, spend enough time taking care of yourself and your wellbeing.
Make sure to read how working less can actually improve your productivity and check out some tips on how to stay healthy while working from home.
Other than that – learn to focus on what matters and you’re halfway there!
What are your favorite ways to avoid burnout?! Share in the comments!
