Running a small to medium-size IT business has its benefits. You get to build solid relationships with your customers; you define your business’ culture; you get to watch your business develop and attain a reputation for excellence, and you, sometimes, you can even set you own working hours.
At the same time however, running your own IT business is complicated by a litany of stresses, including the difficulties of amassing a customer base, developing a reputations, building a strong enough financial and managerial infrastructure to bring on additional technicians, and being able to balance a private life with the all-consuming nature of running your own business.
Trying to juggle the myriad of workflow and business development tasks leaves even the most superhuman individuals belabored with stress and worry.
In order to to have the energy to persevere, retain your sanity, and see to the continued success of your business, it is crucial that you implement productive stress-busting techniques.
From our own experience, we know that keeping stress in check when you work tirelessly, find yourself in a near chronic state of worry, and are overextended is near impossible, but we have found a few productive ways to keep stress at bay.
Here are some of our most effective stress-busting tips:
● Cut yourself some slack! Business isn’t easy. It is useless and counterproductive to hold yourself and your company to impossible standards. Recognize that building a business takes time and is a product of trial and error. So, give yourself space to learn, grow and evolve. Mistakes are life’s best teachers. Cut yourself some slack and give yourself room to grow.
● Think Positively! You’d be surprised how much perspective affects you work ethic and your ability to motivate yourself and others. Stress and anxiety generally cause us to accentuate all the negative things around us. Take control over your outlook and choose to address the negative behaviors and business practices around you while accentuating the positives. Acknowledge your successes, no matter how small. The more you encourage yourself to think positively and optimistically, the better you will be able to facilitate positive changes and growth.
● Exercise, Eat Healthy and Relax! No matter how busy you are, and we are sure you are plenty busy, don’t forget to set aside time for you. If you are not healthy, if you don’t care for your mind, body and spirit, stress will break you. By exercising to stay in shape, you reverse the negative effects of stress. By eating healthfully, you give your body the nutrients and energy it needs to be productive and intelligent. Lastly, by giving your mind time to decompress, refocus, and recharge via various relaxation techniques, such as meditation and stretching, you will maintain the stamina you need to run your business successfully.
● Prioritize! As a small business owner, you wear multiple hats. You might be everything from the business manager, the technician and the bookkeeper, to the secretary. In addition to your business-related occupations, you are also a combination of friend, spouse, child, and homemaker. We don’t know about you, but just typing this list of titles has us tired. Learn how to prioritize your various responsibilities. You cannot be everything all the time. Learn how to schedule your time so that you have time to be successful in both your business and personal lives.
● Automate! Take advantage of the many business automation tools on the market, such as our fully functional professional services automation (PSA) solution, to help you manage your time, workflow, and workplace. By streamlining your workflow, you’ll reduce your workload, save yourself time and cut back on stress.
Most importantly however, you need to remember that you are building a business. Like building any structure, such an undertaking requires patience, time, effort and money. By staying focused and controlling your stress levels, you will position yourself in place where you stand the best chance of being successful and building the business of your dreams.
The best of luck. We are rooting for you!
Success Team