Photo by Tyler Franta on Unsplash
Let’s be honest and face realistic terms; your business is stuck, isn’t it?
As most entrepreneurs and business owners, we don’t like to focus on it, because we prefer thinking positively. But at the same time, the truth remains the truth, doesn’t it? Things have been pretty much the same for the last couple of years except for your age. You’re still running like a subway train. trying to catch the R train right after the E train YET; you’re still the last one to get paid and you have a bunch of staff that is dependent on you. It’s not like you’re going bankrupt. You’re still able to pay the bills, juggle the balls, and in fact; your customer is happy with the product and services your business delivers. Apparently, you have done something right. But now, it’s becoming exhausting to keep on maintaining sales and go above and beyond. Your business is stuck.
I’m sure you wonder how did you end up here and what may be the way out?
Every individual is unique, just like you, your business is also unique. There’s a lot you can sit and observe, go over stats. Figure out what you did wrong. There may be a repeated pattern of mistakes or things you’re overlooking; that could take your business to the next height. Many business owners face their businesses being stuck, so don’t worry, you’re not the only one who feels this way. Let’s go over some things that may have caused your business to be stuck.
1)Â Â Â You put yourself last:
Ever wonder what is the most important resource of your business? It’s not your customers, definitely not your staff, or the charity work your business does. No, it’s none of all that. Actually who is the most important resource? It’s you for sure, specifically your time and efforts to build and sustain this business.
As an owner of the business, it’s not just your responsibility to look after your business; primarily it’s you who you should be taking care of. If you stop taking care of yourself, everything else will fall apart. And, everyone included in the business and the business itself, will suffer. This does not mean that there’s something wrong with working hard. But at the same time, you need to make sure you get a comfortable to sleep, good food, and exercise, and spend time with family and friends. And lastly, your alone “me time” is equally important as the rest.
You need to start planning time out for yourself, at least every week. Plan to get enough sleep; a normal human requires at least 7 hours every night for their health and wellbeing. Start planning exercise; make a routine out of it, either before or after work. Spending good quality time with your family and friends is like fresh air for your brain. The health of your business is directly related to your own health and how you treat yourself. If you think your business is stuck, make sure you start untangling the knots of your life. This way your business will also get unstuck and start moving forward.
2)Â Â Â Doing too much
The second issue that arises is the people you work with or who work for you. Everyone pretends to be “doing stuff” while there’s no actual progress being shown in your sales revenues. This is also kind of related to the first point; it’s about how you utilize your time. Your time is a very valuable resource of your business.
Are you thinking how to spend the valuable time? Trust me, it’s not driving a truck or taking orders of the customers directly. However, what you can really do as a business owner; is not do the work of the business. You should have employees to whom you can delegate these tasks too. Meanwhile, you can spend your time in a relaxed mind frame. And, think, plan, imagine and create new ideas for your business. Your business will begin to feel less stuck, once you have a clear head and a picture for the way forward. Your staff can do the rest for the business. I guess, it’s finally time to stop. turn off your email, phone, go to a café, grab a coffee and a book. Or just go home and relax. This may sound absurd, but do whatever it takes, to do…nothing.
3)Â Â Â Doing it all yourself
One thing common you’ll notice with you and other business owners is that you all have dominant personas. You think that you need to do all of the work and you can’t say no even if you want to. Why? Because as an owner, you may feel that asking for help shows weakness. This right here is the biggest cause of that your business is stuck.