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Entrepreneurs: Watch Out for These Signs That You're Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

Entrepreneurs: Watch Out for These Signs

Entrepreneurs are truly remarkable people. They’re intelligent, multi-talented, highly skilled and infinitely resourceful. They’re true autodidacts who love learning on their own terms and using what they’ve learned to inform and enrich their business operations. Many entrepreneurs became who and what they were because they refused to be constrained by their role or their employer. Or they got sick of the lack of opportunities coming their way and resolved to create their own. They come from all walks of life and have a wide range of different skill sets, and they are among the most dedicated, hardworking and selfless people on the planet. They give willingly of their time, their expertise and their knowledge and love to help others trying to make it behind them to succeed as mentors.  Yet, they must watch out for these signs of caution and danger.

We love to help entrepreneurs to broaden their skills and improve their businesses by providing them with a wealth of knowledge and resources. However, we also worry about you too! We worry that in your zeal and passion you get into the habit of neglecting that which matters most outside your business. Things like your health, your family and your friends. Things like work / life balance and restful sleep. Because, no matter what you’ve been led to believe, you’re entitled to both. Unlike their salaried counterparts, entrepreneurs never truly punch out at the end of a working day. Not only do they tend to work longer hours and endure more stress than their employees, they can often struggle to leave their thoughts about their businesses at work. As such, they can become prone to entrepreneurial burnout.

Here are some signs that you may have bitten off more than you can chew. You need to watch out for these signs because they may come at the expense of your business and your wellbeing in the long term…

You do instead of showing or telling

This is perhaps one of the most cardinal sins of running your own business. It’s one that every business owner understands and while it comes from a good place, it can create a multitude of problems for you and your staff.

Entrepreneurs are hands-on guys and gals. They like to roll up their sleeves and help their employees out. Yet, this noble desire to help can lead to micromanaging behaviors. Instead of showing or telling your employees how to carry out their duties, you can lapse into the habit of doing things for them.

Micromanagement is not only exhausting for you, but it can be severely detrimental to your workforce. Instead, invest your effort in training and onboarding your team so that you feel supremely confident leaving day-to-day operations in their capable hands. 

If you don’t feel comfortable taking a day off, something is very wrong.

You insist on doing everything your way

Your brand is more than just your logo, your slogan or the color scheme on your website. It’s everything you do. It’s every interaction your customers have with your employees and everything you post on social media. As Jeff Bezos himself says “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room”. And if it’s good enough for the man who will likely become the world’s first trillionaire, it’s good enough for you.

However, in your zeal to create a consistent brand, don’t overlook the value of outsourcing. It’s a fallacy to assume that you’re the only person who can do things your way, and one that may prove detrimental to your business.  

Outsourcing your digital marketing or SEO to an agency like https://unravelseo.com/seo/ can see you achieve faster and more consistent results than trying to manage it all on your own. Likewise, outsourcing your IT to a managed service provider may not only save you money, but allow you to be more agile, making sweeping changes to your infrastructure quickly without the expense of replacing everything from scratch. 

You’ve given up keeping set working hours

You might not want to hear this. But nothing is so pressing that it can’t wait until the next working day. As an entrepreneur, you want to tie a neat little bow around every day before you’re ready to call it quits. Again, this mentality is completely noble, but it often proves detrimental to you above all. It can lead you to endure obnoxiously long working hours before coming home an exhausted and emotionally volatile wreck. 

Is that the person you really want to be for your family?

Do your best to keep to set working hours. A work / life balance isn’t going to fall into your lap. You’ll need to draw hard lines in order to create one. 

Entrepreneurs: Watch Out for These Signs

You’ve begun to notice physical symptoms

 Let’s make one thing perfectly clear. Nothing is more important than your health. Nonetheless, it’s easy to get so lost in the minutiae of running your business that rest, meals and even hydration become neglected as you strive through every day. 

It’s important to keep an eye out for the physical symptoms that you’re headed for a burnout. Be certain to watch out for these signs including;

  • Persistent headaches
  • Fatigue
  • Chest pains
  • Irritability
  • High blood pressure
  • Erratic weight gain / loss
  • Loss of memory
  • Trouble concentrating

Your mind and body need to be able to rest. Otherwise you’ll stop being an asset to your business and become a liability.

You feel like you’re never part of the conversation at home

Do your kids and your spouse keep making in-jokes at home that you’re not privy to? Do they make references to events that go way over your head? Do you feel that you’re always listening to the conversation at home rather than being an active part of it?

This can be a heartbreaking sign that you’re spending too much time with your business and not enough time with your family. 

Remember, you’re not alone!

Entrepreneurs burn themselves out when they forget that they are not alone. Invest in your employees. Have faith in them. Make sure that they always have access to training and development. Allow them to be the ambassadors for your brand and all that it stands for.

If you watch out for these signs, your business and your life will be all the better for it!

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