5 Tips for Handling Small Business Stress

If you’re a sole-proprietor or small business owner, chances are something has stressed you out this week, this day or probably even this hour. After all, it’s the holiday season. You’re likely buying gifts and making travel preparations, and depending on your industry, you’re either watching your business slow way down or, if you own a business that provides holiday gifts or services, become unprecedentedly busy. Oh, and tax time is looming, too.Are your books in order? If you’re a freelancer, do you have your form W-9 out to all of your clients so that they can issue you a 1099?

So yes, small business stress is out there and it seems to find some new way to hit you over the head every single day. So what should you do about it? Here are a few tips for getting a handle on the various stressors that your business tosses your way every day:

1. Get to the Root of the Problem – One of the best ways to handle small business stress is play therapist and figure out what is actually stressing you out. For many people, especially starting out, the problem at first glance is not enough money or not enough clients. But why isn’t the money rolling in? The real problem could be that you are timid or inexperienced when marketing your business, or that you aren’t closing the deal. When you identify the real problem, instead of worrying about abstract things like “not enough clients,” you can focus on the concrete, such as polishing your marketing plan.
2. Think of the Real Consequences – Some people tend to make a mountain out of a molehill. Perhaps you spent a lot of time bidding on a job and ultimately did not get it, or you’ve had a month of slow sales. What is the very worst thing that can happen? Sometimes the worst consequence is closing your business and facing bankruptcy, but one lost bid or a few weeks of low sales won’t end in that dire result without a few other factors coming into play. Other people find their personal worth tied up in their business, thinking that a lost bid or an unsuccessful month will eventual lead to failure, estrangement from loved ones and despair. It can be hard to keep going if you tell yourself that every little setback will result in such misery! If you find yourself unduly stressed every time you suffer a business setback, think of the real – not the imagined – consequences of what has happened. And while you’re at it, take time out to think of the consequences of success, too.
3. Streamline Your Work Processes – Are there tasks you find yourself stressing out over again and again? As for me, for awhile I had a problem finding a good internet faxing service. Every time I needed to send or receive a fax – a truly simple task – my stress level went through the roof. Is there something in your work life that is stressing you out unduly? Maybe you always forget to buy stamps, or maybe you don’t have an inventory control system in place to remind you to buy packing tape for your ecommerce business. Take an inventory of the small daily tasks that cause undue stress and set a plan of action for each one. Buy packing tape in bulk and go ahead and affix a bright pink “Order More” label to your last roll. Or go ahead and outsource that data entry project you’ve been stressing about over to a virtual assistant.
4. Play at Work – There’s nothing worse than a feeling of dread when it comes time to go to work. But if you are unduly stressed out about your business, no matter how excited you were when first starting out, you very well could end up hating the thought of working every day. And when you’re the boss, with no one to keep you on task when your performance is lacking or to chastise you for taking an unscheduled week off, a stress problem can become a business problem. Sometimes running your business is just plain hard, but the operative term there is “your business.” You’re the one creating the stress, so now it’s time to dissipate it. Buy a dart board or a pair of rollerblades, and utilize them during your “brainstorming sessions.” Take an afternoon walk when the atmosphere in the office begins to feel oppressive, or if you have employees, take them on unscheduled “field trips” to maintain office spontaneity. When I was a manager in the corporate world, the stress level in my very deadline-oriented office would start to bubble over from time to time. That was when I would gather my team of eight people up, bypass the parking garage, and take the whole group on walks through the city. Sometimes we ended up at lunch or browsing in a store, one especially memorable time we ended up playing catch on the roof of a local mall. With creativity, running your business can be an adventure rather than a chore.
5. Take a Vacation – When is the last time you had a day off? And I mean a true day off that wasn’t filled with school plays, doctors appointments or duty visits to distant relatives. Your stress could simply be the result of doing the same thing day in and day out for weeks, months or years at a time. And if you think you don’t have the time for a vacation, think again. Constantly working can wear down your health and cause you to get into a business rut where you fail to innovate or change things that are not working. It can be hard to see the forest when you’re constantly working in the trees every day, but stepping away from the office can result in new ideas or at least the rest you need to get truly productive. Get away from the office for a weekend or a week and you just might find that your stress levels fall while your productivity and innovation rises.

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