Taking a step back to look at the big picture can go a long way
While it may be tempting to respond to fears of business failure by working late hours, hoping to secure more sales or pursue more opportunities for small business growth, not enough small business owners are prioritizing one of their most important business resources - their own health and well-being.
Business-related stress can negatively affect both small business owners' well-being and even the health of their company, reported the Wall Street Journal.
The most common sources of stress for small business owners were found to be excessive workloads, concerns about making enough money, fears about payroll management, not being able to meet customers' expectations, and feeling increased pressure to succeed despite having already sacrificed many aspects of their personal lives, the Journal reported.
To balance pursuing small business growth with reducing stress, small business owners are encouraged to take a step back to revisit their overarching business goals, and to work on their business plans.
"Too many business owners make the mistake of working in the business and not on it," the Journal reported. "While it's easy to get caught up in the daily grind, you'll ultimately reduce your stress by taking a step back to focus on your business in the long-term scheme of things."
These plans should take into account how the business has been performing, and how it should ideally be performing in the future, based on the small business owners' goals.
"If you need more clients, target specific areas where you think you can drum up business. Come up with a marketing plan. Develop a budget by figuring out how much you need to set aside for quarterly tax payments, capital expenditures, your retirement plan, employee salaries and other areas," the Journal advised.
Planning for the future may seem overwhelming, but developing contingency plans for a variety of potential situations can actually combat stress by reassuring small business owners that there will be a plan in place to address whatever may arise.
Another way to combat the day-to-day stress of running a small business, Newswise recently reported, is to avoid multi-tasking, as research has shown that it actually hinders productivity and can lead to more errors. Instead, small business owners should create task lists and focus on one project at a time, said the news website.
