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Small_Business_Q_&_A_If_It_Was_Easy_Everybody_Would_Do_It
| Small Business Q & A: If It Was Easy Everybody Would Do It
Q: I started my business about a year ago and everything is
going fine. We're growing and making a profit, but the stress of
running the business is really starting to get to me. I spend
more time worrying than working. Sometimes the pressure is
almost more than I can take. I'm starting to think that I'm not
cut out to run my own business. Do you have any advice that
might help me decide what to do? -- Steven S.
A: I'm full of advice, Steven, and it's totally free. Just
remember, you get what you pay for and I can't be held legally
or morally responsible if my advice somehow lands you behind the
counter at McDonalds. I'm not Dr. Phil, for petesake. I'm
shorter and have more hair and less money.
Seriously, the first thing you need to do is take a few deep
breaths and take comfort in the fact that you are not the first
entrepreneur to feel the weight of the business world on your
shoulders. Every business person, including yours truly, has
felt the way you do at one time or another. For some, it's a
feeling that occurs daily, especially when things aren't going
as well as we'd like them to. And don't think the stress will
magically disappear if your business takes off. I know people
who run multimillion dollar corporations and they will tell you
that the stress level goes up in proportion to the size of the
business. These same people will also tell you they love what
they do and would never consider doing anything else.
The difference between these entrepreneurs and you, Steven, is
that they have been in business longer and have learned to not
only handle stress, but to take stress and transform it into a
driving force. They feed off the stress. It fuels their
creativity and innovation. Stress challenges them, it makes them
think, makes them better entrepreneurs.
I think the real question isn't whether or not you have what it
takes to run a business. The real question is do you have what
it takes to handle the stress of running a business. These are
two very different questions and the answers depend totally on
you.
Even on the best of days running a business can be incredibly
stressful, not to mention overwhelming and exhausting. It's only
natural that there will be times when you wonder if it's really
worth it. Asking yourself the "should I just get a real job"
question simply means that your human side is showing. And as a
human you have a limited tolerance for things you can not
control. And that's really where the stress of being an
entrepreneur comes from. We worry about things we can't control.
Things like finding new customers, paying the bills, making
payroll, and a thousand other things. Sure, we can put forth our
best efforts to make these things turn out in our favor, but we
really can't control the outcome.
So we worry. And worry breeds stress and stress breeds doubt and
doubt breeds the feeling that an 800 pound gorilla is using your
chest for a lawn chair. It's only natural that you being to
wonder, "Is this what I really want to do? Do I have what it
takes to run my own business?"
I remember once complaining about the stress of running my
business to an elder entrepreneur. He waved at me like he was
swatting a fly and said, "Son, if it was easy, everybody would
do it. Now suck it up and move on."
Suck it up and move on… probably the best business advice I've
ever gotten. No fortune cookie was ever so on the money.
My mentor's eloquent point was this: running a business is never
easy and always stressful, but that's what makes it so dang
exciting. Running a business is like walking a tight rope…
backward… with your eyes shut… and your pants on fire… Man, sure
beats working for a living, huh.
Steven, it sounds to me like you're having what I call a
"garbage truck moment." That's when the pressure of running your
business starts getting to you and you begin to question whether
the entrepreneurial life is right for you. The debts are
mounting, your staff is shrinking (or growing), you get that
nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach and you find
yourself longing for the apparent simplicity of driving a
garbage truck.
Note to garbage truck drivers: save your hate mail, boys. I know
you work very hard and I respect what you do. Without you the
world would be a very different, very smelly place, indeed.
What's happening to you, Steven, has happened to us all. The
stress is causing you to doubt not only your decision to start
your own business, but your ability to run it, as well. There's
no magic bullet for dealing with stress and you certainly can't
eliminate it totally, so you must learn to handle it.
I believe the key to handling stress is to first identify the
source of the stress, then formulate a plan to deal with it.
Here's what I do. Take a pencil and paper and list all the
things that are causing you stress. For each item listed ask
yourself: Is there anything I can do about this? Is there
anything I can do to change this from being a point of stress to
a point of accomplishment? In other words, is this something I
have control over?
Stressing over things you can't control is a total waste of
time. Tell yourself that you're burning brain cells in vain and
mark that item off your list. Some people don't have this
ability. Some people are just natural born worriers who are not
happy unless they have something to worry about. They revel in
worry. They work in worry like a great artist works in paint.
Even when things are going great they worry that the sky is
about to fall. If you are a natural born worrier, Steven,
nothing I say will help you handle stress.
Great, now you have something else to worry about.
Next , determine if each point of stress is something that has
happened in the past, is currently happening, or has not yet -
or may never - happen. If the stress point is the past, there's
not much you can do but attempt to rectify the situation causing
the stress. If it's a current problem, formulate a plan to deal
with the problem and eliminate the stress it's causing. And if
you're stressing over things that may never happen, remember
what Mark Twain said: "I am an old man and have known a great
many troubles, but most of them never happened."
Finally, Steven, it's important to remember that working for
someone else can be just as stressful as working for yourself.
Sure, you don't have the stress (and responsibility) associated
with running a business, but you will have other stresses that
can be far worse; like impossible work deadlines, sales quotas
you can't meet, a boss that learned his management skills on a
chain gang, coworkers who don't pull their own weight, possible
layoffs, etc.
Very few things in life are without stress. Just ask any garbage
truck driver.
Here's to your success!
Tim Knox tim@dropshipwholesale.net For information on starting
your own online or eBay business, visit
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net
About the author:
Tim Knox as the president and CEO of two successful technology
companies: B2Secure Inc., a Web-based hiring management software
company; and Digital Graphiti Inc., a software development
company. Tim is also the founder of dropshipwholesale.net, an
ebusiness dedicated to the success of online entrepreneurs.
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net http://www.smallbusinessqa.com
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