By Pam Krank
We all need a bit of stress in our lives. This is especially true when you start a business: stress to earn a living and to keep the business alive motivates you to succeed. As your company grows, however, the stress isn't always so motivating and can be extremely difficult to manage.
Ten years ago I started my own business. I can still remember getting the "yes" call from my first client; I no longer had to live with the stress that no one would ever buy my new service!
Once my business started to grow, however, new stresses that weren't so fun entered into the picture: I had employees to pay and debt to service regardless of whether new clients hired me or not. Now my stress was to push for profitability and increase sales to keep the business going.
When we launched into "hyper-growth" (at 30-300 percent growth rates per year), I was under constant stress. We were forever stretching our very limited resources to grow the business, I was managing more and more employees, my home-life was feeling the strain with my husband and two young children, and the business debt was overwhelming me. Even my dreams at night reflected the stress... war battles (referencing the hard-fought daily battles of running a business), plane crashes (fear of failure/the stress of observing friends' businesses failing) and numerous tornados (signifying the chaotic, whirlwind of activity around me). I felt as though the business was running my life and that I was spinning out of control.
After about three years of living with "severe stress," I realized it was time for me to take control...
- I hired a key consultant to take over the in-depth analysis work that was taking too much of my time in the business (thus the important step of moving from practitioner to business manager).
- My husband and I hired au pairs to help with the children to provide flexibility with my schedule.
- The business debt became a "business investment" (in myself!) that could be managed and brought under control.
- I sought the advice of more experienced women entrepreneurs to have them advise me on the "healthy way" to grow.
- I got more involved with NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) so I could converse with a group of like-minded women growing their own companies.
- I planned and took numerous "mini vacations" and a few week-long vacations during the year...leaving computers, cell phones, etc behind to completely escape the stress.
These steps helped me gain control over the business and over my life. I still suffer tremendously stressful times with our growth, but now I plan solutions to help me manage the stress and keep me motivated.