7 Signs That You’re Secretly Struggling As An Entrepreneur (And 3 Solutions To Help You Take Back Control)
By Doug Bennett, aka The Goals Guy®
There’s a perception that life as an entrepreneur is about turbocharging your income, living a wealthy lifestyle and setting your own rules. The highlight reels of social media influencers frequently perpetuate the belief that entrepreneurial success leads to yachts, designer clothes and a kickass attitude.
While you might be more than capable of delivering a first-class service or product, leaving the stability of a nine-to-five job and waving bye-bye to a steady income and pension pot can, in reality, lead to increased stress and feelings of isolation.
In this blog, I’m going to share seven tell-tale signs that might indicate you’re a secretly struggling entrepreneur, and the three ways you can take back control so that you can create the business and life that you want.
Tell-tale signs you’re struggling
Seven key signs that could indicate you’re not coping too well are:
- Credit cards
There’s often a tendency in the early days of entrepreneurship to rely on credit cards to pay bills and maintain cash flow, but over time this can lead to additional financial stress.
- Overwhelm
You may find yourself working 60 to 70 hours per week even though much of that time is spent completing tasks that are quick, easy wins (such as checking email or deleting old messages); unfortunately they are rarely the money-making activities, so they’re unlikely to relieve any financial strain (see also #4).
- Saying “yes” to everything
When you’re eager to make more money and build your business, you might find yourself saying yes to every opportunity that comes your way in the hope that it might lead to something else. You may also feel desperate to please people so that they consider recommending you. However, by scattering your focus, you’ll take longer to build up momentum.
- You struggle to set priorities
Because you aren’t certain what will generate money in your business, you struggle to decide what to do first and waste time on unproductive tasks. Twenty per cent of what you do on a daily basis will generate 80 per cent of your results (the Pareto principle), but you might not be clear on what those tasks include.
- Reluctant to delegate
Perhaps not surprisingly, when you are unclear on your priorities, you’ll be reluctant to delegate because you feel that you need to do everything yourself (especially if you’re not making sufficient income yet); and if you bring in support, you’ll be forced to face up to the reality of the fact that you don’t know where to focus your attention.
- Too busy for self-care
When you are trying to spin all the plates and carry out all the menial tasks as well as the business critical ones, you’re likely to feel that you have no time to go to the gym (even if you have the funds) or to go for a walk (remember that the Pareto principle also works in reverse: approximately 80 per cent of what you’re doing is producing only 20 per cent of your income). However, when you neglect your emotional and physical wellbeing, it’s also likely to negatively impact your business as you will be more prone to burnout, for example.
- You keep your worries to yourself
If you are not already “living the entrepreneurial dream”, there’s often a feeling of “shame” around having left a well-paid job and created more stress with little reward (particularly if you have a family depending on you). You may also feel embarrassed because you don’t want your spouse or significant other to know that you’re not achieving what you expected. The shame, embarrassment and determination to maintain a brave face can lead to increased feelings of worry and isolation.
______________________________
Click here for additional information about the Pareto principle.
3 ways to overcome your struggles
Nearly every entrepreneur struggles with some of these issues at some point, but the longer that you ignore them, the more entrenched they become. If any of the above seven examples apply to you, it’s time to turn your back on the social media posts that glorify earning megabucks every month, and take decisive action so that you free yourself up for success.
Three ways that you can make progress are:
1. Get clear on the exact income that you need to earn each month in order to cover your personal and living expenses and make your business viable.
2. Work out what your income figure translates into in terms of deliverables. For example, if you need to earn £3k each month, that could mean you need to enrol one new 1-2-1 client worth £3k or sell 15 products priced at £200 (you’ve already calculated your costs remember).
3. Explore ways to automate as much of your business as possible (even if you are a service-based provider, there will be parts that you can automate) so that you can free up your time to focus on money-making activities.
I hope that feels like a weight off your shoulders. When I was really struggling in my business (on the verge of bankruptcy), I would have benefited so much from having the support of someone who understood what I was going through and didn’t make me feel judged.
If you’d welcome support like that now, click here to book a call with me and let me know more about what you need in order to realign your processes and get back on track with your business. I have tools available to help you understand your debt, create an effective plan to clear it, understand what your breakeven figure is, and create the plan you promised yourself (and perhaps your family) when you took the leap of faith into entrepreneurship.
Comments