Stressed out

[Anonymous]

I've been running my own business now for a few years, things generally are good and I think i'd rate it as a commercially sound business with steady growth over the years.

When I started everyone said its stressful to start with but it calms down with time, etc blar,blar blar.

Well its 3 years now and I feel that its still stressful all the time, even when I am on the tools i'm still thinking about the business, future customers, advertising, finances and a million other things.

At home I can be in the middle of dinner and i'll think of something I should have done and then have to do it at nine o clock at night.

This has been a particularly bad week, hence the whinging, I'm not going to jack it all in as financially its very sound and i do enjoy it. My question is this. Is everybody else who runs there own business in the same boat and if not what are you doing to switch off.

 

[johnelliott]

.

My question is this. Is everybody else who runs there own business in the same boat

Yes. I've got plenty of work at the moment, but finding it difficult to make enough money out of it. It's all about speed. The market determines the price, the materials cost what they cost, the only way to make more money is to work faster.

IMO, the stress of running one's own business is always money related, because if you did have lots of money then there really aren't any problems that can't be easily dealt with.

John

 

[RogerS]

Hi senior.

Sorry to hear that you're having a hard time of it at the moment. I think that anyone running their own business goes through bad patches at some point or another. It's part of the territory of running your own business since you have to be the jack-of-all-trades, worry about the next bit of business while trying to complete the current bit and snagging the previous bit :lol: All the while juggling cash flow....

And don't forget that the last couple of weeks weather-wise has not been that conducive to work and sends even generally reasonable minded folk a bit doo-lally and stroppy.

On the plus side you are answerable to no-one. Just think about all those idiots that (a) used to be your boss or (b) used to work with you or (c) for you. All that whingeing that went on all the time especially down the pub after work.

For downtime I find that gliding focusses your mind. You can't stop to worry about work for a moment...otherwise you..err..umm...fall out of the sky. Don't know where you are but most clubs run trial lessons...so pick a day with some fluffy clouds and give yourself a bit of 'me-time' as I like to call it.

Cheers


Roger

 

[Philly]

Senior
I find when I'm quiet I worry-and when things are busy I worry :roll: :lol:
If working for yourself was easy everyone would do it.
Best regards
Philly

 

[Anonymous]

Just to make the point, the business is good, its the stress I find hard.
Financially things are good.
I think like roger says I probably need to find someting hobby wise to chill out.
I have my motorbike in the garage but i haven't even insured it this year as i just don't have time to ride it.

 

[Anonymous]

Philly, I have a business partner and he uses that phrase all the time.
Your both spot on.

 

[johnelliott]

Just to make the point, the business is good, its the stress I find hard.
Financially things are good.
I think like roger says I probably need to find someting hobby wise to chill out.
I have my motorbike in the garage but i haven't even insured it this year as i just don't have time to ride it.

I'm not trying to suggest that business is anything other than great, but, if you were making lots of money then surely you would have time to go out on your motorbike??

John

 

[Philly]

John
I know a few local businessmen who are multi-millionaires. They work harder than me (i.e. they work all the time!!) but I think that is because they are workaholics. How much money you are making doesn't seem to make a difference-it's down to you to "manage" your stress/spare time/life as best you can.
At the end of the day, if you are making ends meet give yourself a slap on the back. It is a tough market out there.
Cheers
Philly

 

[Anonymous]

I think the trouble is you always want more!
Seriously, I would not do this except for the financial reward, I'm on a lot more than when I was a cabinet maker working for someone else.
I love working with wood but if I wasn't getting the financial gains I'd just go and work for someone else.

 

[RogerS]

I think like roger says I probably need to find someting hobby wise to chill out.
.

Try this

 

[PowerTool]

I am on the other side of the fence - employed in a fairly stressful job (transport planning,and on call 24 hours a day) and do woodwork,amongst other things,in my spare time - as I am a workaholic to some degree (get bored if I have nothing to do )
The situation is the same though - I need something to do after work to stop me thinking about work.

So get your motorbike out and enjoy the weather

Andrew

 

[Anonymous]

will insure it and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Thanks for the replies, believe me next week I be wondering why I posted this thread. The ups and downs of business!!!!

 

[mailee]

Nice machine Senior, my friend used to race them. He has a brand new one in his dinning room that he won. I almost had a heart attack when he told me what it was worth! I agree get out on the bike, blow away the cobwebs and forget work for a few hours it does help.

 

[Anonymous]

He has a brand new one in his dinning room

Now theres a thought, I wonder what the wife would think if I moved mine into the lounge, hmmm!!!!! MAYBE BEST NOT TO

 

[BrianD]

Interesting topic!

I too am a natural worrier and have started and built 3 businesses successfully from scratch (in another field I must add)

While this does not make me an expert (at all) I found that if I did not switch off from worrying about the business (not sleeping at night, fretting, etc...) I would definitely be driven mad.

After several years, I realised one day a few things..... it was centred about priorities....so i built a daily mantra where I partitioned things up and repeated the rules to myself on an ongoing basis.

I asked myself as to what the most important thing is in my life and focussed in on it (in my case it is my wife and family) ....so when I got home everyday I would symbolically remove my work jacket and hang it at the door. My focus is only family.

I then asked myself; what is the most important thing about my work (not the business but what I do.....big difference) - in my case it is leading and managing people thus growing my business. Once stated and accepted that is my focus...not pricing, not serving or whatever....except focussing on my contribution the success of the business. In the beginning if you are a one man band it is not simple but aiming to delegate the aspects I do not excel at as soon as possible meant I could deliver more value at what I am good at thus the business would grow. This meant of course delegating certain decisioning and trusting the next person! A BIG step but with a BIG payoff. You realise you cannot control everything!

The trick is: in the morning I put on my symbolic WORK jacket and go to work (NO home aspects come into it) and at the end of day I go home and take my WORK jacket off and be a father and husband.

The separation of responsibities I found worked for me; I trained myself on this and after a while became far happier.

Funny thing was that the businesses grew substantially after that!

My experience was; I found very hard in the beginning (it took a lot of mental effort and discipline) but after a while it was easy.

Nowadays, my family do not bug me when I am at work and my work does not bug me at home (in two ways: I do not allow it and I do do not allow either aspect (home of work) to interfere with the other (e.g. nobody from work phones me at home) ).

All I can say is this worked for me and perhaps you can find a similar way for yourself. Maybe a bit of introspection and setting of priorities maybe?

I wish you well and hope you can overcome this "bad habit"

Cheers

 

[Colin C]

Hi senior
I have worked for myself for just over 3 years too and I use Karate to help me destress, it works for me
So get out on the bike for a start :wink:

 

[Drew]

Senior
if you really want to chill out and take your mind of everything but what you are doing I recommend taking up fly fishing. Once you are in the water you forget everything else. I have even heard of a doctor recommending it to a patient who was on the edge of a mental wobbler, better still it worked after a few months the patient was able to return to work. It seems to be a mixture of beautiful scenery, meditation and prayer all rolled into one. Catching a fish is an added bonus. :lol:

Drew

 

[beech1948]

I have just read BrianD's message. He is bang on. Its about discipline and making what is a chaotic world simple and routine by planning and prioritising. Easy to say but damned hard to do.

Earlier in this thread someone said that pricing was upto the market...that is just not true at all. Pricing is a contract between buyer and seller. The seller will pay you lots if what you do is exceptional. Last year I raised my prices into the top 10% for my industry and found that some customers left because of what they saw as expensive services. I have not missed them. These cheapskates were mostly the source of all my moaning and groaning customers. My turnover has increased by 15%, my time to deliver and do work is increased and the rush is less.

The moral of this is that you are your own market, the market as previously mentioned is a myth and a limiting belief. If you remove these then you can charge more, state the time you will need to do the work and have clients queuing up. You need to be very good at what you do and deliver great value.

regards
alan

 

[syntec4]

will insure it and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Thanks for the replies, believe me next week I be wondering why I posted this thread. The ups and downs of business!!!!

:shock: No wonder you are stressed :lol: An RS 250 is hardly a relaxing ride. get something with a broader midrange (or ANY midrange :wink: ) and you will find the bike is a great tool for getting away for a few hours.
Works for me everytime.

:twisted:

Lee.

 

[Anonymous]

After riding this for a few minutes you are grinning from ear to ear, the very last of the 2 stroke greats, I love it because its actually gaining value, even though I haven't ridden it this year I still try and keep it looking nice.

Just regarding pricing, I really do think I price in the top percentage and as I keep saying this is not a financial issue, its just seeking advice on how to prioritise, chill out and destress.

Thanks for all the tips, I had a little think over the weekend, I used to do some flying and following some advice in a previous post might go down this line. Maybe helicopter licence, then I will have to up prices further!!!