One of the chapters in my book is entitled 'Terrified Excitement' (click here to have a read). It is a deliberate oxymoron that I believe sums up the life of an entrepreneur and business owner. Conducting business of any sort is intimidating; scary; terrifying! Every day is a risk, where you wake up and trust that the effort you have put in will be rewarded. That the planning you have done will pay off. Will that marketing campaign bring in the sales you need? Have you hired the right staff at the right time? What sort of currency fluctuations will occur this week?
These are questions and pressures that face business owners EVERY DAY. Some days these pressures weigh more heavily, particularly at times of global upheaval, the likes of which we are seeing right now. The good news is, there are effective ways to deal with these pressures that can relieve stress and frustration, and empower you to not only survive, but excel in any business environment:
1. Talk it out - Have a network of people you can genuinely connect with, and talk through what you're experiencing. Make sure these are people that you can be open and honest with. They may not have all the answers right away (although sometimes they will!), but alot of the time simply verbalizing challenges and problems can be a great reliever of stress
2. Get support - Find someone who has navigated these pressures before, and find out how they navigated them. This is a core element of what The Business Porter offers - experience, informed advice and practical guidance
3. Learn and apply - The old adage is true - we DO learn from our mistakes! Even in the most challenging of circumstances, make sure to take note of things that are going on around you. Work out why these occurred in the first place, and put steps in place to ensure they don't happen again.
Any honest business owner will readily tell you that choosing this path in life is to live daily with stress and pressures and varying degrees. The good news, it doesn't have to be for nought, and it's not a journey that has to be walked alone.
