How to Find Balance as a Small Business Owner
In about a week my business will be celebrating its sixth year in existence! First of all, I would just like to say how proud I am that it surpassed the dreaded five year mark of failure, wherein a vast majority of businesses close up shop within the first five years. So, I guess we could say I have a good grip on what it takes to run a business online, successfully. Has the road been perfect? Certainly not. I know I have made mistakes along the way and although I don’t like to have regrets, I certainly am aware of business decisions I made that didn’t turn out the way I wanted. All of this experience over the past six years has made me stronger though. From trial and error I know more of what I want from my business and what I am trying to create with it. I’ve also learned a lot about what it takes on a personal and energetic level to establish and remain balanced as a business owner. Managing my time, energy and expectations so that I can achieve my business goals right alongside my personal life goals, and still be moving my life forward in all the areas that matter to me. So, if you would like to know more about some of the insights I’ve gleaned on this topic, this is what I would like to share with you today.
If you are trying to find balance as a small business owner, there are three main objectives you have to learn and make routine priorities in your life:
✔︎ You have to learn to Manage Your Time
✔︎ You have to learn to Focus Your Energy
✔︎ And you have to learn to Balance Your Expectations
Manage Your Time
The first aspect you must learn into order to find balance as a small business owner is to manage your time. This is one of the most practical lessons you must learn because running a business is a different kind of demanding job than other careers. Yes, time management is key for everyone to learn, but when you are running a business and you are both the boss and the employee, the visionary leader and the practical worker, priorities are everywhere and their is always more work to do then you can actually get done.
In order to get really good at time management, I think the best place to start is by getting crystal clear on your priorities and create a system for prioritizing tasks. As you will be doing the difficult task of defining the direction for your business, breaking it down into objectives and project plans, and then executing on the work, knowing what work is the priority is always important.
As a solo business owner, I wear a heck of a lot of hats and I move between a lot of different types of work. So to keep this organized, I like to manage my work time on a themed workday schedule. Every day of the week is earmarked for different types of work so that I can be as efficient as possible when switching between different types of tasks.
I also tend to operate my personal daily schedule based on the concept of the top three list. Meaning, everyday I define my work, but I create priorities from my to do list by highlighting three tasks that are the most important to achieve that day. The prioritization aspect of how I choose my top three is defined based on my personal system of prioritization, but generally speaking, I have predefined what my creative output will be for a week and those items become the most important work to finish, followed by scheduled projects and then general business housekeeping tasks.
Now, to ensure that I establish balance with my time each day, I do also stick to a daily schedule that makes time for me to complete my personal routines and tasks throughout the day along side my work tasks. I like having a defined daily routine for my workday because seeing my tasks laid out on an hourly schedule keeps me motivated to stick to it, as I can clearly see that following such a schedule gives me ample time to achieve my personal and business objectives for a single day.
Focus Your Energy
There is a quote I love that states “where attention goes, energy flows” and that has come to be something of a motto that I live by. For me, I have seen how that statement is completely accurate. When I give my time and attention to to topic, I am sending my energy to it, whether I intend to or not, which is why I find it very important that I use my morning routine to set my mind and focus for the day so that I minimize mental distractions.
I achieve this with my morning meditation and journaling practice. After I awaken in the morning, I am in the habit of turning on a meditation and laying in bed, clearing my mind and elevating my personal energy to a state of relaxed bliss. Once I get up out of my meditation and deal with my personal hygiene tasks, I then head to my office where I spend no more than 10 minutes journaling in my High Vibe Bible inserts. On these inserts I have a place to list out my daily gratitude, which again adds to that blissful emotional state. Then, I also have a space to journal my thoughts and plans for the day. Once I am in a positive headspace I find that its much easier for me to create my daily to do list and get excited about the tasks I have to accomplish that day. Going through this daily energetic process even makes me more motivated to undertake tasks that I might normally want to avoid, because instead of approaching them from a place of anxiety or worry, I am approaching them with a mindset of possibility and determination. When I start my day like this, happy and content, I am infinitely more productive, and distractions have a harder time breaking through the energetic boundary I have set for myself.
But, of course, a happy disposition alone isn’t always enough to keep distractions at bay. This is why I do my best to set my work area up to minimize distractions. I am very lucky that right now I don’t have many distractions at home, but I do take steps to ensure I remain focused with my work. I don’t watch tv during the day, I keep my phone on silent and I usually even mute my computer sounds so that email notifications don’t disturb my work. I don’t like to read the news while I’m working because that can often shift my emotional and mental state in a direction I don’t want it to go. But, I do sometimes enjoy listening to music, specifically classical music that keeps me uplifted and productive while I perform certain tasks. Sometimes, depending on the work I am doing, I will even listen to a book on tape. All these actions help me to minimize distractions that might leech my attention and energy away from my work.
Balance Your Expectations
The third and final element of finding balance as a creative business owner is balancing your expectations. On one hand this concept compliments the idea of priorities discussed under managing your time, but it really goes beyond that. Balancing your expectations is more about understanding your limitations and knowing how much you can accomplish realistically. I think a lot of times creative entrepreneurs have such big visions that they try to do too much too soon. They take on a lot of work and then work becomes their entire life, or work drains them to the point of failure and burnout. I know it is a challenge living in the digital age and seeing all the possibilities of how you can build a business and market online, but you need to draw the line at what works for you and what is realistic for you to achieve.
Taking myself for instance. I know that something that works for me is writing, so I write three blog posts a week. I don’t think I could do more than three outside of an occasional extra update and remain as productive as I am, however. Same thing goes with my video creation. I used to make two videos a week, but I burned out of enthusiasm for that after a few years, so now I stick to one. I might see other businesses posting more, or in different ways. I am often asked to start a podcast, but with what time and energy because I am booked up at the moment.
You need to get clear with yourself on the expectations you are setting for yourself and your business to manage your workload on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, as well as to understand the signs of when you need to refill your energy and in what ways to do that. I do a lot of self-care on a daily basis. I have self-care routines starting from the moment I wake up and start meditating, to weekly meal preparations, and even regular quiet time alone. I know the amount of self-care I need to take on in order to properly fill my cup so that each day and week I have the energy to take on my realistic workload. It’s a balance, energy in and energy out. Burnout comes from too much energy out and not enough energy back in.
Well, that is how I balance my energy as a creative business person, focusing on how I manage my time, focus my energy and balance my expectations. This productivity triangle of sorts is the key to how I manage to get so much done, even as a solopreneur. Now, if you would like some additional help on this topic of finding balance as a business owner or entrepreneur, I would also recommend that you check out my CEO Strategy Day Concept and FREE Template. You can read all about it here, but briefly, my CEO Strategy Day Concept is a routine I use to keep myself operating efficiently and ensure my life is balanced without any important items slipping through the cracks. I hope the CEO Strategy Day Template helps you to plan and execute a day for you to get into alignment with your highest self and goals for your best life!
I’d love to hear what you thought of this information, so please do share your feedback and opinions in the comments. I’d also love for you to share any additional tips you use to keep yourself balanced as a creative entrepreneur or business person!
xoxo,