Spend this time developing yourself, not your marketing
I was wrong. Not totally wrong, but I jumped in too soon to help with what I thought was well-timed information to help you get some revenue in the door. I should have advised you to work on developing yourself and your business during this economic downturn.
Here is what I mean: my jam, my specialty is helping small business owners with their burnout. Either while they are going through it or helping to prevent it. You are about to have A LOT of time on your hands as your business idles waiting for the economy to light up again. I am encouraging you to use this time wisely on activities that will benefit your mental and physical health, as well as, the health of your business.
Often from the panic of lost revenue and income, a lot of bad habits and thoughts are created that can only drive your burnout and anxiety to deeper levels that will make your business recovery even more grueling.
Do I still think you should be doing marketing right now? Absolutely. But you should be prioritizing your own self care, sanity, and business development over chasing weak revenue streams that are just not there or won’t be enough to pay an employee or a bill.
Why do I feel I was wrong to go deep on marketing so quick?
For a couple of reasons:
- Ain’t nobody buyin’ anything but groceries and gas right now. (Oh, and booze.)
- Focusing on marketing efforts when no one is buying service, non-essential product, or traveling, is only
going to drive you nuts.
What wasn’t I wrong about?
- You should ALWAYS be marketing your business. Always. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
- This is a time to pull back a little on marketing and focus on what you can control – developing your
business and learning how to manage your effort when the economy opens back up. And, it will open back up.
What I need to do is stay in my zone for YOU at this time. I do know my stuff when it comes to marketing. (That truly was my business specialty.) I still want and can help you there, but it may not be the best use of my talents given our economic climate.
Where I can be of more use is addressing the burnout and compassion fatigue running rampant through the pet care and veterinary industries with my peers, and helping you find solutions that work for you and/or avoiding it all together. (Side note: burnout isn’t special to pet care/veterinary work. It punishes all industries.)
Here is my concern: I have seen many, many posts with folks talking about how tired and burned out they are – most prior to the Coronavirus outbreak. The chaos, the fear, the worry, the lack of revenue… is only compounding issues that were already there for many of us.
What do I suggest you do instead?
Focus your time on self care and business/personal development. You have a UNIQUE opportunity to take a step back and refocus your time and effort in a more productive and healthy manner.
You aren’t too busy to stop and look at how you run your business and how you might be wearing yourself down and out. Consider bad habits and misconceptions you have formed in your whirlwind attempt to build a successful and profitable business. Did you always take the time to implement a thoughtful, well-built process?
As busy as we get when business is booming, we tend to allow ourselves to form thoughts and habits that hurt us in the long run.
How many of these can you relate with?
- “If I don’t do it, no one will do it or do it right.”
- “I have to say “yes” to every client that comes my way. Money is money.”
- “I can sleep when I’m dead.”
- “If I don’t allow this customer to do XYZ, they will hate me. And doing XYZ is not something my business is set up to do/something I don’t charge enough for/something I don’t enjoy doing/something I don’t agree with, but I need the money.”
- “I know this customer treats me terribly, but they spend a lot of money in my business.”
- “If I say “no” to an employee, they will hold it against me.”
- “I know I shouldn’t but I… (fill in the blank.)”
- “What operating hours? I should always be available.”
If you believe any or all of the statements above, I wouldn’t be surprised if you are burned out. If you aren’t… you will be. These are all soul-sucking statements that make you compromise your time, your health, and your beliefs.
Fine, Jennifer. I’m burned out. What should I do about it?
- Follow my page Facebook page, The Witty Entrepreneur, and this blog.
- Get some sleep. Seriously. This one is a game-changer.
- Make a list of all the things you wish were different about your business.
- Now rip that list up because it’s YOU and your perspective that need to change first. Then, we can work on
your business.
- Take a CliftonStrengths assessment. Why? You need to know who you are and what you do best so you can ACCURATELY pinpoint the direction of your time and effort.
Why do I recommend taking a CliftonStrengths assessment?
- It helps you pinpoint what is burning you out.
- It helps you see why and how focusing on your strengths will change your life, while focusing on and attempting to improve your weaknesses is a waste of time.
- It helps you find a path to a happier, more fulfilling business ownership.
As the next few weeks go by, I am going to talk more about the above and how CliftonStrengths helped me recover from burnout and compassion fatigue. I was burned out for years before I found CliftonStrengths and wished someone would have pointed me to this assessment sooner. The results showed me what was keeping me burned out, what button I continued to press that was hurting me.
I want my pet care and veterinary colleagues – ANY of my business owning colleagues – to be around for many years to come. So, I am approaching the topic(s) that are taking so many of us out of the game for good: burnout and compassion fatigue.
This is the time to work on business and personal development. This is, perhaps, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redirect yourself and your business while the entire market is down and quarantined. Why not take advantage?
Join me, Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at 3p.m. (Central Standard Time) on Facebook for a live discussion on burnout and compassion fatigue and the small business owner. Link: https://www.facebook.com/thewittyentrepreneur/
