Managing your stress when running a small business.
It’s hard to stay motivated while you get your food business established and work a full time job.
One of the main reasons business owners struggle with motivation, is they have so many different thoughts running around like rats in their head.
So make sure you don’t keep your business planning in your head or on random notes scattered across your work desk. Write them down: in an ideas book; use a To Do list; email yourself leads to follow up in a planned timeslot; or use the reminder option of your smartphone.
At The Business of Food we use Asana, HubSpot, Outlook, Google docs…..you get the picture, different platforms to suit the individuals and the different work tasks, However the whole team can see the essential items so everyone knows what the shared tasks and project deliverables are.
It doesn’t matter what way you keep your notes, so long as they are out of your head and you can review them, talk about them, get more information as need be and then make an informed decision - rather than a rushed one.
Beyond this, your also need a clear business plan, then stay focussed on your goals and pace yourself yourself to achieve them within a realistic timeframe that doesn’t stress you out. It is your business and while that means making lots of decisions, ultimately you are in control of what happens next.
The Business of Food (originally, My Other Kitchen) has been operating since 2008. This means our business plan has been reviewed and refreshed annually as we’ve adapted to our customers needs.
As well as these work-focused, practical tools, consider motivational podcasts or mindfulness apps. A podcast we like for some inspiration is by Dr Will, the co-founder of a business and surgeon! Yes that rights, well worth a listen.
