News Flash: You can’t Do it All! Or, at least, not all alone. To succeed on your own terms requires consciously building a support system around you. It really does take a village to build a business. At least if you’re going to do it AND still have a life AND avoid burnout.
My coaching colleague Barb Elgin talks about this in her recent blog post “Delegating has helped my business grow”. She starts off by talking about the benefits to be realized by hiring independent contractors (IC’s).
“Inviting IC’s to work with me is definitely ‘burnout prevention’ or deposits into my life’s ‘bank account’! IC’s are freeing me to focus on critcal parts of my business; areas I’m not only truly excited about and interested in tackling (strategic planning, coaching, speaking, writing, building important business collaborations and networks, etc. etc.), but also areas that must be ‘tended’ to, if my business is to survive and grow. “
Anyone who can do simple math can realize that it makes more sense to hire someone at a fraction of your billable rate to do administrative tasks while you market your business to obtain new clients or serve the clients you have. And, it doesn’t have to be wildly expensive either as many virtual assistants will work with you to provide you just the right amount of service you need even if it is not a huge amount of hours.
Barb goes on to touch on another subject very near and dear to my heart — maximizing your health and energy.
“Balancing sitting in this chair all day and talking on the phone with enough physical movement to ward off increasing poundage when you so love what you do and there is SO much to do – is a challenge. Eating foods that are nutrient rich can be done on a busy schedule, if we know how. All of us need a system for health enhancement that works with our busy lives, so that we can enjoy high quality living along with running our amazing businesses!”
Bottom line is that YOU are critical to your business and your life. If you don’t have your health or the energy to both tackle business tasks AND enjoy your passions and relationships, you aren’t successful regardless of how large your bottom line is. In all my years of reading and working with people I have never met a soul who would trade their health for money. Yet, in many ways by the virtue of our daily choices (which build into weekly, monthly, yearly choices) that is exactly what we are doing.
first off, p, how was the panel???? did you have fun?
thank you for responding to to my 'delegation' post. the scarcity trap is very seductive when u r a small biz person. it has caught many a biz owner and killed their dream. to be a successful biz person in today's world, you must believe and ACT like you trust in what you (and your associates) are doing, until you have evidence to the contrary!
Also – there are plenty who say and believe they wouldn't trade their health for fame or fortune, but then behave opposite to what they say or believe. Now, there may be some years in building one's biz that you sometimes do create some 'wear and tear' on your body. But we all know that can't go on forever. Let's build the integrity to do what we say we are going to do and act in ways that are in unison with what we think and say.
if people are interested, i'd be willing to do a teleconference or webchat with paula and readers who want to get a handle on these issues!
barb