How to De-Stress the Areas that Cause Business Owners Stress

As business owners, we work hard to ensure the success of our businesses. I’ve often said that an entrepreneur is the only job where someone will work 80 hours so that they don’t have to work 40 hours for someone else. It really is a labor of love. So, why are business owners so stressed out all the time? In today’s post, I want to look at some of the things that cause business owners to stress and how we can stop stressing.

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TIME INDEX:

• 00:46 – How to Stop Stress as a Business Owner
• 01:08 – Why are We Stressed Out
• 01:56 – Cashflow Concerns
• 04:18 – Tax Regulations
• 06:29 – Time Management
• 11:49 – Wrap Up

What Causes Business Owners Stress?

While researching today’s topic, I happened upon a recent survey conducted by SurePayroll. It found that, behind the economy, cash flow and tax regulations were at the top of the list of things causing small business owners stress. Similarly, a study cited by the NY Post found that small business owners often worried about time management.

Folks, there is very little (realistically, nothing) that we, as business owners, can do to control the economy. However, we can address the other key stressors that business owners face. So, let’s really dig into cash flow, tax regulations, and time management to uncover why they make us stress out and how you can minimize their impact.

Cash Flow Concerns

Cash flow is a genuine concern for small business owners. In fact, 82% of failed small businesses blame poor cash flow or cash flow mismanagement as the primary cause of their failure. Without proper cash flow, it becomes challenging to carry on the daily operation of your business. When your cash flow becomes limited due to a slow business cycle or poor management, it tends to compound your everyday stresses.

So, how do you avoid some of the cash flow problems that cause so many business owners stress? You might find it helpful to know and understand the mistakes that others have made before you. In my experience, the most common cash flow problems that afflict small businesses are as follows…

• Expecting Profitability too Soon. This could be with a specific project, the calendar year, or even your business’s life cycle. Only around 84% of small business owners reach profitability within the first four years of their business. Just 68% reached profitability within the first year. Being unprepared for this, that can create cash flow issues early on in your business.
• Overlooking High Overhead Costs. If costs are too high, your business is going to experience cash flow problems. Expenses like rental costs, vehicle leases, and travel can quickly eat into your profits.
• Slow Receivables. Collecting receivables too slowly can inhibit growth and prevent you from having the revenue you need to continue to move your business forward. Cash flow problems from slow collections can make it difficult to pay your bills on time.

These are common problems with easy solutions. By tempering your expectations, you can plan for a slow path to profitability. If you become profitable sooner than expected, fantastic! But if you don’t, you’ll have a plan in place to carry you until you do. Likewise, being reasonable with your overhead costs can remove some of the stress you’re carrying around and help you become profitable sooner. Finally, making sure that you’re just as efficient with your receivables as you are at filling orders can create a more regular stream of income. Thus, you’re less likely to stress over your cash flow situation.

Tax Regulations

In my experience, some of the most stressful things that business owners encounter are the ones that we have no control over. Taxes is one of the areas that many business owners stress over, and it’s because they feel that they have no control over the issue. Unless we want to go to jail, we all must pay our taxes. Now, I have yet to meet a business owner that didn’t want to pay their taxes, but no one has wanted to pay more than they absolutely had to.

RELATED READING: Building Your Support Team: The Starting Lineup

This is where a great CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and a forward-thinking CPA come into play. You’ll need to be fastidious in your record-keeping, but have your CPA provide you with a monthly auditive financial statement. This way, you’ll know exactly where you stand from a tax perspective. This will also enable your CFP^® and your CPA to create tax plans and strategies to ensure that you only pay what you absolutely have to.

Additionally, you’ll want to meet with your tax planners in November and December to begin working on your taxes. Please don’t wait until March or April because it will be too late for the tax planning to work by then. So, as you can see, you have a lot more control over tax regulations than you may have thought.

Time Management

With all that business owners are responsible for, we work extremely long hours. Most of us are never truly “off of work.” You’re always thinking of meetings, projects, plans, employees, and any number of other work-related issues that you need to take care of or keep up with. As a result, you often have to go away to getaway. For me, this means I spend a lot of time in the woods, where my cell phone doesn’t work. If I don’t do that, inevitably, I feel that I should be working.

All of this can leave you feeling overwhelmed. With so many things that “must” be done, it feels like there isn’t enough time in the day. These time pressures lead to stress and can be damaging to your overall sense of well-being. So, how do you deal with the things that cause you so much stress? What steps can you take in your business to ensure that you continue to love what you do and that your dream of being a business owner doesn’t become a nightmare?

5 Time Management Techniques

To avoid the damaging effects of time pressures and the various ways they cause business owners stress, you need to remember 5 key techniques. These techniques can help slow things down and put them into perspective, allowing you to become more efficient.

1. Remember the Victories. I know. Right now, you’re probably thinking, “Justin, that’s not going to help with time management.” Actually, it does. If you struggle with your “inability” to manage your schedule as effectively as you want to, like I am, you can become short-sighted. However, by taking a moment to reflect, you can see the multiplicative nature of what you’re business is accomplishing. Chances are, you will see that you’re far beyond where you were in the past.
2. Rank Your Tasks. Many studies have been done on this idea, and they’ve found that by placing your most profitable items in the morning, you will be successful that day. Whatever you have to accomplish on any given day, write it down and rank it according to importance, profitability, difficulty, or whatever ranking system you choose. The important thing is that you plan the order that you will approach them and don’t allow the day to control you.
3. Take Care of Yourself. If you’re staying up late, drinking beer, and eating Cheetos, you’re going to become lethargic. You won’t be able to keep up the pace required to accomplish everything you must do. Make sure that you’re eating right, staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, and exercising. Each of these goes a long way in combating stress and helping you be at peak performance.
4. Seek Help. A few of the items that cause us the most stress can be delegated to a team member. Handing responsibilities off to someone else not only unburdens you, but it could be the right business decision. Not long ago, I was speaking with a colleague about calendar programs. His industry uses a specific type of calendar and, as he was showing it to me, I suggested that he had the calendar set up. His eyes lit up, and he was shocked that he had not thought of it already. You see, when you’re working with professionals that can help you with time management, stress is reduced.
5. Have Fun! We work hard. Therefore, we should play hard, too. Take a vacation, plan a quiet weekend getaway with your significant other, or coordinate a team event for your staff. Whatever it may be, it’s important to break up the day-to-day routine from time-to-time. It’s your business, so enjoy it!

Wrapping Up…

I know it’s a bit cliché to say this, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Likewise, your business won’t be built in a day. It’s a battle. You have to go to work if you want to succeed, and you have to grind. I was recently speaking to a very seasoned (20+ years) business owner. He had been through many difficult times, legal battles, tax audits, economic downturns, etc. Even after enduring all of these trials, he looked at me and said, “I am blessed.”

He said this because he had the opportunity to get up that morning and run his business. You see, he understands that Rome wasn’t built in a day. He knows that there will be good days and bad ones, but his business is a journey that is meant to be enjoyed. So, my friends, remember, a seasoned sailor is never crafted in calm seas.

Look, life is hard. I get it. But life is good. Dealing with things like cash flow, tax regulations, and time management can be frustrating. But they don’t have to be. By taking a pause and following the tips I outlined above, we can reduce business ownership stress, at least financially simple!

Have the everyday stresses of life as a business owner caught up to you? Do you need help with tax planning or cash flow management? Schedule a meeting with us. The Financially Simple team is always available to take some of the burdens off of your shoulders!