Are you heading towards burnout? Here are 5 tips to avoid it

Are you heading towards burnout? Here are 5 tips to avoid it

by | Jun 16, 2023 | Business Chaos, Business coaching for women, Busy Trap, Juggle Street, Peak Performance, Smart Growth, Time Freedom

The hustle and grind of running a business can be tough at the best of times. 

Let’s be real, especially when it’s your own business, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you need to be working all the time to keep things running smoothly. 

But the truth is, working too much can lead to fatigue, resentment, and ultimately burnout.

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. 

The US Chamber of Commerce found in a 2023 survey that 48% of small business owners have experienced burnout in the past year.

The common causes of entrepreneur burnout include: 

  • long working hours, 
  • high levels of stress and pressure, 
  • insufficient work-life balance, 
  • lack of support, 
  • unrealistic expectations, and 
  • the constant need to adapt and evolve in their business environment

In 2019, the World Health Organization defined burnout as: a syndrome… resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. 

And it can show up through symptoms such as:

  • insomnia, 
  • irritability, 
  • fatigue, 
  • high blood pressure, 
  • emotionally drained
  • physically exhaustion
  • excessive stress, and 
  • sadness. 

So how do you avoid burnout? 

Here are five tips to help you avoid the debilitating effects of burnout.

1. Set boundaries

Set specific times when you will and will not be working. It’s also important to schedule time for yourself outside of work, whether it’s going for a walk, reading a book, or just relaxing. By setting boundaries, you’ll be able to disconnect from work and recharge, which will ultimately help you avoid burnout. 

To find out how to set boundaries, read this.

2. Focus on self-care

Self-care is about taking care of your physical, emotional and mental health. It can include exercise, eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, and taking time to relax and unwind. When you take care of yourself, you’ll be better equipped to handle the stress of running a business.

For inspiration on practising the art of doing nothing, listen to our podcast here.

3. Delegate responsibilities

It’s important to remember that you don’t have to do everything yourself. In fact, when you try to take this role on, you become the bottleneck in the business. By delegating tasks to others, you’ll be able to focus on the most important things and will also be able to give your team the chance to grow and develop.

Find out how to fix the problem of being the bottleneck in your business here.

4. Follow a system for planning

People who are burnt out spend a lot of time worrying about not having enough time to do something or forgetting something important. It’s crazy to expect that you can park everything in your brain to remember (because that’s a sure-fire way to wake up at 2am realising you left something off your mental list!). Instead, find a structure that’s simple and works for you to map our what matters the most. Then stick to it like glue!

Need help to set up a system for planning? Check out our resource on how to create your 6 month business plan in just 60 minutes here.

5. Seek support

Finally, it’s important to have a support system in place. Running a business can feel lonely, but it doesn’t have to be. By surrounding yourself with a supportive community of friends, family, and colleagues, you’ll be able to share your experiences, get advice, and find support when you need it.

If you find it hard to ask for help, then reading this might be helpful.

Remember while burnout is rife, it is also preventable. 

Implement these tips today, and if you want more hands-on support DM me and let’s start a conversation.

With an instinctive curiosity for human behaviour, over 20 years of experience in sales and leadership, Nicky and Ness are obsessed with helping women in business break the cycles that hold them back from creating profitable businesses they love, without sacrificing time or life. 

Each having run their own successful coaching businesses for 7 years, they came together to start Business Together working with female led, service-based businesses with teams.

Their clients have often experienced rapid growth not being able to keep up with the systems, structures, and team growth. As a result the business owner gets stuck in the busy trap, they’re juggling all the balls in business and find themselves in a place of business chaos. 

If this sounds like you, book a complimentary chat with Nicky and Ness to see if they can help you find time freedom again, get peak performance within the team and have a focus on smart growth in the business.

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The key to being productive when you’re super busy is not to do more

The key to being productive when you’re super busy is not to do more

by | Jun 1, 2023 | Business Chaos, Business coaching for women, Busy Trap, Peak Performance, Profitability and business growth

I know the feeling of being caught up in the chaos, where your to-do list seems never-ending and your business feels like a whirlwind of activity. 

It’s easy to get overwhelmed and lose sight of what truly matters. 

But here’s a secret: the key to being productive when you’re super busy is not to do more.

In fact, doing more will only leave you feeling even more chaotic. 

Instead, it’s time to shift your focus to who you’re ‘being.’ 

Who you’re being refers to the qualities, mindset, and energy that you embody in your actions and interactions. 

It encompasses your attitude, beliefs, values, and how you show up in the world. 

It’s about the essence of your being and the way you carry yourself in your personal and professional life. 

By focusing on who you’re being, you can align your actions with your goals, cultivate a positive mindset, and bring your authentic self to every situation.

 

The Perfect Mix of Doing and Being:

Let’s see where you sit on the scheme of things. 

Which of these four areas do you relate to the most?

  1. Stuck: You feel paralysed and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things to do. You’re unsure of where to start, and the busyness around you is suffocating.
  2. Ineffective: You’re applying various strategies like focusing on work-life balance, mindfulness, and setting boundaries, but you still find yourself not being effective in the business. Your to-do list keeps piling up, and you struggle to take action.
  3. Whirlwind: You’re constantly in motion, taking massive action, but you can’t shake off the feeling that you’re not making any progress. Your days are filled with rush and hustle, leaving no room for downtime or quiet reflection.
  4. Momentum: You have found your flow, striking a balance between action and being. You have downtime, you handle challenges with ease, and your daily tasks are purposeful, bringing you closer to your goals.

 

Unveiling the Clues to Unlocking Peak Performance: 

To transition from being stuck, ineffective, or trapped in a whirlwind to achieving momentum, you need to examine three critical areas:

  • Energy:

Taking care of yourself is essential. Are you getting enough sleep? Hydrating properly? Moving your body regularly? Prioritising active recovery? Remember, to be at your best, you need to nurture your physical well-being.

  • Emotions and Mindset:

Your emotions and mindset play a crucial role in your productivity. Injecting joy and fun into your work mix can enhance your performance and that of your team. Identify the patterns and beliefs that might be holding you back, and turn them around to propel you forward.

  • Prioritisation and Outcomes:

Tools like having a 90-day business strategy and weekly five-to-thrive can help you prioritise effectively. By focusing on meaningful outcomes and taking action with purpose, you can stay on course toward your goals.

 

Harnessing the Power of Being and Doing: 

When you bring together the elements of who you’re being and what you’re doing, magic happens. 

You unlock the potential for peak performance and empower your team to excel. 

Being mindful of who you are being and combining it with purposeful action creates a harmonious environment where success thrives.

Nicky is a Sales and Business Leadership Coach with over 2 decades experience in sales and leadership. She’s been running successful coaching businesses since 2015 and is obsessed with helping business owners and teams thrive. She helps her clients install smart business growth strategies and leverage leadership for peak performance.
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No shared vision? Then who’s dictating your culture?

No shared vision? Then who’s dictating your culture?

by | Mar 23, 2023 | Business coaching for women, Busy Trap, Juggle Street, Peak Performance, Time Freedom

As a business owner with a team, you’re likely juggling lots of balls in the air and your limited time is taken up with reacting to others’ demands.

Getting drawn into the day-to-day whirlpool can feel never-ending. 

And hard to break the cycle to work on the business – you know, the thing that niggles at you that you never get around to.

The problem is, if you ignore the important pieces – like setting and sharing the business vision and intentionally creating the culture of the business, you’re in for a bumpy ride.

Without a clear vision, your culture will be weak, and your business will suffer

Because if you don’t set the direction, you’ll end up with a culture of individuals (where the loudest leads the way) and lots of different people making decisions independently, not necessarily aligned with the direction you want to take.

As Lewis Carroll once said, “Any road will get you there if you don’t know where you’re going.”

When you have a clear purpose and the team knows it, then it impacts every decision made in the business.

If your vision determines the destination, then culture is what gets you there. 

According to the PWC 2021 Culture Survey, a global survey of 3,200 workers found that a strong culture drives better business outcomes. 

In fact, 68% of Australian senior leaders credit much of their success during the pandemic to culture. 

The bottom line? A strong culture is not just a nice-to-have, but a must-have for your business.

But how do you create a shared vision that everyone can get behind? 

Start by asking yourself and your team some fundamental questions: 

  • What do we stand for? 
  • What’s our purpose? 
  • What problem are we solving for our clients? 

Once you have a clear vision, make sure to communicate it clearly and regularly.

It’s also important to align your values with your vision. 

When your team members share the same values and beliefs, they are more likely to work towards a common goal, and this will help create a strong and positive culture.

Remember, culture is not just about having a ping pong table in the office or hosting team-building activities. 

It’s about creating a shared purpose and vision that everyone can get behind. 

When you have a strong culture, your team is more likely to be engaged, motivated, and aligned with your business’s goals, which will ultimately lead to better outcomes for you and your business.

Right now is a great time for you to reconnect with your vision and reflect on the culture of your business.

If you need help with this, reach out and let’s start a conversation.

Meet Nicky & Ness

Double your chance of success with two experienced Business and Leadership Mentors.

Nicky and Ness are obsessed with helping install smart business growth strategies - without the hard -core hustle and leveraging people leadership for peak performance. 

They are two savvy business women who have come together with a shared vision, bucket loads of passion and a burning desire to change hustle culture.

Underpinning everything they do is making sure you’re thriving now and able to thrive into the future as the world continues to change around you.

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We know stress can be healthy, here’s why it’s important in business.

We know stress can be healthy, here’s why it’s important in business.

by | Feb 2, 2023 | Business Chaos, Business coaching for women, Busy Trap, Juggle Street, Peak Performance, Smart Growth, Time Freedom, Womens Business Mastermind

Stress is often seen as the enemy of success, but the truth is that a certain level of stress is essential to reach your full potential. 

Just like fire, stress can either be a destructive force or a powerful tool to help you achieve your goals. 

The key is to find the right balance between healthy and unhealthy stress.

Unhealthy stress can lead to a host of physical and mental health issues, including high blood pressure, anxiety, depression and burnout.

On the other hand, healthy stress can help you stay focused, motivated, and energised, allowing you to push yourself to new levels of achievement… without the burnout!

The problem is we’ve become so focused on the negative effects of stress that we’ve forgotten how to use it in a positive way. 

We’re taught to avoid stress at all costs, instead of learning how to manage it in a healthy way. 

But without stress, we would do nothing. It’s the driving force behind our ambitions and the fire that fuels our passions.

What’s the difference between healthy and unhealthy stress? 

Healthy stress is short-term, manageable, and tied to a specific goal. 

It’s the type of stress that motivates us to deliver above and beyond for a client, invest the time in your team development or finish a project on time. 

On the other hand, unhealthy stress is long-term, overwhelming, and not tied to a specific goal. 

This type of stress can quickly spiral out of control, leading to physical and mental exhaustion.

In order to break the hustle culture and do business (and life) in a different way, it’s important to embrace the power of stress, while also taking steps to manage it in a healthy way. 

This can include setting achievable goals, taking breaks when needed, and practicing stress-management techniques like meditation or exercise. 

By doing so, you can harness the power of stress to help you reach your full potential, rather than letting it hold you back.

One thing you can do straight away to make sure you err on the healthy side of stress is to get outside more.

Journalist Florence Williams shares in her book The Nature Fix (a great read btw!) that North Americans spend over 93% of their waking hours indoors or in cars and the other 7% is spent walking between buildings and cars.

Now if that stat doesn’t shock, and perhaps scare you a little, I don’t know what will. 

How much time do you spend outside and connecting to nature? 

One of my fave go-to’s is ‘earthing’. 

Earthing as a modern-day concept has been around since the 1980s and has become somewhat more mainstream in recent years. It’s all about connecting to nature by walking barefoot. 

Author Lyanda Lynn Haupt say’s that ‘shoes put little blind folds on our soles’. 

Research suggests that earthing balances our bodies’ positive ionic charge, helping to prevent inflammation, reduces pain, calms anxiety and promotes better sleep*… uuuuumm this sounds to me like a great way of reducing unhealthy stress! 

So whether you decide to put your bare feet on the grass, do a mindful walk with no AirPods or partake in some deep breathing exercises, what I really want you to remember is that stress can be a powerful tool, or a destructive force, depending on how you use it.

As you continue to break the hustle culture and strive for a different way of doing business, embrace the power of stress and manage it in a healthy way.

This is how you can unleash your full potential and achieve your goals, while truly living life to your fullest. 

*Source: Rooted (Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature and Spirit) by Lyanda Lynn Haupt (referencing Earthing – The Most Important Health Discovery Ever!)

Nicky is a Sales and Business Leadership Coach with over 2 decades experience in sales and leadership. She’s been running successful coaching businesses since 2015 and is obsessed with helping business owners and teams thrive. She helps her clients install smart business growth strategies and leverage leadership for peak performance.
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Chances are you’re the bottleneck in your business

Chances are you’re the bottleneck in your business

by | Jan 26, 2023 | Business coaching for women, Juggle Street, Peak Performance

You might have noticed that when you dig a bit deeper to find the bottleneck in your business, it’s actually you. 

Why is that? 

  1. A big part of it is because as the business owner, you make all the final decisions. 

This can lead to delays in getting things done and a lack of delegation to your team.

And let’s be real, no one wants to work for a boss who micromanages every little thing!

It’s no surprise then that according to the 2019 Gallup State of Global Workplace report, it was reported that within Australia and New Zealand, only 14% of employees were truly engaged in their jobs. 

When you’re the bottleneck, it means you’re not giving your team the chance to step up and make decisions that could benefit the business.

  1. Another reason you may be the bottleneck is that you just want to do everything yourself. 

You may be afraid to let go of control or trust your team to handle certain tasks. 

But this leads to an overload of work and not enough time to focus on the important stuff. 

And trust me, that’s just going to take you down the path towards burnout.

So, how do you fix this bottleneck problem? 

Well, it starts with you learning to trust your team members and giving them more autonomy in their roles. 

This can be done by setting clear goals and expectations, providing training and resources, and giving regular feedback. 

By doing this, you can create a culture of engagement and collaboration, leading to a more productive and efficient business.

Another tip is to create a clear structure of communication and delegation of responsibilities. 

This will help you identify which tasks you can delegate to your team, allowing you to focus on the most important tasks and lead the company more effectively.

And let’s not forget, involving your team in the decision-making process and valuing their opinions can lead to higher levels of engagement.

When people feel like they’re being heard and that their input is valued, they are more likely to be invested in the success of the business.

Don’t be afraid to step back and let your team shine.

Because when they’re working at their best, your business can only benefit.

Meet Nicky & Ness

Double your chance of success with two experienced Business and Leadership Mentors.

Nicky and Ness are obsessed with helping install smart business growth strategies - without the hard -core hustle and leveraging people leadership for peak performance. 

They are two savvy business women who have come together with a shared vision, bucket loads of passion and a burning desire to change hustle culture.

Underpinning everything they do is making sure you’re thriving now and able to thrive into the future as the world continues to change around you.

GET IN TOUCH

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THESE 3 THINGS COULD BE KILLING YOUR TEAM CULTURE

THESE 3 THINGS COULD BE KILLING YOUR TEAM CULTURE

by | Dec 15, 2022 | Business coaching for women, Juggle Street, Peak Performance, Womens Business Mastermind

Time is limited.

You’re overworked and tired. 

You have compassion fatigue. 

And now, you’re starting to second-guess yourself and your decisions.  

It’s no wonder you’re left with a constant feeling of letting people down… whether it’s your team, your family or yourself.

Not to put more pressure on you but if you’re feeling like this, how is your team doing? 

And what’s the impact on your culture?

Chances are, you’re not as good at hiding how you’re feeling as you think you are. 

Especially if you’ve been feeling this way for a while. 

Culture changes as people change. 

This continual change means culture is not set and forget.

But it also doesn’t have to be solely reliant on you to create a culture that your team will thrive in. 

For a start, understand that there are ‘motivators’ and ‘blockers’ that can help or hinder the culture in your business.  

According to mccrindle’s shaping thriving culture research, the biggest blockers stopping team members from thriving are:

  • Being overworked
  • Toxic co-workers
  • Lack of resources
  • Unrealistic expectations
  • Poor leadership decisions 

And the key motivators that allow team members to thrive are:

  • Seeing the positive impact of their work
  • Relationships at work
  • Having responsibility
  • Financial compensation
  • Their performance within the business

Building on mccrindle’s research, the 3 things that will kill your culture are as follows…

  1. Lack of trust between the leader/s and team.

I’ve seen this first-hand in business and once that trust is broken, it’s terribly hard to get it back. 

As a leader, it’s critical to focus on building trust from the get-go and to remember that trust goes both ways. 

You can’t expect loyalty and trust from your people if you don’t give it to them in return. It doesn’t work that way. If you feel like you’re having trust issues, you need to explore why. 

A clue that there might be some trust issues in place is if you find yourself micro-managing. I talk about the negative impact of micro-managing and what to do about it in this article. 

  1. Not investing in your people. 

76% of people surveyed strongly agree businesses that fund professional development and leaders that have a focus on coaching and development will positively impact engagement and retention.  

What this tells us is, that it’s not only important to invest in training your people, but it’s also important to ensure ongoing coaching and support for your team. A one-off approach does not work!  

  1. Not having a flexible or hybrid workforce. 

We’ve all experienced the epitome of flexible working arrangements over the last few years and we now continue to find what the new normal is for our individual businesses. 

It’s essential to not get swept up in what a flexible workforce ‘should’ look like and rather consider how you and your team can best serve your clients while allowing individual ability and performance to flourish (a key motivator in teams). 

So the questions to ask yourself are…

  • What do you do to build trust in your business?
  • How do you upskill your people (and yourself)?
  • Are you and your team on the same page about what flexible work is, and is your working environment a win/win/win for you, your clients and your team?

If creating an environment that people love coming to work for isn’t reason enough to invest in your people and culture, then put your commercial business hat on. 

Investing in culture will save you money, reduce team turnover and increase productivity and output. 

So even though it might feel impossible right now to ‘find the time’ know that it’s critical to the sustainability of your future business success. 

Culture isn’t about putting just one thing in place, it’s about creating a living organism that continues to grow and change not just with you, but with your whole team. Check out the 13 things to have in place to create a thriving culture here. 

If you want to pick the brain of an experienced leader and business mentor, book a clarity call with Nicky or Ness here to talk all things thriving culture. 

*Source: Shaping thriving culture infographic, www.mccrindle.com

Nicky is a Sales and Business Leadership Coach with over 2 decades experience in sales and leadership. She’s been running successful coaching businesses since 2015 and is obsessed with helping business owners and teams thrive. She helps her clients install smart business growth strategies and leverage leadership for peak performance.
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