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Expert Answers to Biz Questions
Listen in! Pick up some expert advice to a reader's question that we selected from CyberSchmooz.
What Are the Leading Causes of Stress for Small Business Owners?
While there are many ways to keep stress at bay when you're a small business owner, if you don't find the cause of the stress, to begin with, it's just going to come back to haunt you.
While starting your own business can be exciting and rewarding, being the boss comes with its own set of challenges and drawbacks. Extreme stress when owning a business has led to depression, anxiety, and even drug and alcohol abuse. If you have developed a drug or alcohol problem because of small business-related stress, please get help at one of your local residential rehabilitation treatment programs as soon as possible.
Now that you know how dangerous stress can be, it's important to figure out what the cause of your business stress is. Below, you'll find a few of the top causes of undue stress for small business owners.
Being Lonely
Starting a business is often a solitary task, especially in today's world where many people operate their businesses from the comfort of their own homes. Many times, your family and friends can't understand what you're going through or help in any way, which leaves you alone and, often, lonely. This loneliness can quickly lead to you being depressed, stressed out, and completely miserable as you try to make a success of the business you wanted to start so badly.
Fear of the Unknown
As a new business owner, or even an established one, it's impossible to know what the future might hold, especially in today's chaotic and economically uncertain world. The harsh reality that many business owners have to face is that 90% of businesses fail, and you have to wonder if you'll be one of the lucky 10% who succeeds in a competitive world. Fear of the unknown can be stressful and lead to everything listed above and more.
Financial Issues and Concerns
One of the biggest problems for many business owners is financial concerns and issues. Your business quickly becomes your life and it can be beyond stressful to worry about how the business is doing financially, as well as worrying about the bottom line every month. A month of poor sales can have a detrimental effect on you and the family you're trying to support, making you uncertain and stressed as to whether you made the right decision in starting your own business.
The Extreme Workload
For many business owners, the extreme workload associated with getting a business off the ground and keeping it in the red is unexpected. While they expected there to be a lot of work involved, the amount of work can be overwhelming and cause stress beyond measure. It's hard to get a good night's sleep when you're worried about the long to-do list you have to tackle the next day. Sleep deprivation is common among business owners and not good for you at all. As soon as you can, finding someone to help with the workload will help with this part of the stress at least.
Time Management and Deadlines
Learning to manage your time effectively and be able to juggle everything and still meet your deadlines can be a stressor as well. If you're finding that no matter how hard you work or how much sleep you lose, you're still constantly behind and missing deadlines, then it's time to take a second to reevaluate and come up with a better plan.
These are just a few of the most common causes of stress for business owners out there today. Stress is unavoidable, it's how you deal with it that will make or break you in the small business world.
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