New mompreneurs are often highly motivated, driven, and filled with the kind of enthusiasm that makes turning up to work every day a thrill and a pleasure. At the same time, though, that boundless energy and enthusiasm can easily be channeled down the wrong avenues, and lead to severe overstretching and burnout, in quite a short space of time.
Remember, you are a mom and in may cases a wife too. Overstretching yourself in your business pursuit will leave you empty and have little to give to your family.
Here are a few tips for avoiding burnout as a new mompreneur, so that you can keep things going for the long haul.
1. Don’t try to do absolutely everything yourself – delegate and defer
One of the key ways that mompreneurs tend to manage to burn themselves out, is by trying to do absolutely everything solo.
The thought process generally goes something like; “the big companies have far more resources than me, so I’m going to have to outperform them in terms of sheer work ethic.” Hence, the entrepreneur in question spending all day and all night trying to fill the same roles as various members of staff would in a larger company.
Of course, no matter how driven and brilliant you are, you are only one person – which means that there are hard limits to what you can achieve in any given day. Instead of trying to do absolutely everything yourself, delegate and defer. IT Services and Business Services can often be quite easily outsourced to reliable third parties, for example, leaving you a lot more “mental bandwidth” to spend on other things.
2. Set boundaries on your working hours, and get enough rest and downtime
As a new mompreneur, it’s quite likely that you will feel some significant level of “impatience” that will spur you on to work around the clock, so that you can begin to see results as soon as possible.
While work ethic is obviously essential, it’s also essential that you keep yourself in good condition, and maintain balance in your life. The path of an entrepreneur is a marathon, not a sprint. So, set boundaries and cut-off times, and be sure to get enough rest and downtime.
When you force yourself to “clock off” at a certain time every day, you will significantly focus your professional efforts, instead of becoming completely haphazard. And when you get enough rest, and maintain a worthwhile personal life, too, then you will have far more endurance than you would otherwise have had.
3. Narrow your focus and identify your strengths.
Just as you shouldn’t try to act as 20 different members of staff for yourself, so too should you not try to be all things to all people.
Every business, in order to be successful, has to identify their KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), and has to emphasise their strengths in the right way. There is no mid-sized business that is good at everything, or that can branch out into different areas indefinitely, without sacrificing quality, and undermining itself.
To keep yourself from burning out, narrow your professional focus. Identify one or two “specialties” that you will really work to refine and exemplify in your business. Then, leave the rest alone.
