Q: I started my business about a year ago and everything is going fine. We're growing and making a profit, but stress of running business is really starting to get to me. I spend more time worrying than working. Sometimes pressure is almost more than I can take. I'm starting to think that I'm not cut out to run my own business. Do you have any advice that might help me decide what to do? -- Steven S.A: I'm full of advice, Steven, and it's totally free. Just remember, you get what you pay for and I can't be held legally or morally responsible if my advice somehow lands you behind counter at McDonalds. I'm not Dr. Phil, for petesake. I'm shorter and have more hair and less money.
Seriously, first thing you need to do is take a few deep breaths and take comfort in fact that you are not first entrepreneur to feel weight of business world on your shoulders. Every business person, including yours truly, has felt way you do at one time or another. For some, it's a feeling that occurs daily, especially when things aren't going as well as we'd like them to. And don't think stress will magically disappear if your business takes off. I know people who run multimillion dollar corporations and they will tell you that stress level goes up in proportion to size of business. These same people will also tell you they love what they do and would never consider doing anything else.
The difference between these entrepreneurs and you, Steven, is that they have been in business longer and have learned to not only handle stress, but to take stress and transform it into a driving force. They feed off stress. It fuels their creativity and innovation. Stress challenges them, it makes them think, makes them better entrepreneurs.
I think real question isn't whether or not you have what it takes to run a business. The real question is do you have what it takes to handle stress of running a business. These are two very different questions and answers depend totally on you.
Even on best of days running a business can be incredibly stressful, not to mention overwhelming and exhausting. It's only natural that there will be times when you wonder if it's really worth it. Asking yourself "should I just get a real job" question simply means that your human side is showing. And as a human you have a limited tolerance for things you can not control. And that's really where stress of being an entrepreneur comes from. We worry about things we can't control. Things like finding new customers, paying bills, making payroll, and a thousand other things. Sure, we can put forth our best efforts to make these things turn out in our favor, but we really can't control outcome.
So we worry. And worry breeds stress and stress breeds doubt and doubt breeds feeling that an 800 pound gorilla is using your chest for a lawn chair. It's only natural that you being to wonder, "Is this what I really want to do? Do I have what it takes to run my own business?"
I remember once complaining about stress of running my business to an elder entrepreneur. He waved at me like he was swatting a fly and said, "Son, if it was easy, everybody would do it. Now suck it up and move on."
Suck it up and move on… probably best business advice I've ever gotten. No fortune cookie was ever so on money.
My mentor's eloquent point was this: running a business is never easy and always stressful, but that's what makes it so dang exciting. Running a business is like walking a tight rope… backward… with your eyes shut… and your pants on fire… Man, sure beats working for a living, huh.