Minority small business owners wear many hats. They, probably more acutely than any other type of business leader, are attached to their business and are keen to have a positive outcome for their enterprise. But with that comes a heavy load of stress that can lead to burnout if not properly managed. As a small business owners, it is imperative that you take signs of CEO burnout seriously.
A recent article by Capital One Business on LinkedIn, “Small Business Owners Exhausted, but Optimistic Heading into 2022” suggests that while all small business owners are experiencing post-pandemic stress, minority business owners potentially experience a higher rate of stress than most. This could expose these individuals to an increased risk of CEO burnout.
Small business owners work long hours and even when they get home from the office, they can still be up late, worrying. According to Capital One Business, “while business owners report high expectations for their business this year, many still have concerns about cash flow, inflation, and taxes, and some are feeling the impacts of worker shortages.” These worries can be even greater for small business owners at noted above.
All of this is conducive to higher rates of CEO burnout. Thankfully, we are now more than 3 years away from the peak of the pandemic, and life has gradually gotten back to almost normal both in the workplace and in our personal lives. Still, for some small business owners, especially minority business owners, the undue stress levels persist to some extent – especially now that so many workers are reluctant to return to the workplace and insist on working from home; government loans have dried up; and interest rates and taxes are on the rise.
SIGNS THAT A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER COULD BE EXPERIENCING BURNOUT
There are a number of key signs that a CEO or small business owner could be experiencing burnout. They include but are not limited to:
- Exhaustion
- Insomnia
- Detachment
- Inability to focus and function normally
- Lack of energy and motivation
- Self-loathing and negative self-criticism
- Feeling defeated
- Inability to function
- Relationship problems
- Health problems
WHAT CAN SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS DO TO REDUCE THE LEVEL OF STRESS THEY ARE EXPERIENCING IN THE WORKPLACE?
Small business owners must make peace with the fact that some stress is a normal part of operating a business. It is not going to be possible to eliminate all the stress that comes from having one’s own business and this should not even be the aim because some stress is good for business. It is okay to feel a little bit anxious and be a little bit hungry because this can motivate a businessperson to work smarter and get things done.
At the same time, however, there is a tipping point where too much is too much. Balance is always needed. So, what is a small business owner to do?
- Keep perspective
The main way that a businessperson achieves balance is to keep things in perspective. Work can never and should never be the end all and be all of one’s life. Most of the symptoms of burnout can be alleviated with just that one strategy: keeping things in perspective. Keeping perspective helps a business owner to keep fear at bay because fear can be a killer in more ways than one. It not only kills your creativity, but it can also ruin your health and lead to burnout, which in turn kills your business.
In addition to keeping perspective, a small business owner must be:
- Proactive
- Creative
- Optimistic
- Detail-oriented
- Flexible
- Patient
What that all means is that a small businessperson must think and plan ahead; try new methods and routes; keep an open mind; pay attention to the bottom line; bide their time; and be willing to change when that is necessary.
Nobody said it was going to be easy to be a small business owner, but it certainly does not have to be so stressful that it ruins your health, or God forbid, lead to premature death. That all said, the stress is real. Small business owners have to take corrective action as necessary to combat any negative symptoms of stress and burnout they are experiencing. As noted in the article “Drop dead: stress is the silent killer of top-performing CEOs; Here’s how to deal with it” the one thing a CEO (or business owner) must do is to “take warning signs seriously”.
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