You have a passion and gifts that you want to share with others so you decided to start your own business. Your passion comes with 1 million ideas and you’re putting in the time and energy to bring your passion to the marketplace. Then you grow. Now you feel paralyzed by too many tasks. You feel tired and pulled in so many directions. You start second-guessing being an entrepreneur — or at least starting this business. Sound familiar?
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Is there a way to grow your business without burning out? In this episode, certified DOO and business owner Jen Grayeb and I talk about the difference between growing and scaling, what burnout looks like, the biggest contributors to burnout and what you can do about it. Are you ready to put the burnout behind you? Listen in!
The Difference Between Growing and Scaling
There are three phases in your business:
- Building – Your business just launched and you are so excited. This is the honeymoon phase.
- Growing – You’re all about expanding your visibility and revenue in this phase. You’re adding products, sales funnels, and people.
- Scaling – You’re all about multiplying and protecting your profit margin. This phase prompts innovation and has you asking, “How do I replace myself?”
What Burnout Looks Like
You feel overwhelmed by the pressure of the CEO role. You have 1 million things you can be doing, but you’re unsure what you should be doing or how to do it. You feel certain you should make more but aren’t sure why you’re not bringing in more revenue. You may also feel unsure where to reinvest money in your business so you’ll see a return.
The Biggest Contributors to Burnout
- You’re spread too thin. You’re putting time and energy into areas that aren’t growing your business.
- You’re financially stressed.
- You’re failing to break down your vision, idea, or strategy into an actionable plan.
- You’re not leveraging data to make decisions.
“When you’re approaching burnout, one of the most actionable things you can do today is to create a dashboard of metrics.” – Natalie Gingrich
What We Recommend When You Feel Like Quitting
- Get really clear on what you’re trying to accomplish, your strategy for how you’ll accomplish it, and the tasks that need to get done in order to execute your strategy.
- Break your big idea down into smaller actionable projects. Break down those projects into specific tasks.
- Get ideas out of your head and onto paper.
- Establish KPIs.
- Focus on building the operations side of your business through systems and processes.
- Hire a team so you can get back to your zone of genius.
- Find accountability partners through the A-Team, a business coach or another system of support.
“We’ve seen the backend of a lot of businesses… they have all experienced what you are feeling right now. They have all experienced overwhelm and burnout.” – Jennifer Grayeb
What I Did When I Felt Burnout: Created a Framework
I had a severe case of overwhelm but wanted to help as many small business owners one-on-one. I suffered from “special snowflake theory,” believing that I was the only one out there who could help clients with the operational side of their business. Then I realized I wasn’t the only one!
For six months, I took notes on what I did with my one-on-one clients that made them happy and their businesses effective. I created a framework that became the licensed Strategic Mapping Model. This became a course, which turned into the certified Director of Operations program over time.
How I Multiplied My Efforts: A-Team
I created the A-Team so I could multiply my one-on-one efforts with clients and increase the number of people thinking strategically about the backside of their businesses. The program was created for the small business owner who is still operating the day-to-day of her business. Through this program, you’ll learn operational systems so you can step back from your business.
Jen’s Experience with the A-Team
She found the program super productive and fun. Jen loved the dedicated time she had to work on the strategy of her own business. Through the monthly themes, she set goals and was held accountable for doing the work.
Join the A-Team Waitlist
The doors open in November so you want to get on the waitlist now! Just head here if you’re ready to turn your burnout into productivity.
Previous Episodes Mentioned
Episode 5: The Seven Pillars to Your Business Strategy with Andrea Layne
Episode 11: Behind the Scenes of The Ops Authority’s Systems with Esther Littlefield
Episode 12: Why $100K in Revenue is the Wrong Financial Goal for Your Business
Connect with Jen Grayeb:
Jennifer Grayeb is the CEO of The Nimble Co., a consulting group specializing in growth strategy for online business owners to make sure they are focused on the right things, in the right order, the right way. She recently left her senior HR strategy role at a Fortune 10 company and has been mentioned in books “Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One” by Jenny Blake (2016) and “Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation” by Dan Schawbel (2018). In addition to being named one of the Millennial 100 in 2017, she’s attended events at the White House and rang the NASDAQ bell with a group of entrepreneurs while she was with the Young Entrepreneur Council.
While working full time, she started a blog and with just a few hours per week, grew it to reach 2 million people per year. She ultimately sold that blog within just 2 years of starting it. In every role she’s had, every company she’s owned, or client she’s worked with, one thing has been consistent: she delivers results without working 80 hour weeks.
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