3 Reasons for Burnout as a Small Online Business Owner

It's really easy to hit burnout as an online business owner. There is always so much going on, so much pressure put on by society and ourselves. And it can be really hard to slow down and really take a look at areas we need to improve before we hit burnout.

I talk to entrepreneurs every day who are overwhelmed by their businesses. Some have hit burnout already and some are very close. Part of my job is to help them with this, so that's why I wanted to create a post so I can help even more people.

In this post, I'm going to give you 3 big reasons that cause the most successful entrepreneurs to hit burnout.

Either keep reading or watch the video below:

Here are 3 big reasons that cause the most successful entrepreneurs to hit burnout:

1) Doing it all yourself

Let's face it. You didn't get into this business to be a manager or an admin assistant or a tech support person, right? You got into this business because you want to help people. You are passionate about changing people's lives through the work you do. You became an expert in your field and found your zone of genius.

And now you're doing that work that you wanted to do (yay!). You're successful at it and you're booked out.

But it's also brought on a whole whack load of other jobs too.

Running a business is a huge amount of work. You are now wearing several hats and doing multiple jobs and you're nearing burnout.

So, what can you do about it?

Get help. Hired help. Seriously, it's a total game-changer and you need to do it.

If you've found this post and decided to read it even though you're not booked out and reaching burnout, trust me when I say you should take this advice sooner rather than later.

Start hiring help before it's too late. I know you think you can't afford it, but I believe if you really thought about it, you would be able to.

Think about how much you charge per hour (or what the adjusted hourly rate would be if you don't charge per hour). Say it's $50 per hour. Now think of all the time-consuming tasks you do each day. Like creating graphics for social media, editing your videos or podcasts, uploading content to your course hub, fixing things on your website, tracking data in a spreadsheet, etc. Some of these are more simple and some are more specialized. But I guarantee you that you can find someone to do these for you for less than $50 per hour.

You are currently paying yourself to do these tasks for $50 per hour, so instead imagine hiring a VA to do some of them for $25 per hour. That's half the price of what you're currently paying to get those tasks done!

Okay, that was a little rant, but I just wanted to point that out because I know that is a huge objection when it comes to outsourcing for small business owners.

If you are finding you are reluctant to hire for help, ask yourself why. And really consider how much it would improve your workload to just hire someone for 5 hours a week! That time adds up and would be really beneficial to have, especially if you are on the cusp of burnout.

I know that it's hard to let go and it's easier in some ways to do it all yourself. But you will thank me later for this if you start now.

You need to get some things off your plate so you are less overwhelmed, so you don't burn out, and so you can grow your business.

Get back to doing the things you love to do and enjoy your business!

You get to focus on your zone of genius and let others take over things from you that are within their zone of genius! How great is that?! It allows for everyone to focus on their strengths, it increases productivity, and it allows you to reach for sustainable growth.

2) No systems in place

If you don't have systems, you have no real order for your business. It is likely - respectfully - a disorganized mess.

I really do mean that respectfully and I know it's a common problem. Those aren't even my own words. I've had clients say those exact words to me: that they need help getting their systems set up because their business is a disorganized mess. So, they have me come in and work my magic.

The thing is, systems can be simple to set up and start using. But you will often need to consult with someone who has a mind for it. Not everyone's minds work in systems, like mine does lol. So, it's not just okay, it's super beneficial to ask for help with this.

Not having systems set up can really confuse your team if they don't know where to find something or how to communicate effectively with you. Communication is a system too! An important one. If you have a confused team due to lack of systems, you are likely going to have less work efficiency, missed deadlines, wasted time, and wasted money. No one wants that.

When you have solid systems in place, first of all you will likely feel a huge weight lifted off of you. My most recent client that I set up Asana for, she saw what I set up for her client management system, and she told me that she could literally feel her stress lessening as she was looking at the new system. And that was just one system for her business. Imagine how much stress you could let go of if your entire business was systemized!

Having systems in place for task management, communication, client management, and marketing are huge ones that you should implement immediately.

Systems will help with your team's productivity, your operations will be more streamlined, and it'll be so much easier to scale your business and continue to grow.

Asana can be used for all of this. Asana will be your business's central hub that runs all of your systems. It can really run your entire business.

And I know it can be overwhelming to think about how to set this all up in a way that works for your business. Let's do it together. I can help you get all your business systems set up and optimized for your unique needs. I can support you as you plan out all the important processes that will assist your team in being more productive. And I can help you with the management of your business too. If you need help with delegating, hiring, developing products, setting up your foundations, anything to do with Asana or running the backend of your business, I can help you with that through my back-pocket consulting services. Click here to learn more and apply to work with me.

3) Lack of an effective delegation strategy

This really is a struggle for a lot of people. It can be really difficult to begin delegating and to learn how to do it in a way that actually saves you time. You shouldn't be micromanaging your team or constantly checking in with them to make sure they're doing their job.

You should never redo their work if you're unhappy with it. And you shouldn't give up on them if they aren't meeting your expectations.

It is really important to effectively communicate tasks, provide proper instructions, and trust others to handle their responsibilities.

Without a clear delegation strategy in place, and without the right tools and systems in place, tasks can become disorganized, teams become confused, and delegation doesn't end up working. This leaves you frustrated and might make you feel like you are better off doing things yourself.

I know, because I've talked to lots of business owners just like you, and I've even been there myself. But thinking this way will only prevent you from growing, and likely lead to burnout. It will definitely leave you feeling overwhelmed.

I've seen business owners go through this. They get excited and hire someone they think will be a good fit. They have them begin working on the assigned project. But they don't give proper instructions. And then they receive back work that they are not happy with. Then, they become frustrated and begin thinking that hiring someone isn't worth it and they are better off doing it themselves because they are the only one who knows how to do it right.

But did you notice the big mistake in their process? They didn't give proper instructions. The person they hired didn't have any guidelines to go off of and in turn they came up with something they thought was good, but didn't align with the business owner's needs.

Clear, detailed instructions and proper feedback are incredibly important if you want delegating to work out. Everyone is different, every business is different, and it's important to understand this when you are working with other people. Tell them what you want, or you will get what they think you want and nothing else. They are not mind readers.

I promise you that when you learn how to delegate effectively, it is so worth it and you will see a huge impact on your business and your own well-being.

Here's how you can help yourself:

• Use Asana to help you oversee tasks, get only the updates you need, and keep everyone on the right track.

• Learn how to delegate effectively, support your team, and be a kick-ass leader. You can take courses on this, do a bunch of research, or hire me to help you navigate it.

• Find the right support team that meets your needs and matches your vibe.