5 Quick Tips to Becoming a Happier Business Owner

Most entrepreneurs start up a businesses with great excitement and passion, to escape the typical 9-5 corporate world and embark on this grand journey of becoming their own boss.

Armed with the awareness that they'll have to put in some serious work hours, they're ALL IN and ready.....no wait......HAPPY to do it. That is, until they're actually working 60+ hours a week for months on end. Running off of caffeine fumes and tortured by nightmares of common business acronyms such as "ROI" "P&L" "SEO" and good ole' "IRS", the once happy entrepreneur is suddenly replaced with some form of unsatisfied employee just begging for someone to fire him.

If you're suffering from Business Owner Burn Out, you're not alone. TAB's Small Business Pulse

Productivity Survey shows that 84% of business owners are working over 40 hours per week, and

1 in every 10 feels overwhelmed by their responsibilities. It's no wonder business owners find it hard to stay happy when they have so many things on their plate . When overwhelm sets in, so does discouragement. Soon enough, diminished productivity and poor quality of work follow.

Don't let me get started on the negative impact it can have on your personal life (insert blank stare here, what is this personal life that you speak of?) Keep reading..

1. Start your day with a win

Business owners like to WIN! Figure out some small ones, things that are easy to accomplish but help you reach your goals. They're different for everyone, but once you figure them out just commit to doing them every day! Make your bed, drink a glass of water when you wake up, read 10 pages of a good book each day, contact one new business professional every day to grow your network, the list goes on. Check out this article by buffer app that talks about successful business owners who started off with small wins: https://blog.bufferapp.com/make-it-big-by-starting-small

2. Essentialize

You're TO-DO list is probably really long. Try and cut it in half by crossing out the things that are not absolutely essential to your success...be even more edgy and cut out 75% of your list. Now the ball is rolling. I'm serious about keeping only the essential things, not things that are "important" because as the business owner, everything seems important.

3. Prioritize

After you shorten your to-do list, you'll want to prioritize all the "to-do's" in order of their importance. This can be hard for the small business owners when EVERYTHING seems to be on fire all the time. But when everything is important, then nothing is. Write down all the things that need to be done starting with the most urgent first. The key is to eliminate all distractions and focus on that one task until that task is completed before you move on to anything else.

4. Delegate

Here's the fun part you were waiting for. You get to BE THE BOSS! The art of delegating says that if you are not an accountant, if you are not a marketing expert, if you suck at answering your phone and calling people back...DELEGATE IT! Focus on your strengths, perfect your craft, then delegate the rest.

5. Say NO

You want to please every customer, you want to sell everything, you feel like you need to do everything. This way of thinking leads to the fast lane of Business Owner

Burn Out. You may feel bad saying no at first, but you'll quickly learn that you have so much more time to focus on those essential things necessary to reach your goals.

You may also feel worried about offending people but once you learn how to say no, people will start to respect that rather than expect you to always say yes. If you can't learn to say NO, then you end up back at square one.

BONUS HAPPY TIP

Give back. It feels good to receive a gift, but it feel even better to give one! Have you ever wondered Why One Act of Kindness is Usually Followed by Another? Then read this post from Happify Daily :)

Cheers!