There is a moment in the life of every new business owner or entrepreneur when the magic of independence and freedom begins to wear off. You are sitting at your desk – or improvised desk if you are the kind of person who loves working from coffee shops – and watching your pile of to-do tasks grow. You have got no idea where to start or even if you can manage to finish any of them before the deadlines. Overwhelmed and stressed can quickly become the norm.
At first, you were excited at the prospect of managing your own work – ’no more boss, no more problems,’ you thought – but things are now getting out of hand. That is what we call the famous ‘I can’t do this anymore’ moment that inevitably hits every business owner or solo entrepreneur at some point.
Whether it is too much to do, or whether you are finding yourself struggling with things you didn’t even consider when you started your independent career, please take the time to sit down and identify the best strategy for moving forward. Infact, the secret to making your business work and thrive is to know how to best respond to your ‘I can’t cope anymore’ and overwhelmed feeling. Just ploughing on regardless will inevitably lead to a huge amount of stress and usually ends up in burn out and the death of your business, no matter how good an idea it is.
Entry levels? Onsite? Outsourcing?
Sometimes all it takes to give your business a boost is to realise that you need a team to help you. When work accumulates, you might be able to create a vacancy. For a solo entrepreneur, you need to get in touch with the HMRC to get guidance on how to best set up your PAYE system and what needs to be part of your corporate taxes as an employer. But once everything is clarified, you can start to look for options to build up your team. Remote employees can be especially useful if you are confident tasks can be performed outside of the office environment. It’s a good idea, for instance, to rely on freelancers for content generation or social media management. Onsite jobs need to focus on different skills, which can be relevant in a shipping operation or to welcome clients if you choose to open a physical brick and mortar address.
Make your life easier with smart tools
Admittedly, there’s a big difference between the moment you decide what kind of job and skills you need for your company and the moment you start looking. The recruitment step can be challenging, especially if you have never been involved in the hiring process in the past, as part of your career as an employer that is. However, you can keep things simple by using recruitment tools to help you with everything every step of the way. For instance, for remote workers, you can use a browser extension to reduce time zones confusion. Grammarly makes sure your job description, and your work contract are error free. You can also use a tool like Buffer to manage all your social media account in one place. This ultimately makes it easier to create an attractive employer’s profile.
What if a partner were the right solution?
Hiring may not be the best solution when you need specific skills but cannot afford to pay a new employee. Solo entrepreneurs agree that finding the right partner for their business can be a life changing experience. Indeed, a partner can be the person you rely on to pick up the projects you can’t complete. Remember that, while you are an expert in your niche, you can gain in finding someone who can complement your skills and expand your reach. Similarly, your partner is the perfect sounding board to try out new growth ideas.
Is the business right for you?
One of the hardest decisions you will ever have to make is to give up. But as an entrepreneur, you need to know when it’s best to push on or to let go of your business. Ultimately, if you can’t do it, maybe it is because it simply can’t be done. However, before you decide to close down your company, it’s worth investigating all the available options. If the product you offer fails to appeal or to be competitive, it is sometimes easier to give up than waste your time on a market that isn’t suitable and won’t ever work.
Do you need an agency to assist you?
When you need new skills for your company, the preferred solution is to hire an employee or a freelancer. However, there are many cases where you could rely on a specialist agency to help you. If you need marketing services, for instance, you are more likely to find a diversity of experts within an agency. It’s unlikely that you can find a web developer who’s also a copywriter, a social media manager, and an AdWords certified marketer. But an agency can offer you these services at a lower cost than hiring an entire team.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that one day, you will experience your ‘I can’t do this anymore’ moment. Be prepared to make the most of it. Whether you need to hire your first employee or to look out for a partner, only you can decide, but take your time to decide on which way forward you are going to take.
I hope you have found this post useful and given you some food for thought especially if you are feeling overwhelmed and like you can’t do this on your own any more. If so please give it a share on your favourite social media platform.
As ever if you have any questions or just want to share your thoughts, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen