We live in Interesting Times…a breeding ground for stress – especially for small business owners.  Indecision in the marketplace.  Indecision in the political arena.  Will you make payroll?  Getting your pricing right.  Keeping the pipeline full.  Catching up on a huge list of critical stuff to do.

All very stressful…and that stress has a lot of serious impacts.  Making it even more complicated, the U.S. business culture views stress as a badge of honor…the view is that if you’re not stressed, then you’re not doing it right!  Even to the extent that admitting to stress is a sign of weakness!  But the reality is that staying in a stressed out state may be killing your business.

Let’s start with how stress physically works.  Physiologically we are wired to react to perceived danger.  So when we sense danger, we get pushed into Flight or Fight mode – which is great if you need to run away from a bear!  It’s not so great if the problem is a missed deadline or an irate customer.

In a business setting neither Fight or Flight is a good option when it comes to dealing with your crisis.  Unfortunately your body doesn’t know that and it keys up the same way it would for a bear.  The results?  Increased blood flow (heart rate, blood pressure), a narrowing of focus and a shutdown of your higher level thinking.  It’s the cliché ‘Deer in the headlights’ effect of not being able to think when you’re in a panicked state…except it’s not just a cliché.

Obviously that’s an extreme reaction…but did you know sustained lower level stress has many of the same effects?  Your body is tense and you lose creativity and the ability to see the big picture even with lower levels of stress.

What are the impacts to your business when you’re stressed?

• Communication suffers – you don’t listen well or empathize
• Poor Customer Service – a tendency to over-react and be angry
• No creativity  – it’s really difficult to be creative when you’re tense
• Limited planning – stress tends to narrowly focus you on the most urgent issue
• Poor health – continued stress can have a dramatic negative impact on your health
• Poor productivity – you’ll work long hours, but it’s not likely to be productive
• Lose the little things – you won’t have time for the details, which can be critical

Bottom line – if you operate under continued stress, you’re not going to perform well and you will cause a lot of serious problems to your business.

How do you address your stress?

Admit the problem

The first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one…stress is not a badge of honor, there’s no need to be the hero in your business.  Acknowledge that you’re stressed out and that you would like to fix the issue.

Focus on your Sphere of Influence

It’s critical that you’re spending your efforts on things you can actually change.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.”

Alternatively Stephen Covey suggests focusing on your Sphere of Influence rather than your Sphere of Concern.  Either way – you will get a lot of relief by not wasting time and energy worrying about things outside of your control (like the economy, your competitors, etc.).

Slow Down and Breathe…

Easier said than done, but something that will make a real difference in your stress level is to give yourself some time.  When was the last time you took 20 minutes…even 5 minutes and just sat still and didn’t think about anything?  How about taking 10 minutes a day to write down your thoughts.  You don’t have to be an expert in tai chi or meditation (but if you’re interested – here’s a great article on how to get started with meditation), you just have to find enough time and a quiet place to breathe.

Start Saying No!

Related to slowing down, in order to find the time in your schedule you need to start doing less, you need to start saying no!  What’s currently on your schedule or to-do list that you could gracefully bow out of or delegate to others?  Know what your highest impact activities are (the things that you do that make the most positive impact to your business and your life) and say no to things that aren’t on that impact list!

Give yourself permission to say no and I guarantee you will start feeling less stress as you cut out things you didn’t need to be doing anyway.

Get some help!

There are professionals out there who can help you.  If stress is negatively impacting your life and you’re ready to do something about it, check out Dr. Ladd Carlston’s service at Mind In Motion here in Kansas City.  Dr. Carlston has been working on a unique approach for dealing with stress for the last 17 years.  I’ve had an opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at his work and I’m impressed with what he’s doing.

His approach combines acupressure, chiropractic, deep massage, and breathing techniques together in a 45 minute treatment that clears mental and physical stress by shifting your physiology and brain function. The process isn’t for everyone, and it may not be a fit for you, but it’s worth learning more if you’re dealing with overwhelm or anxiety.  The recommended program covers 6 months with a session every week or two.  You can learn more at Mind in Motion.

What about you?

What stress relief techniques have worked for you?  Is stress negatively impacting your business?  I’d love to hear your thoughts – if you have a minute, share them in the comments below.

Shawn Kinkade   Kansas City Business Coach

I was digging through some stuff the other day and I ran across this quote and it’s been running through my mind ever since:

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

I don’t know the context Mrs. Roosevelt was using when she said this, but I’d like to think she was talking to all of the entrepreneurs out there who want to make things happen.  The beauty of this quote is that it actually addresses two of the biggest risks that any business owner faces – fear and complacency.

Fear

If you want to be a successful business owner, you don’t have to be fearless, but it certainly helps.  Think about when you first started your business…if you’re like most entrepreneurs you had some fears facing you.

“What if no one buys my stuff?”  “How will I ever find someone to help me (that I can afford)?” “I don’t know what I’m doing…”

“I’m not a salesman.”  “I don’t know how to market myself.”   “What if I mess up somehow?”

Starting and successfully running a business isn’t something that most people have previous experience with, so it’s naturally scary.  But you’ve got to overcome those fears if you want to make it long term – and the best way to do that is to learn as much as you can, surround yourself with smart and positive people and face your fears – at least one of them every single day!

What scares you in your business?  Selling?  Speaking in public?  Meeting new people?  Hiring someone?  Firing someone?  Understanding money and cash flow?  Whatever it is, now is the time to start facing those fears!  (And if you need some help with that, give us a call!)

Complacency

The other big risk facing business owners is the opposite of Fear.  Once you’re past the first year or two and  you’ve figured out the basics, then you’re likely no longer afraid of the basics…and at some point you’re likely going to feel like you’ve got everything figured out.

That point where you think you know everything, or at least everything that’s important to your business, is when you’re on the downward slope.  50 years ago, maybe even 20 years ago it was possible to coast for a long time and still have a successful business.  That’s no longer true – in today’s economy and with the constant technology changes going on – complacency can sink your business faster than you can imagine.

You have got to keep learning.  You have got to keep trying new things.  You have got to get out of your comfort zone.

When’s the last time you stretched and did something at work that made you uncomfortable?  That made you scared?  Maybe it’s time to try something new?

How does this quote apply to you?  What’s something you’ve done recently that scared you (or used to scare you)?  I’d love to hear your thoughts – share them in the comments below.

Shawn Kinkade  Kansas City Business Coach

Photo by tranchis

I ran into a quote the other day that I really liked:

The main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing.   – Stephen Covey

It’s a simple idea, but almost every business owner I know struggles with this at some point and many of them struggle with it all the time.  Part of being an entrepreneur is being not only open to new ideas, but excited about them…maybe even having a touch of Attention Deficit Disorder in some way.  So it’s natural to lose focus and check out the shiny, exciting ideas that you could be spending time on.

The problem with this is that it can make you extremely unproductive.

There’s a big difference between being busy and being productive – I threw together a quick illustration that hopefully makes the point!

If you’re in the ‘Busy’ mode, it doesn’t really matter how efficient you are with your time, you’re not really getting much done (or at least not anything important done).  Alternatively, if you’re spending all of your work time focused on the main thing, even if you’re not quite as efficient with your time, the end result is going to be really high productivity.

So are you busy or are you productive? 

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Shawn Kinkade  Kansas City Business Coach

photo by Nina Matthews Photography

The world is moving faster every single day.  In fact if you want to keep up with it, you need to start developing some super powers…super productivity skills just to keep up!  Everybody faces different arch enemies – for some it’s the dreaded interruptions, for others it’s that evil villain technology…for most it’s dealing with a lack of discipline or organization!.

Whatever’s holding you back, there’s no time like the present to start fighting back – you can develop productivity skills and habits and you can get better at efficiency and effectiveness.

Check out the 15 ideas below, put on your tights and pick at least one or two ideas to try out this week!

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Apparently a lot of small business owners are not familiar with ‘The Cloud’ – at least when it comes to Cloud Computing as a technology solution for their business.  According to a recent survey (May of 2011) done by the Small Business Authority, only 29% of small business owners are familiar with the term Cloud Computing.

Only 29%!  There’s a huge opportunity right now, both for qualified vendors who can supply great cloud based solutions, but more importantly for small business owners who can leverage Cloud based technology to cut costs and do more with less!

What is Cloud Computing?  In a nutshell, it’s the ability to interact with data or applications that are centrally hosted on the internet (or in ‘the cloud’).  The reality is that you’re likely dealing with a lot of cloud based stuff today and you didn’t know it – when you get a movie from Netflix Instant Streaming, you’re pulling down data / content from the cloud.  It’s available in a lot of different ways (your computer, an iPad, your TV etc.) but it’s all tied back to your account.

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