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 CoachSimilar Posts:

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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

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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

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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!

Know what’s important.

Are you really clear on the activities you do that add the most value to your business? Are you really clear on the top 5 things you need to get done in the next 90 days? If your answer is yes to the above, then you should only be spending time on those most important things. If your answer is no – then you are wasting time…probably a lot of time and until you get clear on what’s important you’re not productive!

Own your time – you’re in charge!

Simple idea but not implemented very often. You get to pick when you want to work on email and respond to phone calls…there is no law that says you need to respond right away and as long as you set expectations – you can respond within 12 or even 24 hours and people won’t blink an eye. The point is – check your messages at a point that’s convenient for you and take charge of your time.

Use systems…automate where you can.

Anything that you do repetitively, every week or every month is a candidate for automation. It will take some time (and maybe some money) up front to figure out how to implement the system, but you will save time (likely a lot of time) every week or month after that.

Take care of yourself.

Just like you need to take your car in for oil changes and regular maintenance, you have to take care of yourself if you really want to be productive and effective.  Make it a priority to take care of yourself and you’ll start finding more energy and more focus.  You might even consider taking ‘summer hours’.

Kill interruptions.

Does your phone make noise when  you get an email or a text?  Does your computer say ‘You’ve got mail’ (or the equivalent) when you get email?  Are you getting notifications from Facebook, Twitter or other Social Media?  Then you’re killing your productivity with self created interruptions.  Turn off all notifications and see how much more you get done (seriously – try it).

Use chunks of quiet time.

It can take up to 20 minutes to recover from an interruption – and nothing interrupts you more than a co-worker asking you a question or just stopping by to chat.  Take a suggestion from Jason Fried (founder of software company 37 Signals) and establish quiet times – he recommends ‘No Talk Thursdays’ but find whatever works best for you.

Don’t work long hours.

You’ve got a huge amount to do – so the tendency is to just buckle down and work long hours to get it done.  However lots of studies have shown that your work drops off dramatically after about 8 hours in a day, not to mention the toll that you take on the next day by burning the candle at both ends.  Challenge yourself to cut the work day off at a reasonable time.  Who needs sleep?  You do!

Work when you’re working.

Of course the corollary to “Don’t work long hours” is to actually spend your work hours on work!  That means no trolling the internet, no long water cooler discussions…save that for a clear break time or for after work.

Stop trying to multi-task.

I’ve said it before (along with lots of other people) – multi-tasking doesn’t work.  You end up spending a lot more time on each thing you’re doing than if you just stayed focused on one thing at a time – studies show you’re 40% less productive!  It’s a big change, but make a serious effort to start focusing on one thing at a time and you’ll find yourself getting more done!

Get stuff out of your head.

People can’t remember more than 6 up to maybe 10 things at any one time.  So if you’re using your head to remember your to do list, you are forgetting things…which means it won’t get done.  You’re also wasting a lot of brainpower on trying to remember things.  Find a system that works for you that allows you to get important things out of your head an in a place where you will be sure to work on it later.

Put it on a calendar.

You are 75% more likely to get something done if it’s scheduled on a calendar as opposed to just on a to do list.  When you take the time to think about when something needs to get done and how long it will take by putting it on your calendar, you’ll also have a much more realistic view of how much you’re doing and you’re less likely to overcommit.  This may be the most important thing I can recommend in terms of an easy change!  * Really Important Tip!!!

Cultivate an action bias – what’s your strategic next action?

Train yourself to always ask the question “What’s the next step to take to get this done?” and then scheduling that step.  Having a bias towards action means you’ll spend a lot less time stuck on what to do next.

Touch stuff once.

One of the great time wasters we all face is email.  It’s common practice to open an email, read it quickly and then save it to work on it later.  Start using the 3D approach to managing email – if it takes 2 minutes or less then Do it, if it takes more than that then either Delegate it to someone else or Defer it (schedule it as an activity for yourself).  You’ll spend a lot less time in your inbox and a lot more time getting things done.

Eat that frog!

Procrastination is bad news when it comes to productivity.  Brian Tracy coined the phrase ‘Eat That Frog!’ as a way to illustrate the importance of dealing with your most important (and most difficult) task (your frog) first thing every day.  When you eat that frog, you’re clearing out the big important stuff first – and you’ll build up a lot of momentum for the rest of the day.

Give yourself a deadline.

Have you ever noticed how much you get done the week before you’re going on vacation?  You’re in the zone, you’re on a tear, you can’t be stopped!  That’s because you’ve got a deadline that you can’t afford and don’t want to miss.  Use that same principle other times and give yourself deadlines on tasks to create that same sense of urgency.  Share it with somebody else (A Peer Group Advisory Board perhaps?) to help hold you accountable.

There are lots of other ideas for being more productive – I didn’t even talk about all of the apps and cool technology out there that can help you get things done, but this is a good start.  Now it’s your turn – share your best idea or the idea here that you want to try in the comments below.  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Shawn Kinkade   Kansas City Business Coach

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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.

Here’s a handy graphic that I pulled out of the wikipedia cloud computing entry  Other examples of cloud based services include SalesForce CRM, Dropbox (free file sharing and back-up), the whole suite of Google Apps and other stuff you’re probably already using like Quickbooks (online version) or Pandora (music).

There are a lot of benefits that cloud computing will immediately bring to a small business owner (and that’s not counting specific applications or functionality that might apply especially to your industry).  Here are just a few:

• Everyone has access to the same data (no more passing spreadsheet versions around)
• Data is automatically backed up…without expensive hardware costs
• Everyone can get to the important data or applications even if they’re not in the office
• You can collaborate a lot easier and do it remotely (w/ clients, vendors, employees)
• Solutions are a lot less expensive (in general) – especially when it comes to up front capital

It’s not all sunshine and roses – you do have to figure out how the changes will impact your workflow.  Your processes will change and there will be impact…mostly positive, but change is still change.  Additionally, just like everything else, there are good solutions and not so good solutions out there and you have to figure out what works for you.  However if you can get past that initial hump – you will cut your costs and start doing more using the cloud.

As an example, Aspire just cut over to Google for email and access to the Google business suite of apps.  My friend Joe Tierney at Umzuzu helped up migrate our email to a Gmail hosted platform…which means that we can now access all email from any device (laptop, desktop, phone, iPad) and we’re always working on the same set of emails.  Additionally we get the benefits of Gmail functionality…priority inbox, better search and new stuff over time.  Finally – I no longer need to worry about backing up my Outlook files – which I wasn’t doing a very good job of anyway. 

Overall I can already tell this is going to save me several hours a week because it enables a more efficient process for how I work.  And in today’s crazy world – that’s worth an awful lot!

Are you leveraging the cloud?  If not – why not?  I’d love to hear you thoughts in the comments below.

Shawn Kinkade  Kansas City Business Coach

Great cloud photo by fifkins

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