Over the past two weeks I’ve been chatting a lot about STRESS and SUCCESS. 

First we talked about whether it was possible to experience one without the other (spoiler alert: it sure is!) and then we looked at how we can name what success looks like for us as individuals (hint: it’s not always about money). 

Next month I’m hosting a free online class to help you reduce stress and overwhelm in your business. I’ll be helping you gain more freedom to live the lifestyle you want for yourself and your family by sharing my 5 Strategies to Make Your Business Work For You. (I’m hosting it twice so you can join at the time that suits you!)

Register now

In preparation for that class I’ve been identifying what I see as 10 of the most common causes of stress in business – and how you can try and avoid them or overcome them. I’ll start with the first 5 this week and follow up with the rest next week!

Let’s get into it. 

1. You get too big too fast. 

At first, growth is fast and exciting because you can feel all the hard work paying off and the momentum building. But when you grow too big, too fast, you end up being the manager of more people than you know how to manage, you suddenly have too much on your plate, you’re taking too many orders for the amount of stock you can get your hands on, or too many appointments for the number of hours you have in your week! 

Easy does it is definitely the way to go when growing your business. 

You want to make sure the work associated with the growth you are planning is manageable. And you want to check in on this at every step in the process. I know it’s hard to slow down when you don’t want to miss any opportunities, but you also don’t want to get to a point where you wished you’d slowed down to make things run more smoothly! 

2. No cash flow. 

Cash is king in business, and often you need to learn that lesson yourself. As much as you can read it in books, hear it in podcasts and listen to people like me talk about it, sometimes you’ve gotta have those weeks when you’re eating baked beans at the end of the month in order to make payroll or pay rent in order to learn how important cash and cash flow really is. 

It’s not just about having cash in the bank. It’s about having an understanding of when cash is coming in, and when it’s going out—and how much of it. 

To do that, you want to ensure you have good forecasting set up so you’re hyper aware of when you need cash, and when you’re potentially going to be short on it. You also want to have a process for chasing unpaid bills!

(If you’re uncomfortable doing that yourself and can’t afford to hire someone else or outsource it, do what Samantha Wills did in the early years of her business and invent an employee who sends the “debt collecting” emails!)

3. No systems. 

The last thing you’re going to want to do when you’re on a roll and passionate about your business is create new systems. Even the word systems made me want to roll my eyes and hide under the covers for a very long time. 

But the right systems are what will enable your business to grow.

Sure, sitting down and creating systems for things like marketing, finances and day-to-day operations can feel like a total drag in the beginning, but it’s one of the best things you can do to make sure your business is going to be around for the long haul—and that you don’t have to be the one micro-managing every aspect of it along the way. 

Clockwork, by Mike Michalowicz, is a great read that talks in detail about how to create systems that work for your business. Also remember the people doing the roles currently are often the best people to help you create the necessary systems around them. 

4. You have hired a team of YOUs. 

This one is so easy to do. You know you need help, so you look to hire people. You interview them, they seem great, you really like them because you see so much of yourself in them, and you offer them a job. And suddenly… you find you’re surrounded by a whole team of YOUs, which is not helpful!

Try to focus on hiring people smarter and better than you with skills in areas completely opposite or different to your own. 

To do this, you first need to figure out where you gaps are in terms of your knowledge and understanding of various aspects of your business, and then hire people with the necessary strengths to fill those gaps!

There’s no point having a team of yous and still no one available to clean the toilet! Hire for the jobs that need to get done.

5. You have no plan. 

You started your business and just thought “let’s see how this goes”. While that is a fine way to start, once you gain momentum you want to sit down, figure out where you want to go, and write goals to suit. 

If you don’t know where you’re going with your business you’ll have a hard time getting buy-in from customers and clients—as well as your team who are the people you need to help you get there!

So take the time to plan out what you want from your business. 

• What does your ideal lifestyle look like? 

• How much money do you want / need to be able to make?

• What does success mean for you? How does that look?

• Where do you want to be spending your time, and in what quantities?

Once you are clear on the above, set yourself goals about how to get there, and put a plan in place to step you in the right direction. 

Next week, we’ll take a look at the next 5 causes of stress in business. 

And don’t forget to sign up to join me for our free, live class on April 8 to learn 5 Strategies to Make Your Business Work For You!