The entrepreneur often feels alone and incapable of having the impact on the business to ensure its health and growth. I know. I've been there. Worry, anxiety, depression, even panic. I've experienced them all. Jessica Bruder did a great job of communicating what many of us entrepreneurs feel and go through in the course of business in her article in Inc. from a few years ago, The Psychological Price of Entrepreneurship.
Most entrepreneurs ride waves of emotions - from despair and disappointment to exuberant optimism. The price of being an entrepreneur can be brutal and debilitating. There are times when we feel like the business is destined for failure - all that was built is about to crumble and there is nothing we can do about it. Yet, other times we are so confident in the people, systems, and market opportunities, we feel like there's no option but tremendous growth, revenue and profits!
My wife homeschooled both of our children. Every once in a while, I would take either my daughter or my son into the office so that they could work on their schoolwork while I worked. I might take them to breakfast first, and lunch was definitely on me. They thought it was a treat to spend the day with me - and so did I! Of course, Mom enjoyed the break as well. There's a note that I keep on my desk that my son wrote and left me about ten years ago. I think he was about eight years old when he spent the day in the office with me and left me that note.
The note my son wrote me? "Give your worry to God!" it exclaimed. What an inspiration that my son would care so deeply about how I was feeling to no just recognize it, but also take the time to secretly write me a note to encourage me during the times when he wasn't there with me. Yet how disappointing that he detected the worry in my attitude and demeanor. As much as I wanted to protect my wife and children from the anxiety I had about my business, they could see and sense it loud and clear.
The key to resolving and even avoiding this sense of doom and hopelessness is simple, but not easy: Let go! How? Bring your leadership into a series of training and group-ideation sessions that creates common, shared vision, alignment around goals, nurtures accountability and trust, and establishes disciplined practices to focus on leading the business - not just doing business. At Polytron we landed on EOS®, a comprehensive yet simple set of tools, knowledge, and best-practices that helps the entrepreneur regain freedom and passion as they delegate the day-to-day business into the hands of others. EOS helped us (and other fellow business owners) so much, I decided to become an EOS Implementer and help others discover those same benefits and relieve themselves of the angst and weight of entrepreneurship.
Interested in learning more? Let's schedule a call so I can learn about you and your business and share how EOS might help you.
Bruder, Jessica. "The Psychological Price of Entrepreneurship" Inc., September 2013, https://www.inc.com/magazine/201309/jessica-bruder/psychological-price-of-entrepreneurship.html
Entrepreneurial Operating System® and EOS® are registered trademarks of EOS Worldwide (http://www.eosworldwide.com/).