Stressed/Overwhelmed?       

encounter, i.e. demanding clients, cash flow issues, workplace “business stress”, etc. all of which  can wreak havoc not only on your company, but on your personal life, mental health, and physical health, and well-being.

Research has shown that chronic stress is linked to everything from high blood pressure and heart disease to lower immunity and sleep issues. Basically, stress affects just about every part of maintaining good health. Therefore, more effective stress management is a must. Luckily, you can navigate the inevitable challenges you’ll face without letting them negatively affect your mental health, happiness, or productivity. All you need is a plan to deal with each of those challenges—and a plan for reducing stress and managing stress associated with them. We will look at some of the most common causes of business stress and how you can effectively manage it and keep yourself and your business moving forward.

Stressor: Challenging Clients

At some point, most business owners will have to deal with a customer/client that is challenging at best, and full-blown terrible at worst (just another challenge of having your own business). For example, if you have a client that’s rude, you might feel anxiety anytime you have to speak to them about a project. If you have clients that can’t seem to pay their invoices on time, you might worry about your ability to pay your bills. If you have a client that takes forever to respond when you have questions about a project, it could lead to feeling overwhelmed and having to rush to hit deadlines.

What to do:

A.  Identify what about this client you find challenging. Here are some examples:

    1.  Your client is frequently unavailable when you have questions.

    2.  Your client is always late paying their invoices.  

    3.  Your client is rude.

B.  Develop a plan of action to eliminate that challenge.

    1.  Add a stipulation to your contract that taking over 24 hours to respond to project-related requests will cause an extended deadline and additional cost.

    2.  If you are not already doing it, start charging late fees. If you are, make sure you stress that in the contact.

    3.  Have a private conversation with them in order to address your concerns. If the behavior continues, move your communication to email only siting the conversation.

Worst Case Scenario

You have figured out what about the client relationship is challenging and set clear boundaries to eliminate that challenge. However, it is still there. One thing that’s important to note. There’s a difference between a client that’s rude, difficult to deal with or talk to and a client that’s abusive. If you have a client that’s crossed the line into abusive territory, the best thing you can do for your business and your mental health is to stop working with them completely.

Stressor: Challenging Employees

Employees can make or break your business. When you have challenging employees, managing their work performance can consume much of your time, energy, and resources. Indicators:

·  They are late completing their tasks more than they are on time.

·  They cause conflict with their coworkers.

·  No matter how much effort you put into the relationship, their performance does not improve. Instead, it flows like a roller coaster.

What to do:

Similar to dealing with challenging clients, the best way to deal with challenging employees will depend on what specifically makes them challenging.

A.  Identify what about this employee you find challenging. Here are some examples:

    1.  Your employee struggles to perform job duties.

    2.  Your employee is late turning in assignments for than on time.  

    3.  Your employee is difficult to work with.

B.  Develop a plan of action to eliminate that challenge.

    1.  Schedule a time to find out why your employee is struggling, late and difficult to deal with.

    2.  Determine if the problem is poor leadership or an individual problem the employee has.

    3.  Consider investing in tools or software to benefit overall company efficiency.

    4.  Consider reassigning task.

Worst Case Scenario

The point is many employee issues have a clear solution. Often, all it takes to find that solution is talking to them about what’s going on and what kind of support they need to succeed. However, there are some employees who are toxic to your organization (e.g., employees that cause drama or consistently lie)—and in those cases, the best move for your business is usually to part ways.

Stressor: Ever Changing Project Scope

As an efficient business owner, you make sure your client tells you what services he/she needs. You then agree upon what is necessary to complete the project. This means you talked through what they wanted, how they wanted it, and when they wanted it by. You signed the contract. Then, weeks into your work, the client reaches out, letting you know there’s been a change of plan, and actually, they’re going to need something new/more/different from what you originally agreed upon. Or, maybe you’ve already delivered the work, and the client keeps asking for “just one more thing.” At this point, you’ve done or been asked to do the work of an entirely new project. The problem is, you did not get paid nor promised payment for the work. Another name for this is “scope creep.” Not only can it negatively affect your productivity, it can also leave you feeling stressed out, stretched too thin, and taken advantage of.

What to do:

Scope creep can only happen if you allow it. Set clear boundaries with your clients. If you don’t have a contract, create one. If you have one, make sure your clients know that any requests outside of what the contract stipulated will require additional time, additional money, a signed edit to the contract. Also, make sure you also discuss the fees and payment. If a client pushes you to work outside of your agreed scope, remind them of your policy (make sure it is in the contract), and let them know that if they want additional work, they’ll need to compensate you for it before you get started. Have a final approval document that stipulates all work contracted was done.

Worst Case Scenario

It may seem harsh, but having a contract and  keeping firm deadlines with your clients is the only way to eliminate the stress. If the client refuses to sign or agree to the terms, you need to consider not doing the work.

Stressor: Trying to Wear Too Many Hats

Many entrepreneurs think to be successful, they need to do everything themselves. Not only are they business owners, but they also have to be accountants, administrators, marketers, salespeople, graphic designers, etc. You may also feel that you need to do whatever has to be done for your business on a daily basis. The truth is, trying to wear too many hats and trying to do everything on your own is a surefire way to develop serious workplace stress.

Working at this pace can also lead to serious issues with work-life balance, burnout, and make it just about impossible to get anything done.

What to do:

No one can do everything themselves. Your goal should be to get clear on what areas of your business you want to focus on and then figure out how to delegate everything else. Whatever business you have, you want to focus on your area of expertise and contract out the other tasks associated with running your business, like administrative tasks, invoicing, expenses, and financial reporting, to name a few.

Worst Case Scenario

The point is, if you want to keep business stress to a minimum, determine what areas of your business you want to focus on and then let other people and/or tools manage the rest. If you don’t make a plan to get things done, effectively and efficiently, you won’t have any clients and there will not be a business to run.

Stressor: Uneven Cash Flow Cycles

If you’re a business owner that runs a project-based company, you’ve experienced times when there was a stream of income and times when there was no income at all. One month, you have more work than you can handle; then, all of those projects wrap up and you have no jobs (and no income) on the horizon.

Erratic income can cause serious business stress; managing your personal and business expenses when you’re not sure what your cash flow will be a month from now will throw even the most seasoned business owner for a loop.

What to do:

The best way to move away from sporadic income is to lay a foundation for more consistent income. A term used in the industry is “anchor clients”. Anchor clients work on a monthly retainer instead of hiring you on an as-needed basis. Retainers benefit both you and your client. For you, there is a steady, reliable income. For the client, there is the ability to budget and forecast knowing they have a set number of hours/projects they can assign to you each month.

Coming up with a plan to make sure you meet your budget is necessary. Anchor clients is one solution. Increased marketing to add more “as needed clients” will also help. If not, you may have to close when there is no work simply because of overhead. That would not be feasible.

Stressor: Bad Habits

You may not be willing to admit it, however, you have at least a few bad habits that are adding to your stress level. For example, you might:

·  Spend all day in front of your computer screen, surfing, social media scanning, non-work emailing.

·  Ignore the way you body reacts to stress or sickness. Instead of taking sick days when you need them, you push through and continue working.

·  Fail to carve out the time to take care of you physical, emotional, and mental well-being and end up feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and burned-out.

What to do:

If you have a bad habit or two that’s keeping you from feeling your best and from feeling like you can effectively manage work stress, it’s time to identify those habits. When you do, take steps to get them under control and create new, better habits. Make sure you plan implements steps to help you find the root of the bad habits and replace them with habits that will make your work smarter and feel better.

Worst Case Scenario