Do you feel isolated in your business?
Feel all alone?
Trying to run the business all by yourself , doing every single task yourself? Have no one to share ideas with? It’s hard to brainstorm all by yourself, isn’t it?
Do you sometimes find yourself stuck with a business problem with no one to talk it out with?
Or perhaps you’re so wrapped up in your business that you have no time for your family or for yourself.
You’re not looking after yourself
You know you should but there’s always one more little job that needs to be taken care of.
Or are you trying to look after youngsters and run your business at the same time? Isn’t this why you started a home based business? But now you realize that it’s not as easy as you thought. And your plans backfired. You’re so busy running the business that you feel guilty when you take time off to be with the kids and guilty when you don’t.
If this is you, you might want to do some of the following:
Find an online forum or community for your industry where you can share your problems with others who have similar ones or brainstorm ideas with people who aren’t in your local competition area. If you’re in the gift business, check out Gift Retailers Connection
Look for someone in your industry who is willing to mentor you.
Hire a part-time assistant or a virtual one.
Take a break to clear your head.
If you’re not looking after yourself
If you’ve become a workaholic, either forced or willingly, the answer can be a little harder. You need to make yourself take time away from your business, get out of the house or away from the business for awhile. This can be difficult but it’s the best thing you can do for yourself.
But if you’re spending just about every spare moment in your business, you’re going to have to convince yourself that something has to give. It can be a part of your business, your sanity, or your family? Which is more important? Decide what ABSOLUTELY MUST be done and do it.
Streamline how you do as much as you can.
Find someone either locally or online to do some of what you are doing. Do you have to file every paper, enter every sale into your accounting program, write every press release or marketing piece? Many of these things can be done just as well by others and relieve you to do what has to be done.
I know, freeing time for yourself takes time.
Initially, it does take time to free up time. But any task that you do will expand to fill the time you have. If you find that you only have one hour to do something that you’ve been doing in two hours, you’ll magically discover that you can do it in less time.
Finding someone to do those little jobs, that you’ve been doing but can just as easily be done by someone else, will require time as well. But it will be worth it in the long run. You’ll wonder how you ever managed to do it all yourself.
When you are planning your day and your week, plan time for yourself. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive. Going for a walk or spending an hour at the library or having coffee with a friend that you’ve neglected can work wonders.
Connect with Others
Many of us, who are entrepreneurs, tend to be loners and work well alone. But even we need to be connected with others. Everyone works better when they are connected to others on both a business and a personal level.
As human beings we’re designed for connectedness. We were never intended to live and work in isolation, our psyches aren’t designed to work best alone. No matter what some people will say, we ALL work better when we’re connected to others, be that on a business or personal level.
If you’re a mother, make connections with other moms. If you don’t have a mom’s group in your area, call a mom or two that you know and arrange a few hours to get together. If they are entrepreneurs like you, you can discuss business and kids. If not, you’ll have kids as mutual interests.
Join a book discussion group. Take a class. Join a gym.
Here in Flagstaff, a group of us who are entrepreneurs get together for an hour on the last Friday of the month at a local coffee shop to discuss business and to just have the opportunity to connect with others who understand.
Many communities now have co-work groups which provide work space where people, just like you, who work alone and feel isolated can come together and work in a shared work area. You can participate regularly or periodically. Check out this unique concept at co-work groups. There are groups in towns all over the world and more are being organized. If you’re in Flagstaff, NACET is trying to organize a group.
So if you’re feeling isolated, aren’t taking care of yourself, or feeling overwhelmed, there are answers.
Share with us what you have done to end that isolated feeling?