There are lots of positives when we start our own business. Being an entrepreneur affords us an opportunity to see ideas become reality and grow more than we thought possible.
One of the biggest challenges on this journey, are the personal sacrifices we make in order for our start-up to succeed. According to a survey conducted by Santam on over 600 South African entrepreneurs, most small business owners found that the biggest sacrifices they had to make were giving up a steady income and spending less time with their families.
They also found that they had to downscale their lifestyles, focus less on personal relationships and deal with a lot of stress. To avoid these challenges, here are some tips and insights to help you find a healthy balance between work and personal time on your journey to entrepreneurship.
Tip 1: Be realistic about your finances
Remember that you won’t necessarily be getting a salary 12 times a year when starting out in the entrepreneurial landscape. Account for this fact that initially you may need to live below your means.
Tip 2: Set aside time for family and friends
It’s normal to want to make sacrifices for our business and spend 24-7 working to make our goals a reality, but this will only lead to increased stress, depression and burnout. The biggest skill an early stage entrepreneur should learn is energy and time management. Planning the week ahead, and setting aside allocated family or personal time is a must!
Tip 3: Deal with stress
In order to make it to through the early stages of entrepreneurship, it’s important to understand how to manage stress. Here are some practical ways to keep the balance:
- Exercise, take part in sport or even meditate
- Develop a hobby
- Make time to sleep, relax and read
- Take a holiday from time to time
- Plan social activities with friends
Tip 4: Hone your skills
Remember that starting your own business is a constant process of learning and growth. Challenge yourself to focus on developing both technical and emotional skills in order to find a balance between personal happiness and professional success:
- Focus on leadership
- Take responsibility
- Work at your people skills
- Learn how to negotiate
- Work at being tolerant
- Learn to be resilient
- Learn how to relate to different people
- Be empathetic
- Focus on strategic management
For more advice on running your own start-up, follow our founder, Hiten Keshave on social media and our social media pages. Check our website out too for more information on our business coaching programmes that may assist you in scaling and growing your business whilst living a meaningful and purposeful life.