Busy, stuck or burnt out: the habits that hold a business back

I keep failing at the same thing.

Is this you?

• Different venture or project, same way it goes wrong
• You can name the pattern but not the cause
• Each time feels like bad luck

Why it happens

After a failure the instinct is to move on quickly, so the cause is never written down and the next attempt repeats it.

Read next

Guide coming soon.

I do everything myself because nobody does it right.

Is this you?

• You cannot take a holiday without the business stalling
• You redo work others have done
• You are the bottleneck on every decision

Why it happens

Doing it yourself is faster the first time, and handing over takes an investment of time you never seem to have.

Read next

• How to run your business without being there for everything
• What to outsource first, and how

I do not take risks, so nothing changes.

Is this you?

• The business looks the same as it did a few years ago
• You have ideas you never try
• You wait for certainty before acting

Why it happens

Every risk feels like it could cost everything, because nobody has worked out what it could actually cost.

Read next

Guide coming soon.

I take big risks and they keep hurting me.

Is this you?

• You have lost money on bets you did not plan
• You commit before you have worked out the downside
• The same kind of gamble has hurt you more than once

Why it happens

Excitement about the upside crowds out any look at what happens if it goes wrong.

Read next

Guide coming soon.

I cannot afford the tools, so I do without.

Is this you?

• You do by hand what a tool could do in minutes
• Mistakes creep in from copying numbers between places
• Admin eats your evenings

Why it happens

Paid software looks like a cost you can avoid, and the free alternatives are not always obvious.

Read next

• The best free invoicing software, and what free really costs
• All free tools, no account needed

I am not equipped to handle this situation.

Is this you?

• Something new has come up and you do not know where to start
• You keep researching instead of deciding
• You are avoiding it and hoping it resolves itself

Why it happens

Nobody is trained for every situation a business throws up, and not knowing where to start makes it easy to start nowhere.

Read next

Guide coming soon.

Things have always been done this way.

Is this you?

• Newer competitors are winning work you used to win
• Your processes are the ones you set up years ago
• Customers ask for things you do not offer

Why it happens

What worked is hard to question, especially when it still mostly works.

Read next

Guide coming soon.

I am busy all the time but the business is not growing.

Is this you?

• Long hours, flat revenue
• Your day fills up with small urgent jobs
• The important work gets pushed to next week, every week

Why it happens

Urgent work always feels more pressing than important work, so the work that would grow the business rarely gets the time.

Read next

• Time management for owners: plan the day, cut distractions
• How to prioritise work
• Bad habits that hold owners back, and what to replace them with

I think outside the box, but only in theory.

Is this you?

• You have a list of ideas and none of them tried
• Ideas feel too big to start
• You move on to the next idea before testing the last one

Why it happens

An untested idea stays perfect, and a test risks finding out it does not work.

Read next

• How to test a business idea before you spend on it

I am burned out and thinking about going back to a job.

Is this you?

• Weekends keep turning into work, and you dread them
• Bursts of intense work, then days when you cannot open the computer
• You catch yourself wondering whether a job would be easier

Why it happens

When the business is you, every problem lands on you, and exhaustion builds slowly enough to feel normal. If it does not lift, talk to your doctor or a counsellor; burnout is a health matter as much as a business one.

Read next

Guide coming soon.