Stress Free Business Ownership

As a business coach, working with a new client invariably begins with a review of the current processes in the business. It’s like a stocktake of what’s working, what’s not working so well, and what’s not even on the list of things that happen in the business, but should be.

This ‘stocktake’ quickly identifies what some of the elements are, that can be adding stress to owning a business. The following list are things I find most commonly affecting business owners.

• No clear systems in place.
• No definition to roles – no position description outlining the tasks and how to do them.
• No clear chain of command.
• No written policies to say “this is what we do when X happens”
• No clear guide to productivity expectations.
• Lack of clear and open communication between management, owners and staff.
• Poor attitude to the relationships between management, owners and staff.
• Lack of good financial reporting strategies, resulting in poor management of the finances within the business.
• Pricing done without fully understanding and taking into consideration the cost of goods and the costs associated with their sale.
• Inadequate accounting advice.
• No real marketing plan.
• Right things getting done for the wrong reasons.
• Wrong things getting done for the wrong reasons.
• No real vision for the future of the business, and no shared goals for the staff and management and owners to strive toward.

These issues wear many different faces, but they often come down to a few basic principles. Getting organised in your life and in your business is a great start to getting free of the unnecessary stress that can take over our lives.

How about you?

What issues have you struggled with in your business that stressed you the most?