As we kicked off this blog series on dealing with Overwhelm, I asked the Viral Solutions Team to name off the top reason that their clients get overwhelmed.
One big reason they brought up was that we struggle to keep doing it all even when there is clearly more work to be accomplished than one person can handle.
As entrepreneurs, small business people, hobbyists, or inventors, it’s pretty common to get where you are by ‘handling it all’ yourself. After all, who can do it better than me (er, you)? We all get obsessed with perfectionism; by doing it exactly 100% right, time after time.
Unfortunately, that kind of obsession can lead to limiting long-term results. Rather than building the team, we try to do it all ourselves. Rather than
investing in crucial resources like people, technology and systems, we just keep doing what we’ve always been doing. We’re doing more, working more hours, sacrificing more time with family and friends, spending less time in investing in ourselves. And then what happens next? We’re trying to do too much – and suddenly we can’t do any of it very well. We’re over-committed and under-resourced. It’s a lousy place to be.
Too much gets built on a base of knowing we are the only ones who can do it right, by getting by with what worked for us last year, and by holding off on making smart investments in our company.
So, what’s a smart entrepreneur supposed to do?
Luckily, the solution is pretty straightforward: invest in the resources that will make a difference for your business.
As a Viral Solutions client, that’s exactly what you’re doing right now. You’re building your resources by expanding your team to include people who are passionately helping overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves.
What a great start!
So here’s the task for you today: identify where else in your business do you need to duplicate yourself.
Let’s break it down. Here are three steps:
- Tomorrow, when you get back to business, what is the one thing that you must get done; but that you will procrastinate throughout the day? Write it down.
- What’s the one thing about your business that you know should be just a little better? Write it down.
- Email Thomas or Christine and tell them your answers. You’ll be amazed at how quickly they can help you sort through these pain points. They might not “be” the answer, but they can help point you in the right direction. They are just that good.
When you’re done, shoot me an email. I’d love to know what you learned – and how the VS team was able to help you identify the resources you need.
Copyright 2016 Viral Solutions LLC
by Deirdre Gruendler
Deirdre is a ghost writer, executive leader, just-can't-leave-it-aloner, builder, Midwesterner and all around improver of things major and minor. Deirdre has worked in nonprofits, for-profits and ‘why can't we make-a-profits‘ large and small. Trained in relationship development, executive coaching, landscape architecture and the perfect buttercream (see how all that applies?), Deirdre excels when she's working on bringing clarity to big messy problems and turning confusion into focused direction. Hobbies that have had little to no business return (yet) include biking, French horn playing, jewelry making and travel. Deirdre holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
