Catch up on some related episodes:

How to feel confident in knowing what to focus on to grow your business (Path to Predictable Income Series)
The #1 strategy to ensure you're getting paid each & every month
How To Take Guilt-Free Time Off As A Business Owner (Boss Your Q4 Series)

Today’s talking points:

No one wants to experience business burnout, yet it’s something most people face at some point; especially if you’re a business owner. I’m sharing with you 5 fool-proof ways to avoid business burnout.

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Welcome to the third instalment of “The Path to Predictable Income” series!

In this 5-part series, I’m walking you through 5 steps to help you create steady, consistent income in your business, so you can get out of the feast or famine cycle for good.

Today we are going to talk about how to burnout-proof your business.

This is so incredibly important to me and I know that it is a hot topic with female business owners, especially because we have so much going on in our lives.

If you’ve ever experienced business burnout, raise your hand - I know I am not alone in this and this is such an important conversation.

In this episode, I'm going to share a little bit about why I am so passionate about this topic and then I’m going to walk you through 5 questions you can ask yourself, and exercises you can work through to help you burnout proof your business.

I’m excited for this one so let’s dive in!

my thoughts on hustle culture

There’s a lot of noise out there about how you need to do it all, work non-stop, and grind harder for success. There’s a huge hustle mentality out there. Influential figures like Gary Vee often advocate for this grind. Back in 2017 when I started my business, I tried the 12-hour workday routine, thinking it was the only path to success. I filled every possible moment with work. But it didn't take long to realise this was not a sustainable way of working. I didn’t want to run my business that way.

I saw people who weren't spending time with their family and friends. They had children, but they never really got to see them. They had spouses or significant others, and they never got to spend time with them. They never got to spend that real quality time, they were just passing like ships in the night. They never actually had things like date nights or holidays. And that's when I knew that something needed to change. And I had a moment where I thought, hold on a sec, I'm the boss, I can create the rules, I can create exactly what I want my life to look like.

I had a turning point during Christmas 2018 when I got sick again from overworking (like every Christmas). I promised myself this would be the last business burnout Christmas, especially as we wanted to start a family. When I did become a mum in 2021. And I had this period of deep belief and reflection and a lot of thinking about what am I actually trying to create here with this business. What do I want this to look like? And I realised that it wasn't about the money. It was about what the money could give me and my family. I wanted an amazing relationship with my family. I wanted to go on holiday, I wanted to save for our future. I wanted to actually be there. For my kids, as my parents were for me, I'm so close with both of my parents.

I wanted to cherish every moment because, as the saying goes, you only get 18 summers with your kids, but I think that's a myth. I still go on vacations with my parents, and now we're extending this tradition to the next generation. I desired a life different from the one I saw in the entrepreneurial world, a life where I could truly be present for my family. However, I was lost because the majority of entrepreneurs I encountered were trapped in the hustle and sacrificing their well-being.

So I can tell you today, 6+ years down the road, with children, a husband and a dog that it's possible. It's 100% possible. But first, we have to fundamentally change some things and check in on some things in your business to make sure you don’t run into business burnout.

So, I want to share with you five questions. Once you answer these questions, you will determine if you are on the path to business burnout, or if you're doing a pretty good job of making sure your business is sustainable.

Question 1 - do you love your business?

So the first question I want you to answer for yourself is: Do you love your business?

This isn't just about whether you love what you do. Many entrepreneurs, like my clients and students, often start their businesses out of passion. They genuinely love their work, whether it's coaching, teaching, creating, or helping people transform their lives. But here's the catch - loving what you do is just part of the puzzle when you're a business owner. In fact, it's only about 20% of the equation. Being an entrepreneur means the other 80% is about loving your business, and I don't mean the chores and paperwork. I mean you need to love being a business owner, the one who makes things happen.

This is a common reason my clients come to me. They love their work but didn't sign up for the business side of things. That’s where they need guidance.

So, do you like running a business? Do you enjoy making things happen? Do you see this as a long-term commitment because it generally takes two to three years to reach a point of stability? Despite the 'get-rich-quick' promises out there, most businesses take this amount of time to solidify.

If you're wondering if you love your business, let's dive a little deeper. Do you love the clients you serve? Sometimes we end up with clients who aren't our cup of tea, but finding clients you truly connect with can reignite your passion for your business. When you enjoy your clients' company and what they stand for, running your business becomes much more enjoyable. You'll find yourself no longer in this transactional relationship where it's just about how much money they’re going to pay you.

The final piece of this puzzle is whether you are spending time in your zone of genius. While it might be challenging initially, especially in the startup phase where you're wearing multiple hats, the goal is to focus on what you excel at and get support where needed as your business grows. Staying in your zone of genius is where you can offer the most value to your business and your clients. If you're not spending a lot more time in your zone of genius, you will get burnt out because you're constantly trying to compensate for all these areas of weakness.

If you can confidently say 'yes' to loving your business, you're on the right track.

Question 2 - is your business predictably profitable?

The second question I want you to ask yourself is whether your business is predictably profitable.

It might sound simple enough. After all, if your business can't pay your bills, it won't last long. Profitability is a vital piece of the sustainability puzzle. If you aim to be in business as I have for over six years, you need to make sure that you can pay yourself.

I'm consistently surprised when I hear from business owners who don't know their numbers. They're unsure of last month's revenue, can't recall last year's total annual revenues, and have no idea about their business expenses. These are big red flags. To truly burnout-proof your business, you need to know your numbers.

As we discussed in part 2 of “The Path to Predictable Income” series, your business also has to support your lifestyle. It should provide you with a steady income to cover your personal and business expenses. Not knowing your expenses or what you need to pay yourself can lead to feelings of financial instability and cash crunches. This is a recipe for business burnout. Nothing is more disheartening than a business that can't cover its expenses.

Just to clarify, I work from my home office, I don't work from a fancy countryside home. Our lifestyle is simple and comfortable. I don't own a flashy car or wear designer clothes. My focus is on funding our lifestyle, and this is crucial, especially as the primary breadwinner for my family. Making sure your business can pay your bills is essential to maintain your motivation and make necessary improvements to your life and business.

In my case, for maternity leave, I've planned ahead. I've saved a buffer to continue paying myself during my time off. This planning and foresight have been a privilege but a necessity. It ensures that your needs are met, and you don't end up feeling burnt out.

If your business is predictably profitable, and you can pay yourself a decent wage every month, that's amazing. You get a point for question 2.

Question 3 - Do you have time for a life?

The third question: Do you have time for a life? Is there space in your life for the things that truly matter?

This is such an important question. The number one reason many women tell me they started their businesses is to gain more freedom. They cherish their passion and what they do, but they've chosen this path because they want true freedom. They desire the freedom to work with the people they want, to have more quality time with their families, and to take breaks during the day – like attending a yoga class or picking up their kids from school.

So, are you making time for all of those things? If you can’t and you feel like your business is overwhelming your calendar, it's a sign that you might be headed straight for business burnout. It often means you're working too hard, and it's time to scale back. Too frequently, we try to cram everything into our 168 hours a week instead of concentrating on what will genuinely support our business and our lives. We don't want to get so sidetracked by our business that you forget to make a life and we also don't want your business to be designed in a way that prevents you from having a life.

Your business won't be sustainable if you don't allocate time for your life. Reflect on whether you've spent quality time with the people you care most about in the last week. This could be your partner, your children, a close friend, or any important person in your life. Making time for them should be a priority. This means meaningful, quality time spent together, not just passing each other in the hustle.

Another big part of this is taking time for yourself. When was the last time you truly rested? Not the kind where you're in sweatpants, your hair's a mess, but you're still doing chores. That is fake resting. I mean real rest, where you focus on activities that give back to you. You cannot serve others when your own cup is empty.

Lastly, it's essential to know and stick to your days off. Many female business owners tend to overwork themselves in the evenings or on weekends, blurring the boundaries between work and life. This blurriness prevents proper rest and can lead to business burnout. Do you have dedicated days off in your calendar, and do you actually take that time off? Even if your industry sometimes requires weekend work, consider compensating with time off during the week. While life gets busy and sometimes requires extra effort, too often needing to hustle too hard suggests it's time to rethink your schedule.

So, question number three: Do you have time for a life? Yes or no? Are you genuinely making time for your life, or is your business dominating your calendar?

Question 4 - can you grow your business without working more?

Now, this might seem like a trick question because many of us believe the only way to expand our business is by working harder and adding more hours. But that’s not true. There's a point where your calendar reaches its maximum capacity, and trying to work more will cost you burnout.

This is where you've filled your calendar with clients, raised your prices to their limits, and, perhaps, continued to experience only small growth by raising your prices slightly each year. But there usually comes a time when you simply don't want to work more hours. You want to find a way to work less and make the same or increase your income.

If you're at this stage, you must fundamentally change the way you approach your business and what you offer. This shift happened to me recently, especially with my pregnancy, which required me to increase my income without working additional hours. It was so nerve-racking, I needed to make a big jump in my personal income, and I needed to pay myself more without working more hours. That's where the business needed to shift to. It required me to think differently because I knew I couldn't just pile on more private clients.

So a couple of things you can ask yourself here is:

Can you still grow without working more hours?
Is there room to add more clients or increase your prices?

If not, do you need to shift the way that you're working with people - whether you're working with people in a completely different way, whether it's a premium pricing option or something that is more leveraged or more passive so that you can easily sell twice as much or better without requiring more of your time.

The transition I'm currently undergoing involves moving from a one-on-one coaching model to a one-to-many model, where I work with people as a group, allowing me to serve many more individuals than I could on a one-on-one basis.

Now, if you're thinking about adding a group program, an online program, or something with more leverage, there are some key things to consider. Serving more people means more questions, more emails, more support. You need a system in place to manage this efficiently. Can you handle these extra inquiries and support requirements while maintaining the quality of your service?

Lastly, are you prepared to deal with email management and billing challenges that are likely to increase with business growth? Keep in mind that growing your business isn't just about selling more; it's about serving more people. So, have systems in place to ensure that your service quality remains high as you scale.

question 5 - Do you have systems & support in place to avoid business burnout?

The fifth question and final question: Do you have systems and support in place in your business?

This is incredibly important. Do you have the structure in place so that your business doesn’t depend on you 100%? If you have to physically be there in order for your business to generate revenue, then you are stuck. You are going to be trapped by your business and you will most certainly burn out. You need to make sure your business is set up so that it can run day-to-day without you actually having to be in it.

Why is this so important? Life is unpredictable. There will be times when you need to attend to personal matters. For example, during Christmas 2022, my son Jacob was in the hospital for several days. I knew I could be there with him. If your child gets sick, you should be able to take care of them without worrying about your business falling apart. It's all about contingency planning, setting up systems and support to run the day-to-day operations.

Your business must be sustainable and ready for the unexpected. When something comes up, you shouldn't be the sole person responsible for keeping your business running. So ask yourself if you have the systems and support that you need.

That right here is the test. If you had to get up today and leave your business for a week or two weeks, could you do it without your business collapsing? This test determines if you have the necessary systems and support in your business.

When I see people who don't approach their business with a sustainability mindset, they tend to run themselves into the ground quickly and burn out because they’re not making sure that their business is fundamentally designed to truly support both a thriving business and a thriving life.

time for a RECAP

So, let's recap these five big questions. As I go through the recap, tally up your score out of five to see where you stand.

Do you love your business? Do you genuinely enjoy what you do, the clients you serve, and where you invest your time and energy daily? Are you working in your zone of genius? If the answer is yes, that's fantastic. If not, we need to figure out how you can shift to do more of what you're best at or work with clients you genuinely like.
Is your business profitable, and can you meet your personal needs? Can your business support your preferred lifestyle, at least a comfortable one? Nothing grinds you down faster than constantly worrying about money.
Do you have time for a life? Do you make time for the things that matter most to you, whether it's morning walks, quality time with your family, or indulging in hobbies? Do you have time for rest and for people you genuinely care about?
Can you grow your business without working more? If you've reached the point where your business has hit a ceiling in growth due to a maxed-out calendar or you've reached the top of your price range, it's time to redesign your business to continue growing without working more.
Do you have systems and support in place? If you had an emergency in your life and needed to leave for a week or two, would your business be able to function without you? Do you have the necessary systems and support?

Now, evaluate your score. If you answered "yes" to all five questions, you're doing amazingly well, you are a boss and I love that for you. Your focus should be on balancing business growth with your dream lifestyle.

If you scored "yes" on three or four questions, your business is okay, but there's room for improvement. This hopefully highlighted a couple of areas to prioritise. So with a little TLC and strategy, your business will start to become more sustainable, and it will start to take care of you better.

If you couldn't answer "yes" to any of these questions and you've realised you're not on the right track, your business needs some love and attention. You need to look at those questions, map out a strategy to make your business more sustainable, and turn it into a business you love (and loves you back!)

If you need extra support with this, go ahead and grab my 12-month Boss Gameplan for free.

In case you missed it, here is last week’s podcast and episode 2 of the Path to Predictable Income series - The #1 strategy to ensure you’re getting paid each & every month

Here is a link to the second part of “The Path to Predicable Income” series, in case you missed it last week!