Things they don't tell you when you starting your business

When you start a business, you have this idea that you will decide when what happens and how much you work, right?

It can not be further from the truth, you will never work harder in your life, and you will never work more hours than what you do when you work for yourself. If you are a business owner, you know that when you tell people you work for yourself, they always reply, “Wow, that is amazing! Now you get decided when and how long you work.”

I want to talk to you about my friend “burnout”!

This is something that I found not a lot of people like to admit when they start their businesses. Well, it happens, and this happened to me just last week. As a new freelancer, I want to ensure I take on as many clients as possible, even if that means having 3 onboarding clients in one week! Yip, that was a bad idea!

I got so excited when I got to sign 3 new clients; the only problem is that they all wanted to start at the same time. This might not sound like an issue, but when you have clients on your books already, a group coaching program, taking on new platforms, and really wanting to be consistent, you are going to have to put in the hours to make it all work!

Burn out does not happen overnight! I have been struggling to work out a daily routine that works for me and have found myself, over the last couple of weeks, starting to work at 05:30, and then some nights, I would still be busy at 21:00.

The big thing to know is that this happens, and it is ok to say I need to take care of me!

Here are a couple of things that I have implemented since Monday to ensure that I don’t overdo it and I still take care of me:

I planned out my calendar, from when I check social media for my clients to how long and when the time is up, the time is up. This has forced me to put my head down and work for those couple of hours. I blocked my lunchtime and even left 15 min in between tasks to have a short break. Just coz you work for yourself does not mean that you have to work the entire 8 hours. Leave some time for research and education.

I have also blocked 2 of the days in my week (Wednesdays & Fridays) off in my calendar not to have discovery or client calls on these days. Fridays are normally when I record the following weeks' YouTube, plan my week, and tie up any loose ends from the week.

I have also put down some rules for myself, I am only allowed to onboard 1 – 2 new clients a month, and I have also limited the total number of clients I am willing to work with. Now, I know this sound crazy, but I did not leave my 9 – 5 to have to work even longer hours; I left my 9 – 5 to add value (and if I am too tired, I would never be able to go above and beyond for my clients) and for the lifestyle change.

I have added some self-care times into my calendar, and they might sound silly, but if it is in my calendar, I know I am more committed. Things like going to the gym 3 times a week, taking the dog for walks during the week, and having Mask Wednesday & Sundays.

Try as much as possible to batch create content for yourself and your clients, not to worry about content creation on the days that you need to focus on other things.

You do not have to be the hardest worker to be a success; yes, in the beginning, you might have to put the extra hours in but remember to relook your schedule and working hours every once in a while.

Having processes in place helps a lot! From onboarding clients to planning content to how you do month-end.

Remember your reason as to why you left your 9 – 5! It was to ensure I have more freedom, be healthier, spend more time with my family, and, yes, make more money.

Because I have been where you are, I know how hard it is to go from side hustle to freelancer, so I am putting together the perfect group coaching program for you! I will be teaching you how to find your profitable niche, how to do onboarding of new clients, how to market yourself, and how to put together a month-end report for your clients. This course will launch in April 2021, and if you would like to be added to the list to get more info, please click on this link: https://www.subscribepage.com/socialemediaacademy