Running or starting a business can be a demanding job. It requires you to render your physical, emotional, mental, and psychological state to make operations better and more efficient. You need to commit your whole being, especially when your business is not yet automated and needs hands-on supervision.
Imagine these scenes: waking up too early, making countless phone calls; endless meetings with clients; rush hours; queues in the bank or other relevant institutions; assessment of financial reports; and many more. There’s just a lot to do and think about when managing a business.
While you may be passionate and fired to do all that, they may take a toll on your health. That’s why it’s essential to take care not only of your business but more importantly, of yourself. With a healthier overall being, you can do your tasks better and more efficiently.
Here are some practical ways on how to look after yourself so you can look after your business.
Put a Balance On Your Work Hours and Other Essentials in Life
Running your business can take much of your time, especially when you are just starting. At times, you’ll feel like the business is taking control of your life, including special moments which you could have devoted to other things.
Unfortunately, working for long hours has become the norm, and before you’re aware of it, little is left for whatever else that matters to you.
But here is the thing. No matter how inspired you are to continue working on your business, it will come to the point that you will feel drained and empty. Of course, it’s a great relief seeing your efforts pay off with increased sales and customers. But again, taking time off for yourself or your loved ones is vital.
Otherwise, you risk your health and life satisfaction and fulfillment. Countless studies have shown that long working hours lead to poorer mental health, excessive fatigue, burnout, constant anxiety and worry, irritability, and increased injuries. Some even suffer from depression in the long run.
So, what can you do to set a work-life balance?
Here are some recommendations:
- Schedule a time for when you will turn off your business email and gadgets every day. Sure. You might be missing some updates and emergencies. But the thing is, technology can make it unclear to distinguish between work and home and will make you feel like you need to be always on the check.
- Switch on your alarm to signal a much-needed break for the day. Yes, don’t go over your daily hours, drowning yourself on business responsibilities. Take a break for a while. For instance, go have a coffee reflection or take a short walk to help you cope with stress and better organize your thoughts.
- If you’ve been having a hectic period for the past days or weeks, do have an afternoon off or take a long weekend. In many cases, it’s easier to balance periods of long hours with lesser hours.
- Identify responsibilities and daily appointments which you can outsource, delegate, or even decline. Some obligations may be done by some colleagues or employees or could be outsourced from agencies at a relatively lower price. Other tasks may not necessarily need your attention. So, don’t bother much about thinking too much about this every day.
- You don’t have to attend every appointment set with your presence. Meetings here and meetings there could exhaust you to the max. The less baggage you have, the easier it is to carry your business to the next level.
- Set a plan for your day before starting. If you noticed, working long hours for a long time can make you less productive, not just in terms of output quantity but quality as well. To avoid these, have a daily plan. Prioritise urgent requests and set time to accomplish them right away. Don’t get distracted when new roles or responsibilities suddenly pop up. They will have to follow.
Get Connected and Find Support
Running a business consumes much of your time and energy and sometimes, can lead to constant isolation. It may be true in the literal sense, especially if you are a sole proprietor. Or even if you have a small business with some employees, tackling the challenges with them can feel awkward and that too can feel isolating.
That is why it is important to have someone or a group whom you can connect to and discuss the ups and downs of your business. Therefore, accessing social support is one of the things you should do to maintain a healthier physical and mental disposition.
Here are some tips to boost your connection and leverage support:
Get connected with someone you can trust. That could be a friend, a family member, a mentor, or another business owner. It helps to choose someone you’ve known at least for a long time because trust allows you to be vulnerable to one another. In that way, both of you can confidently share your pain points or on the light side, your business milestones.
Participate in a network doing your niche. Let’s say you are an eCommerce beginner. There are a lot of Facebook groups where you can join and seek constant support. You don’t have to feel insecure because for sure, members of the group went through the same or similar struggles.
Connect with a business mentor. Frustrations and difficulties in business mostly come from a lack of knowledge or skills. That holds especially true if you are just starting. That is why having a mentor means a lot. While you may be lucky to find a mentor, who could guide you for free, most would demand some fees.
Of course, mentors trade time for you. If you cannot meet them in person, try accessing their online courses or eBooks. You can find a whole bunch of mentors online, offering their expertise on different niches.
Ask support during financial blows. There will be times when your business will go through a financial crisis. It could happen once, twice, or many times. Don’t be afraid to seek support when that happens. That is why make sure that you have support groups or institutions to help you cope during emergencies.
If you think your long working hours plus the associated stresses are affecting your mental health, set an appointment to see a clinical expert. Don’t let your struggle prolong. Otherwise, things could get worse for you and your business.
Maintain a Healthy and Pro-Active Lifestyle
If you are familiar with the common adage, “Health is Wealth,” then you should know that health equals business success.
A healthy lifestyle means better mental health and overall wellbeing. If you are in such state, you have the optimum capacity to handle loads of responsibilities, crucial decisions, and daily stresses such as financial humps and failed contracts. You can set a more efficient and effective strategy to grow your business and solve problems.
There are different ways to help develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Here are some of them:
- Try doing relaxation techniques which you find convenient and compatible with you and your values. You may want to consider exercise, meditation, reading, listening to music, or breathing therapies. If you are an adventurous type of person, go on chasing waterfalls, navigating jungle trails, or climbing mountains. You can also participate in fitness activities such as marathons.
- If you have limited time for outdoor activities, you can access online platforms to guide you towards a healthy living. For instance, you can download a meditation app or listen to audiobooks, which give doses of inspiration. Because these are easily accessible, you can do them during a work break or after office hours.
- Aspire for a good and quality sleep. It’s given that the piles of responsibilities can force you to do overtime, thus, depriving you of a sound sleep. However, lacking sleep can lead to serious health consequences. For that, you need to balance your work-life schedules so you can also set enough time for rest and sleep.
For that, it’s important to create a regular sleeping pattern. It does not have to be an eight-hours of sleep. Just make sure that the hours you allotted works to renew your mind and body for the following day. You can overtime on some days but create a routine to compensate for your lack of sleep.
For example, you can allot 30 minutes every lunchtime for a little nap. Also, it helps to rid your room of phones, television, and laptops to create a comfortable sleeping environment.
Remember. Quality sleep keeps diseases away. It sustains the healthy state of your overall being. That means more productivity and greater capacity to achieve milestones for your business.
- Incorporate physical activities into your day. It does not have to take you that long. What matters is that you do something that fits your commitment and that you enjoy. For example, you can take a walk around your home during the early morning. Or splash on your swimming pool for some minutes. Or after office hours, you can jog around.
- Work on a hobby outside of your business. For sure, you have extra interests. You may love gardening, playing chess, or painting. Try allotting time for these and share them with your loved ones.
Business Resources You Can Count On
For more resources and tools you can easily use in managing your business, check out our Bizzloans Resources Hub. If you need funding to boost your success in business, head on to our loan comparison tool to get free quotes which won’t affect your credit score.
No Security Necessary
The main thing that makes unsecured loans more attractive than secured loans is the fact that they’re no security. It might be an obvious thing to highlight but it clearly matters. You won’t be weighed down by the pressure and worry associated with having collateral hanging over you and potentially being lost to the lender if you fail to make repayments. If you don’t want to take the risk of losing your collateral, you just need to opt for an unsecured loan instead. It’ll allow you to avoid any risks associated with secured loans.
Build Up Your Future Credit Score
By taking out a loan and then paying it off on time, you will help to build or repair your credit score. Many companies are dealing with poor credit, but by taking out an unsecured loan with a lender that is happy to lend to companies with poor credit, you can start to turn the situation around. Meeting regular repayment deadlines shows the world that you are able to stay on top of your financial obligations and pay off the money you owe, and that will only help your business going forward.
Why Your Business Might Want to Take Out an Unsecured Loan
There are lots of reasons why your business might take out a loan, as well as reasons not to. You shouldn’t take out a loan to cover running costs, but if you want to do other things, such as the things we’re going to discuss below, an unsecured business loan can be ideal.
Grow and Expand
Most entrepreneurs have big plans for their businesses. They want to ensure that their business is one that’s got a bright future. So if the time has come for you to grow and expand your business, you should think about whether taking out an unsecured business loan might help you to do that. It could be exactly what you need to get your business moving in the right kind of direction. It takes money and investment to grow your business and a loan might just be the ideal solution.
Take on More Clients and Customers
If your business doesn’t currently have the resources to deal with more customers and clients, it could be time to scale things up. However, that’s something that costs money, whether you like or not. Taking out an unsecured business loan could help improve the resources your business has available. It could mean hiring more people so that you have the human resources needed to take on more clients and make more customers happy. The loan will cover the costs associated with doing that and it’ll pay for itself if you’re able to improve your profits as a result.
Fund a New Marketing Campaign
Maybe it’s the case that attracting new customers to your business is where your problems lie. It’s not always easy to get your voice heard and make people aware of why they should be taking notice of your business. An unsecured loan could be used to fund a new marketing campaign that gets your message out there and makes more people interested in your business and what it’s offering. So if you have an idea for a marketing campaign that you think might work but you don’t have the financing for it, consider a loan.
Improve with Fewer Risks
The chance to improve your business in the many ways mentioned above offers you a real opportunity that you might want to grasp. Secured loans can offer the same access to financing but come with more risks to your business. With an unsecured loan, you can reap all the rewards that come with having the cash to invest in your business without having to worry about the risks adversely affecting the business in the future. The chance to improve with fewer risks attached to that chance should not be ignored or dismissed.
The Requirements for Getting an Unsecured Business Loan
There are some requirements you’ll need to be aware of before you take out an unsecured business loan. These aren’t too harsh or restrictive at all, but they are important.
24 Month Limit
When you take out an unsecured loan from Bizzloans, you have to pay the loan back within 24 months. That’s the maximum repayment term that’s on offer. Of course, that won’t be a problem for the vast majority of businesses out there. It’s important that you look at the finances closely and decide for sure that this is something your business is going to be able to do. You’ll have a chance to do this when you get a quote from us, so you’ll know exactly what you’re signing up to.
Business Bank Statements
To ensure your business is in a financial position to take on a loan of the size you’ve applied for, you’ll need to simply submit your business’s bank statements. This allows us to ensure that we lend responsibly and don’t burden you with a debt that is too much for you to take on. It’s in both your best interests and ours that you’re able to handle the loan that you take on.
Photo ID
To ensure everything is correct and proper, and you are who you say you are, you have to submit a photo ID. This is common practice and ensures that all financial transactions are above board and in order. It’s very easy to do and needn’t be a headache for you. Once we are satisfied with your application, you’ve provided the bank statements and we’ve checked your ID, it won’t be long before you have access to the loan you applied for.
Getting an unsecured business loan for your company could be just what it needs right now. It’s a much safer option than taking out a secured loan and you’ll be accepted much faster. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Bizzloans if you’re thinking of taking out an unsecured business loan.
