Toast talks to Saskatoon-based serial entrepreneur Jess Tetu. This column is all about her fourth key to entrepreneurial success, stress management and support systems.
#2 – Be Tenacious & Commit Deeply!
#4 – Stress Management & Support Systems
#5 – Network
#6 – Stay Inspired
#7 – Give Back
#4 – Stress Management & Support Systems
Stress management is an essential skill for entrepreneurs. I believe that learning how to navigate through the hard moments is key to survival, and the events of 2020 are no exception.
Finding ways to handle stress and learning techniques that work for you and your business is an important step to reaching your entrepreneurial goals and finding true success. Explore different stress management ideas and options and – most importantly – find a very strong support system.
Tips for stress management
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Stress prevention
- Delegate and share the workload by passing on smaller tasks to others. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, especially when you start to struggle.
- When possible, hire experts and professionals in their field to take on the tasks that you find difficult or stressful. For example, bookkeeper, graphic designer, inventory clerk and social media manager functions might be tasks best left to professionals.
- Learn to say no! Don’t try to be a superhuman and take on more than you can handle. When you’re under stress, it’s important to put yourself first and to make managing your stress levels a priority. Knowing your limits is key.
Create healthy habits for stress management
- Focus on positive thinking and staying optimistic.
- Take breaks. When you feel things starting to build up and become overwhelming, change your focus of attention for a little while and go do something you enjoy. Try a brief walk, get some fresh air or call a friend. Sometimes a short break from whatever is weighing on you can give you a new perspective and renewed energy. As a result, taking a meaningful break can keep you from becoming overwhelmed.
- Meditate – try restorative yoga or find other soul calming activities that will help you stay grounded and prevent stress build up.
- Smile and laugh to reenergize yourself.
- Remember to continue doing the things that you love outside of building your business – spend time with those you love and make a point of including enjoyable activities as part of your weekly schedule.
- Sleep well, eat well and exercise regularly. Time after time, these habits have been proven to be key in stress management.
- Stay organized, make goals, create a plan and follow a strict schedule. Keeping yourself organized will avoid things piling up, keep you on-track and avoid unnecessary stress.
Break it down
- Take note of the specific things that are causing you stress or giving you difficulty and break them down. It’s important to recognize the cause, or causes, so you can problem-solve, find solutions and ultimately alleviate your stress.
Build support systems for stress management
- Create a strong network of support around you. These people will become absolute treasures to you during your entrepreneurial journey. Other entrepreneurs and like-minded professionals can be extremely helpful because they understand what it is you are going through and can offer you both advice and solutions. Build this support system wisely and keep these people close!
Bonus tip: deal or ditch
I suggest using what I like to call the “deal or ditch” method when it comes to a stressful issue weighing on my mind. I make a decision to either deal with the problem immediately and take action, or I decide it’s not worth my energy, ditch it and let it go.
Spending excessive time worrying (or complaining) about something will only bring you more stress. My advice is to get into a habit of tackling problems quickly and learn to make decisions quickly. Deal with it, or ditch it and move on!
