Why it’s important to avoid burnout as a business owner

“Bacon & eggs takes more commitment from the pig than the chicken.”

When I first heard this saying, it struck me how similar it is to being a business owner. I have a team of excellent people, who work hard, are honest, reliable, dedicated, and driven to make The Grants Hub better. But at the end of the day, they have the option of leaving to pursue a dream, new opportunity, or even choose something less demanding if, or when, things get tough. As the owner, I can’t do that.

The base level of commitment from an employee or sub-contractor is vastly different to the business owner. And rightly so.

There’s a verse in the Bible that so accurately summarises how business ownership can feel: “Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option” (2 Cor 4:8). We might love our businesses, but the pressure is real. At times at a surface level, we probably want to walk away. But it’s not that simple. We can’t just quit.

The biggest personal challenge I’ve had with the sacrificial nature of being a business owner is learning not to keep burning out. Twice, I’ve been told by a GP that my various physical and psychological symptoms were symptoms of burnout. I didn’t learn the first time around, and found myself reaching a similar point exactly two years later.

Last year, I could feel myself heading in the same direction (third time around). But this time, I read the signs early and listened to them. Not long after, our church ran a short series on burnout. It’s a common risk for high-achieving people, and is also linked to chronic stress. Most of the world has faced chronic stress thanks to COVID-19 this past two years, so learning the signs and sharing medically-backed strategies for identifying, managing and preventing burnout was a great initiative.

I think the key lies in rest. And not staying in the ‘stuck’ for longer than necessary. While we often say God spent seven days creating the world, He actually did it in six. And do you know what He did on the seventh day? Nothing. Zip. Nada. Absolutely nothing at all. He purely rested. Six days of work, one day of complete rest.

We so often don’t stop and rest. Even if we take ‘a holiday’, when was the last time you took a rest from your emails, phone or socials? For me, I couldn’t remember the last day I took a break from these three things. We rarely, if ever, rest our minds from work, thinking and the influence of others. I wonder how we’d feel if we left our phones in the cupboard one day a week?

For business owners, it’s so important that we look after ourselves. We need to educate ourselves about burnout and what it looks like before we find ourselves there. People rely on us. Our employees need their paychecks, our customers need our product/service, and if we enjoy what we do, we want to keep finding joy in our work and be able to see the difference and impact we’re making.

We don’t want to be the pig in the bacon & eggs.

When was the last time you completely rested?