How to Avoid Burnout: A Guide for Entrepreneurs
Any entrepreneur can tell you that the secret of success is sacrifice. Hard work simply comes with the territory—including some very long hours.
Today, small business owners work far above the national average. Roughly one in three work more than 50 hours per week. One in five work 60 hours or more. In all cases, small businesses were found to work twice as hard as traditional employees.
But entrepreneurs are people, too. Despite their intense work ethic and superhuman endurance, nonstop work can’t go on forever. There’s always a breaking point, often manifesting with a devastating consequence: burnout.
Burnout affects the entrepreneur in a number of ways. A whopping 42% of all entrepreneurs report feeling burned out over the past year, a number that is expected only to grow. This number is much greater for minority-owned businesses, with 62% of respondents reporting burnout. Worse, 53% of all those surveyed report burnout as having a negative effect on their business.
It’s clear that burnout doesn’t just negatively affect the mind. Once it becomes severe enough, it can have serious consequences on the health and success of your business.
Let’s explore the working definition of burnout from an entrepreneurial perspective, …