For many onsite installers, summer is a period of peak demand, which often leads to long hours and significant stress. While it’s the time to maximize revenue, it’s also when the risk of burnout is highest.
Staying motivated and healthy is crucial not just for your own well-being, but for maintaining the quality and efficiency of your business. As you ramp up for the busiest part of the year, we’ve rounded up essential reading to help you and your team manage the pressure, maintain a healthy work-life balance and prevent burnout from derailing your success.
1. Some business owners find it difficult to give up complete control and start delegating to employees, but the fastest way to burn out is trying to do everything yourself. To save your sanity, identify the team members you can trust to handle big jobs or new responsibilities without a ton of oversight.
Read more: 8 Ways for Stressed-Out Business Owners to Cope
2. The other septic company across town probably first comes to mind when you think of your competition, but in reality... your real competition is you. We all get in our own way now and then. Business is complicated, and it’s always easier to see where we went off the rails after the fact. But there are also some very common places where we tend to compete with ourselves, self-erecting the roadblocks to our own success, over and over, without really considering what we’re doing.
Read more: Stop Being the Roadblock to Your Own Business Success
3. Business owners know the feeling of burnout all too well, but it’s important to be aware that employees will experience it, too. Not only is this a significant mental health issue, but it can impact your team’s dynamics and your bottom line as well. Employees who are burned out may take more sick days, make more sloppy mistakes or just generally be less engaged and productive. Here’s how to notice signs of burnout in your team, and some basic steps to prevent burnout from occurring.
Read more: Recognizing the Signs of Employee Burnout
4. Being busy has become a badge of honor in the workplace, but working constantly doesn’t necessarily equate to progress and success. Stressed owners or workers may produce subpar projects, fail to meet deadlines or place the business under a threat of liability. Being busy brings in revenue, but if the amount of jobs you’re taking on causes your quality of work to go down, profits will start to suffer in the long run. Assess whether you’re on a sustainable path, and solve the “busy” problem.
Read more: How Being Too Busy Can Be Bad Business
5. Business owners sometimes feel like they need to be all things to all people. They agree to do more than they should and wind up being stretched too thin. You can’t do everything, so sometimes you have to say no to one thing in order to say yes to something more important. It’s imperative that you realize the importance of being judicious with your time and your attention. One of the most valuable skills a business owner can develop is learning when and how to say no.
Read more: Learning to Say 'No' Can Grow Your Bottom Line
6. Being a septic services professional can be a thankless job. You’re often called upon in emergencies when people aren’t in the best of spirits. As a result, you don’t typically get the customer’s best moments, and you aren’t always shown the level of respect you deserve. Over time, that can be taxing and can leave you feeling unfulfilled, unappreciated and burnt out. But you’re expected to consistently show up smiling and ready to help. Here’s what you can do to recharge yourself and bring joy back into the job.
Read more: How Burnt-Out Installers Can Enjoy Working Again
7. In order to stave off premature burnout and exhaustion, it’s critical to take some time off every now and then. Simply exiting the office for a week isn’t enough; it’s important to actually disconnect and give yourself a true break. This can be easier said than done, of course, as small-business owners typically devote every waking hour to ensuring their team is operating at peak efficiency. Planning a vacation is just the first step. To truly disconnect, tie up any loose ends before you leave, and consider these other practical strategies.
Read more: 8 Ways for Business Owners to Truly Disconnect During a Vacation
