Last year there were 2 amazing business statistics that blew me away:
- 24.1% of founders of start-up companies suffered start-up burnout
- 54.2% of founders felt their business adversely affected their personal life and health.
So why the hell do we do it to ourselves?!
I am one of those start-up founders who has their life arse about (pardon my French!). Seriously, as I strive to make an impact in new industries I have been putting in long hours of reading, writing and web surfing. I consider this fun but my wife considers it work!
But when I step out of my life and into a helicopter to look down on my life, I ask: “What are you doing?”
I am one of these statistics! And what is worse I think I have met the 54.2% of founders of start-ups who are suffering via Twitter LinkedIn, Facebook – especially on Sundays! Us entrepreneurs are all workaholics but it’s not in our DNA, we can change . . . if we want to!
I’ve never been an alcoholic (though my mum may challenge that as she remembers my uni days. I certainly can’t!) but according to TV, you are not an alcoholic until you admit you have a problem. Well, small-to-medium business owners, look in the mirror with me. We are all workaholics!
And we bend the truth: “It is not work because I love what I do”. Oh puh-lease!
I can empathise with every founder of an SME because I was like you: skipped breakfast, didn’t work out, checked emails after 6pm, ‘played’ with work thoughts on the weekends. But these actions are killing us – potentially literally and metaphorically.
My wife has been much happier over the past 12 months as she gets up at 5:45am and walks for 45 minutes. I hit the pavement 2 or 3 times a week and the gym a couple of times too. By taking time out for ourselves we both feel better about ourselves and together. There is an obvious change to the status quo when we lack time out.
I challenge you this week to take 30 minutes every day (second day if you have not admitted you’re a workaholic) to do something completely unrelated to work that will help you relax: read a trashy magazine, watch a re-run of Seinfeld, walk, go to the gym, have a massage or even have sex!
The way I look at it . . . if starting up a new business kills you then why do it?
