Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Burnout

Do You Struggle With Burnout?

What was once an impossible dream is now reality for many people around the world: the ability to be an online business owner, or solopreneur – the sole owner of your little empire.

These great opportunities may come at a steep price: Burnout.

Here are the most common burnout symptoms:

• Exhaustion
• Lack of energy
• Constant fatigue
• Sleep disorders
• Reduced performance
• Concentration and memory problems
• Inability to make decisions
• Reduced initiative and imagination
• Physical symptoms:
• More frequent colds
• Muscle tension
• Sleep disorders
• Respiratory problems
• Chest tightness
• Dizziness
• Gastrointestinal complaints
• Headache
• Back pain
• Tinnitus
• Sexual problems
• Perspiration
• Tiredness

Other Signs:

• Indifference
• Disillusionment
• Tendency to cry
• Feeling of faintness
• Restlessness
• Loss of empathy
• Cynicism
• Loss of idealism
• Bitterness
• Relationship and/or family problems

Source

Great Opportunities

Thanks to the internet it is now possible for more people to start their own business. As the owner you have to do everything from create the product to sell the product. This takes dedication and a lot of hard work to achieve.

Gaming

Where once it was impossible for an avid gamer to create competitive games, with online tools such as Unity and Unreal Engine one can now create games that are marketable.

The drag-and drop interface on these tools helps developers streamline the production of their games. Music, textures and 3D models are just some of the content created by the communities and offered free with a creative commons license.

Using such tools, it is now possible for a single person to create a game that has graphics that closely resemble those created by larger studios.

With the rise of such ‘indie developers’, games such as Minecraft, Cave Story and Spelunky (to name just a few) have already sold millions of copies.

Distribution platforms help creators upload their projects so that they can be discovered easily. With video and photo editing tools it is easy to create marketing materials.

Then there are social media platforms, forums and SEO that will help individuals reach a wider audience.

One person can now run an entire game business, albeit with some help if needed. From bringing a vision to life, to reaping all the profits, the potential for success is now within the grasp of more people than ever before.

It may not be easy to envision, design and create a game worth playing. It takes dedication, creativity and passion as well as coding knowledge to see the dream come true.

However, if this is your passion, it is now easier than ever to make it your reality.

Other Online Businesses

Gaming is just one way to use these types of tools for empowerment. Who doesn’t want to take on the large organizations and beat them at their own game?

Other ways people find success online is by creating blogs and vlogs. YouTube is popular because it reaches wider and wider audiences.

Affiliate marketing is another way you can make money online: it is pretty easy to resell most physical products.

Affiliate marketing has transformed thanks to websites like Alibaba. With Alibaba’s help you work with manufacturers that will produce your products and ship them to your clients.

Your customers don’t know about this manufacturer, they think you run your own tiny factory somewhere. What could be better?

You design your product; someone else manufactures it and ships it for you and you reap the rewards. Of course, you do have to market your own product and pay for any services you use.

Challenges

While being a soloentrpreur liberates you from the outside working world, it does bring its own set of challenges that you must learn to deal with.

You now wear every hat in the business and are responsible for seeing that each job gets done.

If you are selling affiliate products, or running a simple blog, you quickly realize that this can be a challenging way to live.

You have no guarantees that you will have more work to do tomorrow.

Nor are you guaranteed a paycheck each week. A smooth running business can suddenly run into problems.

Now you worry about such things as Google removing your business site from its pages, leaving you unable to sell your products.

Or whether that big client is going to stick with you or move on.

What if things go quiet for months at a time? What if products or shipments go missing?

Real Scenarios

These are all real scenarios that you may face as a solopreneur. You need to be ready to make snap decisions at any given moment.

You are also responsible for all the big decisions required to run your business.

If you have a YouTube channel and decide you want to sell your latest eBook, do you know how to do it?

Do you know which eCommerce store to use, or how much you should charge for the eBook?

Are your loyal customers going to be upset because you are now charging money for information you offer? Will they stay loyal or abandon you?

What happens if you have an outdated version of PHP on your computer and it causes the WooCommerce store to crash? Does this mean you will lose hundreds of pre-orders?

Do you let other people upload videos to your channel? How will this make your loyal audience feel?

Will they be receptive to new content on your site? Perhaps you worry they might like the other content more than yours.

All real concerns in the world of internet marketing – no matter what it is you have to sell.

Constant Juggling

It may seem like you are constantly juggling your way through your work day – you do a little here and a little there, not working smart at all. You need to create a work/life balance.

This is not always possible if you are a service provider. This type of job requires you to be on-call at all times. Therefore, your work and down times are not well defined.

However, you can choose to work a regular 9-5 day, or you could even work 9-9 if you want to make more money.

You get to choose whether you would rather work a few more hours, or relax for the rest of the evening. If reaching your goal quicker is your desire, then put in that extra time.

What happens if you don’t finish all your work by the end of your work day? Are you going to stop now and pick it up tomorrow, or are you going to finish it up tonight?

Is there something special you are saving money for? Perhaps a new vehicle or a trip? Choices you make now will determine the outcome of your future.

Other Worries

Even if you do choose to work more traditional work hours, when you relax at night you may wonder if you should be working ‘just a little’ on the next project awaiting you.

Or maybe you worry that what you accomplished that day was not good enough and needs to be redone.

What if there are emails that need to be answered right now?

Some are going to be from irate customers who are unhappy with your work or product. There will be nasty comments to contend with on various social media sites. People will leave nasty remarks on your YouTube videos.

It is never ending and it is highly stressful!

Your Health

Solopreneurs that experience burnout are those who don’t take care of their health or their productivity.

You don’t want to just survive in your business, you want to thrive.

The way to thrive is to improve your physical and mental health in ways that will help you increase your energy output and creativity, as well as improve your ability to focus on reaching for more.

The Effort You Put In

One thing you need to remember is that everything you sell and everything you earn is because of the effort you put into creating that product or service. It comes from your mind, your heart and through your hands.

To be more successful you simply need to produce more of whatever it is that is making you money.

Learning to maximize the ways your body and brain work together will help you better manage your focus and your energy levels, which can only lead to more production.

Once you increase your production, you will notice a nice increase in your profits.

As a solopreneur you need to avoid burnout by focusing on your end goals.

Always remember that to double your output means that your will also double your profits. Keep your eyes on the end rewards.