This is the fourth and final article in our series on getting back to business post pandemic. The first three articles talked about how to best market your business post pandemic, how to bring your employees back to work seamlessly and smoothly and how to approach and reconnect with your clients.

In this article we’re going to talk about a topic that often gets overlooked, YOU! You’ve likely had to make a lot of difficult choices during the pandemic. Running a small business is a roller coaster under the best circumstances and the last seven months have been chaotic to say the least. Most of us were thrown into overdrive in the early days of the pandemic as we either temporarily shut down our operations or re-defined what our businesses were and how we could add value.

And then, in the eyes of our customers at least, it seemed like we went quiet or dormant for the next few months. As business owners know however, that was the farthest thing from the truth. We’ve been working constantly behind the scenes to take care of all aspects of abruptly slowing or pausing a business.

We’ve been navigating employee layoffs or furloughs, employee unemployment claims, government grants, EIDL and PPP loans and the myriad of new requirements around sanitization and protective measures. While most of the world slowed down, for most small business owners, the last seven months have been a whirlwind of activity with a steep learning curve.

Add to that, we’ve done all of these things with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over our heads. The thought that our businesses wouldn’t survive the pandemic has weighed heavily on our minds and is still a huge worry for many of us. To say it’s been a stressful time for small business owners is a colossal understatement and it’s taken a toll on our physical and mental well-being.

Let’s face it, small business owners are generally not great at self-care. We pour ourselves into our businesses often to the point of exhaustion and burn out. In the early days especially of starting my own business I would often get to 5 or 6pm in my day and realize I’d forgotten to eat anything that day. Regular exercise and good nutritional habits seemed to go right out the window as the business launched and grew.

We’ve all hear the statistics. 20% of small businesses fail in the first year, 50% go belly up after five years, and only 33% make it to 10 years or longer, according to the Small Business Association (https://cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/24153946/Frequently-Asked-Questions-Small-Business-2019-1.pdf)

One reason for these alarming statistics is that many small business owners try to do everything themselves. (https://www.guidantfinancial.com/blog/5-reasons-for-small-business-failure/) We either can’t afford help in the early stages of the business or we simply aren’t comfortable handing all or part of our baby off to someone else. Whatever the reason, it takes a toll on your health and that negatively affects your business.

The world has been through the wringer and it’s not over. As we re-open our businesses we’ll be working harder than ever to re-build. Now is the time to remember to be kind to ourselves. More than kind, we need to take care of ourselves.

Schedule time into your day to get regular exercise. Avoid the McDonald’s drive through, at least some of the time, in favor of healthy eating. I know this takes time but this is a marathon, not a sprint. We can’t expect to come back from the pandemic immediately and the emotional toll of re-building our businesses will wear us down if we’re not careful. You owe it to yourself to take care of yourself and you owe it to your business.

So, step back, pause, breathe. You’ve earned it and you deserve it. You’ll get there. You have the strength and the drive to come back. I know this because you’re an entrepreneur and you’ve done it before.   

Other articles you might like:

Getting back to business post pandemic – Marketing https://thepetbusinesscoach.dog/post-pandemic-marketing/

Getting back to business post pandemic – Personnel Management https://thepetbusinesscoach.dog/post-pandemic-personnel-management/

Eliza is the owner of two successful pet related businesses; Preferred Pet Partners, a pet sitting and dog walking company, and The Pet Business Coach, offering coaching and resources to aspiring or current pet related business entrepreneurs. She maintains two awesome blogs. One for pet parents https://preferredpetpartners.com/blog/ and one for pet business owners https://thepetbusinesscoach.dog/blog-page/.  Eliza also supports various animal rescue and shelter organizations. Visit her websites: www.preferredpetpartners.com or www.thepetbusinesscoach.dog.