Invest in you
Putting yourself first can help your bottom line,
When Roberta Perry started Scrubzbody Natural Skin Care Products 10 years ago, pleasing her clients was her top concern.
“I ridiculously overextended myself,” the Bethpage, N.Y.-based entrepreneur says. Eventually, the stress of running the business became unbearable. “I nearly collapsed under the pressure of it all.”
Nearly half of small-business owners work more than 50 hours a week, according to a study in 2013 by Westminster, Colo.-based business coaching and advisory organization The Alternative Board.
“Many entrepreneurs feel that we have to push harder and longer to beat out everyone else,” says Phoenix-based productivity coach Nicole Bandes. “But there’s a point of diminishing return in which the work being done is of such poor quality that it needs to be redone or scrapped all together.”
For most small-business owners it’s a toss-up as to what they have less of: money or time. No matter which you believe you have less of, investing in yourself can help you not only feel better, it can boost the bottom line. The best investment Perry could make in herself was to free up more time. After adding two parttime employees, “the business grew because more of my time was spent on things that actually advanced the business,” she says.
Instead of using hours worked as a barometer for success, smallbusiness owners should invest in themselves and their businesses will benefit, says entrepreneur and best-selling author Tony Robbins. “If you improve your- self, your skill, your ability, your talent, you’re going to be able to do things nobody else can do,” Robbins says. ATTEND OUT-OF-TOWN CONFERENCES Robbins’ message rings true for April Harter-Enriquez, owner of San Diego-based public relations firm WordPop Public Relations. “It’s easy to keep recycling the same ideas, but as a business owner, you need to do more,” she says. She attends one out-of-town conference per year. The $1,500 she might spend on travel fees is well worth the knowledge she comes away with, as well as the valuable connections, she says. For example, a contact she met at a PR boot camp in Washington led to new media opportunities for her clients. LISTEN TO PODCASTS, TAKE ONLINE COURSES Even without a hefty travel budget, there are ways small-business owners can incorporate training in the day-to-day routine. Anne Ruffner, founder and CEO of Raleigh, N.C.-based Crubiq, a 10-employee sales firm, listens to podcasts on management topics while on her morning run. She takes online courses such as a Web programming class that taught her how to communicate better with the Web developers on her team. “This has enabled us to work with a better flow,” she says. TAKE A BREAK AND GET ACTIVE — AT THE OFFICE Some of the best investments small-business owners can make have little to do with work itself. A study in 2013 by Stanford University’s Department of Psychology found that physical activity improves brain power. Many small-business owners are too busy to exercise. “My first year of business was so busy, I found myself bringing a gym bag with me to work but being too tired at the end of my day to go,” says Kelley Kitley, owner of Serendipitous Psychotherapy in Chicago. Her solution: putting a spin bike in her office so she can work out three days a week when she gets a quick break during the day. BOOK A FLIGHT THAT IS NON-REFUNDABLE Fifty-seven percent of small-business owners planned a vacation in 2014, according to lender OnDeck. Yet 76% of managers say they believe time off is important to mental health. One way Allen Walton, owner of Spy Guy Security in Dallas, gets around his hesitance to take a vacation and leave his three employees in charge is to book a non-refundable plane ticket.
“If you make it hard on yourself to cancel travel plans, you’ll accept it and end up having an awesome time,” he says.
Though it’s natural for entrepreneurs to put all their energy in their business, one of the best decisions they can make is to make their own needs a bigger priority. “Eighty percent of the chokehold on the growth of any business is the psychology and skills of the leader,” Robbins says. “I always tell people, ‘Invest in yourself first.’ ”
After adding two part-time workers, “the business grew because more of my time was spent on things that actually advanced the business.” Roberta Perry, founder of Scrubzbody Natural Skin Care Products