Burnout seems, at times, an unavoidable factor of owning your own business. It typically strikes when you least expect it, often taking the joy from something you once loved so much that you were willing to risk a stable 9-5 job to pursue your passion full time. 

Having owned and operated our photography business for over a decade, my wife and I have encountered burnout several times. It does get better, and below you’ll see the signs it’s approaching, what to do when it hits, and how you can use it to propel your business well beyond the ‘competition.’ This is your passion, let’s make it happen!

The Calm Before the Storm

‘The calm’ is one of the most glorious moments of entrepreneurship. During this period, you are not overwhelmed with work and equipped with the knowledge that a windfall of income is on its way. The calm allows you to start and end work at your choosing and allows you to shop for groceries without having to first check your credit card balance. Many succeed in enjoying this feeling, however, few are able to hold on. Deciding now that you will hold onto the warm slow winds of ‘the calm’ will better prepare you for what is to come.

As an entrepreneur, I understand how hard it is to let go sometimes. I’ve heard countless times, “No one else has the ability to take care of my clients, speak to my social channels, or provide the service like I do.” Though theoretically true, the fallacy lies in how much we believe it will affect our clients. If the purpose of your business is to serve yourself, burnout will occur much faster, and there is not much I can do to help. However, if you are in business to deliver an incredible service to your clients, my advice is to focus on the following:

Delegate, Allocate, Orchestrate

The storm is coming, and once it hits, it’s suddenly too late to prepare. One of the best things you can do in preparation of ‘the storm’, a.k.a. ‘burnout’ is to delegate, allocate, and orchestrate.

Delegate Your Tasks

Many refer to their business as their baby, and it’s easy to see why! Without you, your business would not exist; without you it would not grow to where it is. But by holding it back, your business will never be able to grow to where it could be. I have found it helps to divide a sheet of paper in half long ways—hot dog style for those who remember their grade school days—and start writing on the left side all of the things in your business that you enjoy, followed by the things you do not enjoy on the right.

Things I EnjoyThings I Do Not Enjoy
BookingsText Communication
Client JourneyCulling
In Person SalesEditing
Writing BlogsAlbum Design
Trade Shows

This innocuous question can reveal a lot about how to prepare for burnout. From here, you need to find a way to outsource as much of the right side as you possibly can. It can be difficult, but it is so worth it. This is where you begin to buy back your time, buy back your life, and only do the things you love. We hear of people living the dream, this is how you create it.

Allocate Your Resources

When allocating for tasks, your two primary resources are your time and money, and only one is replaceable. It is imperative that you not underestimate the value of your time. Find out how much of your income needs to be spent on operating expenses (employees, cost of goods sold, taxes, etc.), and be sure to allocate enough of your budget into those areas. Take the time to invest in your CRM, creating templates that will save you time, yield a greater return, and deliver a better client experience. Search the AI space to see what areas can help your business. Utilize Hattie AI within 17hats to write better email responses to your existing clients while saving you time.

Time does not equal money in the same way money does not equal time. However, if someone were to request an hour of your time, considering how much would be proper compensation is not unreasonable. Use this self estimate as a way to evaluate opportunities to buy back your time. Examples for my photography business include:

ServiceTime Spent, Without OutsourcingService CostIs it Worth it?
Text Communication$xx/hour
Culling⏱⏱⏱⏱$xxx/year
Editing⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱$xxx/year
Album Design⏱⏱$xx/hour
CRM (17hats)⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱$xxx/year

After running the numbers, it became apparent culling and editing needed to be outsourced right away. It’s not an aspect that I personally enjoy, (unless it’s the nitty gritty Photoshop editing in which case I’ll make an exception). 17hats is a given, as my business could not function on auto-pilot without it. Though text communication and album design are still things I do not enjoy, they don’t take up too much of my time, so I’m keeping them around…for now. 🙂

Orchestrate the Plan

In the weeks leading up to your busy season, begin orchestrating the plan. Don’t be surprised if you have time to actually enjoy your busy season either. It can be difficult to adjust to the fact that you’re suddenly not overwhelmed with busywork, but that’s okay! Keep a pulse on your business as you begin to let things go, and enjoy the feeling of you running the business instead of the business running you. Now, if you like being busy, and want to continue to scale your business, I would recommend two things; the Premier Plan of 17hats and 17hatsuniversity, these two recommendations will help you sail beyond what was thought to be possible while running your own business.

Relax and Enjoy the Sunset

There is a phrase whose origins date back to the book of Matthew, “Red sky at night, sailors’ delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.” The purpose of this blog is not only to help you identify the red skies you see at sunrise, but to enjoy the red skies of the sunset. After busy season, know that you did it, you beat the system, avoided burnout, and are better prepared to win against burnout throughout the coming years ahead.