Whether you run your agency alone, with a spouse or trusted colleague, it can oftentimes feel isolating. Read on to learn some tips on how to stay connected to peers and your network without feeling like you’re on an island.
Did you know that most small business owners work more than 40 hours a week? What’s more, a fifth work more than 60 hours a week. This dynamic of overtime creates an environment that doesn’t leave enough room for business owners to completely decompress, make a clear plan, and create policies and procedures that enable them to have a healthier work-life balance.
Here are some strategies and best practices you can implement as a business owner that can help you have a healthier relationship with work:
If you haven’t joined your local chamber of commerce or a similar group-based business network in your community, definitely try it. You might also join your local Alzheimer’s Association and other healthcare-oriented networking groups.
When you can convene and talk shop with other business owners, it makes running your agency less lonely.
You can also create your own community if you head over to a coworking office. This can create gentle moments of engagement and networking with other business owners in a more casual setting.
Is in-person gathering not your vibe? There are plenty of options to find your tribe online.
There are many online communities—especially on Facebook—geared toward home care owners and operators just like you. Here are a few:
Whether you’re a new home care owner or a veteran business owner, there’s no better feeling than knowing that other owners are just a message or comment away.
Spend time each week reviewing posts in the group and chiming in on posts that are relevant to you. Here are a few ways you can be helpful:
It can be helpful knowing that other owners are going through similar struggles. Many of the challenges that home care owners run into are similar across the entire country, even globally sometimes. The underlying message is that you’re not alone, and you don’t have to go through business ownership alone either.
One of the easiest ways to make a more efficient use of you and your team’s time is by documenting everything. Every process. Every procedure. Everything!
This gets ideas that only live in your head onto paper. It makes it easy for your team to reference how you do something a specific way and acts as an effective check-and-balance to make sure things are done right.
If you are the only person in your agency that handles billing, for example, if you go on vacation or are out sick for a few days, it still needs to get done. This can create delays and incomplete payments. Contrastingly, with documented processes and SOPs, you can help your team understand what you do better, you can train them on each process, and watch as their education is put in practice effectively.
This puts less of a burden on you while empowering your team to do more and step up to the plate.
This article wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t talk about self-care. Instead of thinking of self-care as an afterthought, build the idea into your schedule. When you clock out of work and head home, self-care still needs to be checked off before you’re fully done for the day.
Why is self-care non-negotiable? It has proven benefits, like:
Pouring into your cup first and making yourself whole is one of the best investments you can make for your personal and professional development. This looks different for everyone but the important part is doing activities that recharge your batteries.
For some, this might look like reading a book or watching a good movie. For others, this might look like a night out with friends or trying a new restaurant.
Write down a few activities that you like doing and recharge your mind and body, and try to incorporate 1-2 of those each week.
READ MORE: A Home Care Owner’s Guide To Burnout Prevention
If you haven’t already, take a few deep breaths in and out. Taking a second to sit with yourself and your mind can help you relax and revisit work with a fresh mind.
Networking and attending relevant events is one way that you can do this for yourself and your business. Each activity is an opportunity to revisit your business with fresh perspectives and strategies to better manage yourself, your time, and your mind, all at the same time.
How are you going to reinvest in your business and yourself this year?