What shall I do with my business? It's great but I feel burnt out!?

I have been running my own business for 9 years. I started from nothing, had no previous business experience and now have a good name around town and employ18 staff. On the surface, I seem very successful - I have hundreds of happy clients and I'm sure people think I am very wealthy but the fact is that I still only earn about the same as I would have in my previous profession (teacher) but with a lot more stress!! Over the last couple of years, I have read countless business books, been to business coaching programs and have spent a lot of time analysing my methods and my finances. I seem to be doing all the right things. I like the flexibility of my business but am sick of the constant anxiety. I am a single mother with 2 young children and would love to 'free some brain space' for their sake! I have worked out that even if I sold it, it would only cover business debt and the tax I would pay on the sale. Should I sell it anyway or keep plugging away? I feel burnt out!

You need to figure out if there is a potential for growth, without an increase in outlay.
Would it be possible for you to train someone to run your business while you explore other options?
Is there a way for you to expand on your current business with accessories to your main product?
Will things get easier if you hire more help, back off from your hands on approach, or are you just the type to be overly concerned?
I don't have specific recommendations as I don't know what business you are in, but I hope some of this helped you figure out what to look for.

Why not sell the business? then you could enjoy the money for awhile or start a new business to keep things interesting for you.

well if you told me what your buisness actually does, I would probably be able to help you. I like to think that I am very gifted when it comes to buisness, and would love to pitch some ideas to you. Send me a message at theinfamous_eric@yahoo.com

i think you need to harness your brand and reputation to gain higher margins. aim for higher profiled clients also.

i run my own business and im still an undergrad. i feel the stress and burden too, but at the end of the day you have to love what you do. perhaps you can employ more staff to take some more manual work and stress off you.

Look at it from another perspective.
Instead of selling why not revitalize your business?

Sometimes when we get burned out and when we are feeling like we are missing something in our lives we make emotional decisions instead of ones based on money.

See if hiring a new manager that you can put more responsibility on will help before you throw it all away. And Let's be honest working as hard as you have and letting it go with nothing to show for it is throwing it away.

Or take an online business course. Since you didn't have any expierence in the first place and you were a success, you don't know how to succede at "failing" (selling the business.) Devaluation of desirable companies is one of the basic ways other companies and corporations get you to sell out for no personal profit.

Know what you have as assets.

See if you can get a small business rennovation grant and remodel on the governments dime. Take a vacation before you start and the down time in your business will give you a little extra time with the children and give you a fresh perspective on things.

If you are dead set on selling, start cutting corners and stashing away money for yourself. Sell every asset that can be sold that isn't imperative to the business and start agressivily looking for a position in the same field with a large corporation. Nothing succedes like success. And go at it with that attitude. "I'm a successful business woman who's making a lifestyle change! Someone else can worry about the bottom line for awhile!"

Either way, you need to set your attitude toward success. You are a remarkable woman!

Good Luck & God Bless
pendleywife

I own a country club, restaurant, bar and function facility. I feel your pain. I have been doing this for the past 10 years and would like to sell my business and get into something different. However, selling the type of business I have isn't particularly easy.

I do like being in business, however, and would not want to go to work for someone else. I think if you really thought about going to work for someone else and taking a step down at this point in your life the reality of it may not be so appealing. Right now, you are the master of your destiny.

Over the past 10 years, I have diversified my business to expand our repertoire of what we offer. Most recently, I opened an on line store for pro shop merchandise. I like the on line store, but it really needs more exposure.

Instead of thinking about "plugging away" think about how you can expand your business into another area that will bring you additional income with little or no additional overhead.

Since you didn't mention the type of business you are in, it is hard for me to give specific ideas.

Good luck...and get some rest!

It's a shame to let all that effort go to waste.

Perhaps you could promote an employee to supervisor and gradually turn all the duties over to him/her.

While you are doing this, maybe you could launch a new non-competing company with less stress that would offer services or products that would be attractive to your existing customer base using your current business as a springboard to get started. Maybe something that they get from a website so there is less support involved.

As your new business takes hold, you could offer your old business to the employee to purchase on payments. and gradually remove yourself from the scene.

If the employee makes it, that's great. If they don't and your old business goes under, you weren't going to make money sellling it anyway.

I recommend you take some of the advice others have given you and try to keep it afloat for a while. In the meantime, are you open to another stream of income? You already have things in place at your current business, so you could dedicate a little more time to this than most. We have many teachers in our business who are earning a substantial income with this. We also have many other professionals who suffered from burn-out in their current jobs and decided to give this business model a try. They were pleasantly surprised at how quickly they surpassed their income and are now living debt-free and truly enjoying their families. I would be happy to connect you to some of these professionals so you can hear what they have to say.
Best wishes to you.

I would keep an eye out for employment you may really enjoy, and that will give you the income you need. then, and only then, begin to phase out the business by downsizing it to part time and finally closing it altogether when you work out the debt.

Have you thought about a partner? Or maybe giving more responsibility to others ? To give you breathing space? Maybe with new ideas to reorganize to reduce stress ? Sounds like you would have to work for someone else if you sold. It's a curse after owning your own co. Would you REALLY make enough to maintain your life style or are you willing to sacrifice it and reap the benifits of being home more? I've been in a similar situation. I won't tell you what I did but I'm still not sure if I made the right decision though I'm not as burned out.