How To Pace Yourself When It Comes To Your Business
When you first start a business, it seems like this grand idea (which it is!), and there’s so much to do and to start, and it can be very overwhelming. You might feel like you have to (or want to) do all the things at once. I will speak on my personal experiences with my business, as well as give you some tips and advice on how to pace yourself so you don’t feel overwhelmed or burn yourself out.
There are different types of online businesses (obviously), and YouTube is one of many. If you also have a YouTube channel, you may have heard people say that it’s not a business, or, maybe you think it’s not a business. I can tell you absolutely that it is a business. You may not view it that way, especially if you started it as a hobby or a side hustle. However, eventually, you do start to make money, and if you start to get serious about it, you may need to start making more business-oriented decisions regarding your business.
Let me share my personal story with you: I started my business over five years ago. I had quit my full time job due to stress and health issues. (I had applied for short term disability, and I was refused). I was in a desperate situation in regards to money, my physical and mental health, and I was looking for something that I could lose myself in as a distraction. I started a bullet journal and then I decided to start doing makeup videos on YouTube. I actually began with makeup tutorials before my planning channel. I evolved that channel after into what it is today, but it took a long time. At first, for me, creating YouTube videos was more of a fun distraction to take my mind off of my situation, and I didn't view it as a business for a few years actually.
It wasn’t until I started watching YouTube channels about business and online business that I thought, hey, I have one of those! Then, when I started making money, I had to figure out where it was going to go, I had to file taxes, etc. etc. and my business was born. I guess you could say I started off backward since I started with a YouTube channel and one Instagram account, and I kept adding and diverging. I didn’t have a solid plan to start. It’s not like one day I said to myself “Hey, I should start a business”! If you do, that’s ok too. I also think it might overwhelm you because in a lot of ways, you might not know where to start.
Tip #1: Don’t Buy All The Things
It might be fun and exciting to buy all the things, but take it from me - don’t buy all the things! At least not at once. The major worry here is if you get it all, and then find out you don’t actually like what you’re doing, you have all this stuff and no use for it. Why waste money when you don’t have to?
I started out with a lined notebook (which I attempted to use as a bullet journal at the time) - mostly to experiment in until I could afford a dot grid notebook. I think I also had plain black gel pens. (This is great if you want to bullet journal like Ryder Carol, because that’s all you need)!
It’s easy to get caught up in social media. Once you see all the pretties that Amanda RachLee has, you need them too! It’s hard because FOMO (fear of missing out) is very real. For example, if you are subscribed for subscription boxes to any company and then one month you can’t afford it, but the items are sooo pretty and the seller keeps saying they’re selling out soon! (You get the idea). The online world makes it hard to refrain from wanting stuff.
My suggestion is to make a list that includes these headings:
Things I absolutely need to start up.
Things I want (be honest with yourself here). You don’t need all the markers!
Things I already have that can be used instead.
This list might not be stationery, but office equipment. You might need a computer, a printer, a camera, editing software, tax software, etc… and that can lead to a very high price tag. At the same time, if you know for sure that you’re going to need something, you might want to invest in a high quality item. (Printers for example, are generally better quality the more you pay for them. However, keep in mind that printer ink is really expensive and HP blocks you from using cartridges that aren’t HP with firmware).
Tip #2: Brain Dumps and Lists Will Become Your Best Friend
In the beginning, there is a lot of stuff to think about. You will want to brainstorm all of these ideas, and what better way to do it than in a brain dump. A brain dump is simply where you take all the information that’s in your head and write it down on paper. It doesn’t need to be in any order, and the only person it needs to make sense to is you. Write down everything that comes to mind. Then, after you’ve done that you can sort it out later. There might be things to buy, things to do, and others, you might want to schedule them into your calendar.
Depending on what your business is, you might want to write a list of ideas you have for your business. (Eg. mine would be videos to film, stickers to design or blogs to write). You might want to write down things to think about, how to organize your business, and maybe even your main tasks. If you plan on delegating tasks to other people or employees, you will need to have the tasks written down or instructions on how to do something. Lists are really are your best friend here.
Tip #3: Keep it As Simple As You Can
You may be really excited to just dig in and start, but starting up a business (and running it) takes a lot of brain power. It’s not something that can be done overnight. You might want to take your time before making promises (to yourself or to customers). Do your research on any products you want to sell - you want to make a profit, but you also want to keep costs down and keep the products affordable for your customer. Also figure out who you’re selling to (I.e. your “ideal” customer). From there, you can figure out how to configure your products to sell the most at the best possible price. This is all part of a business plan.
I never really had a true business plan when I started (because for me, it wasn't a business at first), but you will still need to figure out a cost for your products if you have any. For example, to keep things simple, my mother in law figures out the cost of all her products and multiples that by two. That’s how much she charges. That is a really simple calculation, but there are product calculators online that you can use as well.
Tip #4: Don’t Try and Do Everything At Once
You need to pace yourself. When it comes down to it, this is your business. All the work you do is for you. You do not have to answer to anyone else. With that being said (especially if you are working by yourself), you need to take care to not burn yourself out. Don’t try to tackle everything at once. Your mind might be racing because you have all these ideas, but that’s what the brain dump is for. If you take on too much responsibility at the beginning, you will get tired, frustrated and you might just throw it all away.
Create a schedule for yourself similar to something you would have at a job outside the home. The beauty of working for yourself is that you can set your own hours. If you have kids and are a stay at home parent, then work around when your kids are sleeping or are at school. If you have other obligations, schedule around them. Make it work for you!
One of the best tips (especially if you’re starting to feel overwhelmed) is to limit your “big” tasks to only three per day. That’s it. When they’re done, you can either stop or tackle the small things, like responding to emails, copying documents, or cleaning your work space. If you do this every day, you’ll notice that not only has your productivity increased, but you’re not stressed and overwhelmed.
Remember to take it easy on yourself. Just because you’re your own boss doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the occasional break. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself - you got this!
Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week!
Sandra