Founders Series: How to be a mindful entrepreneur this year (and beyond)

Welcome to our Founders Series, where we aim to give advice, answer questions and provide solutions for people starting their own businesses. If this sounds like you, read on! We've got plenty of content on a wide range of topics, all to help you grow and succeed as a founder.

As a business owner, you’re probably accustomed to sleepless nights and packed schedules. In fact, this is a growing problem – a recent Sifted survey of startup owners found that 85% experienced high levels of stress within the past year.

While workloads are only bound to ramp up over the next few months, the new year is the perfect time to press pause and take stock of your habits. 

1. Know your limits

The average Brit works around 40 hours per week, but for entrepreneurs, this figure could be as high as 80 hours. It’s no surprise then that founders are more likely to deal with insomnia, burnout, and other mental health issues. 

We aren’t suggesting that you slash your working week in half – after all, despite its hardships, entrepreneurship can be an incredibly rewarding path that many people enjoy taking. However, it’s important to set firm boundaries with yourself to avoid the negative consequences in the long run.

2. Plan ahead

Every industry experiences peaks and troughs throughout the year, and these are usually easy to anticipate. For example, an ecommerce company should expect a sales boom around summer and Christmastime, while a bookseller might see more customers during the back-to-school season.

It’s up to you, as a founder, to plan ahead accordingly to reduce the pressure on your team and yourself – whether that’s by creating a marketing plan that outlines every big campaign of the year or sharing a quarterly product roadmap that tracks key updates and releases.

3. Book time off

There are always plenty of deals to be had last minute – but if you leave it till the eleventh hour to book some much-needed time off, expect to feel more stressed than relaxed.

Rather than waiting until you’re feeling burned out, try scheduling regular breaks in advance. These don’t have to be lavish, all-inclusive holidays or escapes to the countryside – sometimes, the best place to be when the stakes are high is at home with a cup of tea.

4. Start networking

It may seem counterintuitive to socialise when your schedule is already packed, but meeting like-minded entrepreneurs could be the antidote to burnout – particularly when the networking event takes you away from the corporate world.

For example, Freshwalks is a community that brings founders together for walks, hikes and physical activities across the North of England. There’s no pressure to make conversation – the important thing is just to get out of your head and put two feet in front of the other.

5. Delegate what you can

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it wasn’t built alone. As much as you may think of your business as your cross to bear, clever delegation could be the difference between crumbling under its weight and lifting it even higher. 

If you’re lucky enough to work with a team, decide what projects and tasks should fall to them. But don’t forget to leverage tools where you can – like ChatGPT for marketing assistance, Xero for accounting, and Buffer for scheduling posts on social media.

Fasthosts is here to support you

Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can receive as a founder is the right advice. That’s why we created our Founders Series – a collection of blogs for entrepreneurs flying solo for the first time.

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