5 Practical Steps to Avoid Resenting Your Work as an Entrepreneur

It’s everyone’s dream to run their own business.

The sheer freedom, the absence of a demanding boss and the ability to choose who to work with are just few of the many allures of entrepreneurship.

Running your own business can be a dream come true, but it can also be the most brutal, most lonely of all experiences.

You could have probably started out your business with determinate passion. Yet somewhere along the way you started to feel overwhelmed, burdened and stressed out about this same venture.

What do you do when you feel less and less excited about going to work and you do not have the choice of calling it quits?

Don’t make it solely about money

A major reason why many entrepreneurs start to dislike their own businesses is that they have very high expectations about making an instant fortune.

According to Richard Branson:

the best way to survive the challenges of running a business is to focus less on making an immediate buck and more on making the world a better place.

It is certainly important to have a profit-making business. However, your business should be driven by an underlying desire to meet a specific need for your customers. Every time you feel resentful, remind yourself about the need you sought to fill in the first place.

Stop feeling guilty about taking a break

A typical entrepreneur works as many as 100 hours each week just to make ends meet. But burnout is a major deal breaker.

If you are feeling too exhausted or stressed out every day, it is unlikely that you will be happy to wake up and go to work.

Locking yourself up in an office without taking breaks can also make you feel lonely and less passionate about your business.

Whether you need to take a break for a couple of hours or a day, just do it. After all, running your own business gives you the freedom to set your own hours.

You will not be losing anything by taking a break. In fact, frequent breaks are necessary for creativity and productivity.

Give up the notion of work life balance

As an entrepreneur, there is a thin line between your private and professional life. Many successful entrepreneurs attest to the fact that achieving the so-called work-life balance is a myth.

If you are trying to spend an equal amount at work as you do at home with your family, you might become frustrated.

What’s really important is to prioritize and do what’s most important at the moment.

Sometimes, you might have plenty of work to do, focus on that and then be sure to make some time for friends and family later.  During downtime, use the opportunity to catch up with peers and family too.

Don’t take it too personally

In business, your triumphs are yours and so are your failures.

It is inevitable that you will feel awful when you make mistakes or things do not go as planned but it is important to learn how to let it go and move forward.

Remember that 90 percent of startup businesses fail and only a few make it through the first three to five years. The difference between owners who fail and those that succeed is that those who succeed learn quickly from their mistakes instead of wallowing in them.

Be passionate about your business but do not be too attached to be bogged down by failure or mistakes.

Open up and seek help

Difficult as it may be to admit, perhaps what you really need is assistance.

Another big reason why entrepreneurs start to resent their work is that they often become entrapped in administrative tasks, which keep them from spending time creating.

If you are drowning in paperwork, it could be time to get in someone to help you with that.

Stay In Charge

When it comes to running your business, it is certainly lonely at the top. However, it is possible to manoeuvre this inherent sense of lonesomeness. You are in charge of your hours—only you have the power to create time for social and professional activities accordingly. Quite simply, you make the rules. You create your own reality. It’s an incredible feeling to create a successful business but you need to ensure that you align your own happiness with that journey to success.