5 Ways to Prioritize Yourself as a Business Owner
Success Starts With You. It’s time to prioritize yourself as a business owner and I’m here to share how.
As a recent entrepreneur-turned-multipreneur, I’m learning to deal with the overwhelm that comes with All The Things in a whole new way. Whether you’re running one business or four, you likely understand what I mean.
Sometimes those “things” are within your control; sometimes they aren’t. Recently, for me, they weren’t.
We were in the middle of our final push to prepare the new Alight Collaborative studio opening here in Austin, TX, when the winter storm blew in and we lost power. For three days. Then when the power finally came back on, it was time for clean-up.
Talk about overwhelm. But through it all, I realized I was STILL juggling other people's thoughts, feelings, and needs – which led to this moment of clarity:
I've got to let that shit go.
As business owners, it can feel like we don’t have enough time or resources to accomplish everything that needs to be done. I am the biggest culprit of this. But I have to remember: prioritizing yourself is the key to success for your business.
It might seem backward at first, but it’s important to remember that prioritizing yourself doesn’t mean taking time away from your business or neglecting it. Rather, it’s about doing what is best for yourself and for your business.
Stuck in an overgiving, overworked phase and not sure where to start?
This article is to share what I’ve learned after years in business. We’ll talk about how to grow your business by setting firm boundaries, determining urgency, and releasing expectations – unapologetically.
What Does It Mean to Prioritize Yourself as a Small Business Owner?
Prioritizing yourself means putting a stop to all the self-sacrificing behavior that you do for everyone else and everything else. You know exactly what I’m talking about. It means finally making your goals, your timelines, and your needs a priority.
I know that you’re probably a people pleaser like me, so this boundary-setting thing might feel icky at first, but it’s going to get better.
It’s essential to prioritize yourself and make sure that you are taking care of your own needs. This includes your physical, mental, and emotional health, but it also includes your goals as a business owner.
At the end of the day, your livelihood and well-being are what's most important. You deserve to be a functioning human, to call the shots for yourself, and to create a living that sustains you and your family. You don't have the time to consider everyone else's feelings and needs and timelines. And you don’t need to apologize for this.
You've got to let that shit go.
This means saying no when it’s necessary and setting clear and firm boundaries. It means honoring your needs (you checkin’ in with yourself?) and taking the time to nurture yourself and your business.
Recognize here that prioritizing yourself doesn’t mean behaving in a self-centered or selfish manner. It kind of turns out to be the opposite in the end. This is about taking the time to focus on yourself and your own needs so that you are better able to take care of your business.
4 Benefits Of Prioritizing Yourself In Business
Go figure — when you reprioritize and organize yourself first, it actually reflects in your business and you begin to receive some pretty awesome benefits:
More Balance - Gaining clarity on what matters most allows you to make decisions that best benefit your business.
More Productivity - Managing your time better allows you to set realistic goals and stay on top of tasks.
More Focus- Knowing where your priorities lie (YOUR goals, YOUR needs), you'll be able to stay on track with your business goals and make actual progress toward achieving them.
Less Stress - Prioritizing your needs makes you better equipped to manage your emotions during challenges and puts you in a better overall mindset while running your business.
With all this, you end up serving your customers better, yourself better — and therefore everyone else in your life benefits too (or the people that really matter do).
Start Here – Questions To Ask To Begin Making Yourself A Priority
When it comes to doing what’s best for you and for your business, ask yourself some key questions. These questions can help you gain clarity on what is right BY YOU and how you can best serve your business. They all lie within three things most important to you as a business owner: your values, your responsibilities, and your time.
Your Values: What feels good to me? What are my priorities? What do I value most? What do I need to do to take care of my business?
Your Responsibilities: Which things in my business do I enjoy doing? Which ones do I NOT enjoy? Which activities are essential for my business? Which ones can I delegate?
Your Time: What is the BEST use of my time? What is the WORST use of my time? What will help ME along? What changes do I need to make so that happens?
Journaling with these questions can help you gain the clarity you need to focus on what matters most.
5 Ways Successful Business Owners Prioritize Themselves
I could go into self-care activities such as getting enough sleep, taking breaks, eating well, meditating, exercising, and having fun, yada yada yada.
But let’s be real. You already KNOW all of that.
Instead, what I’m talking about here are the things you can do as a business owner to prioritize yourself:
Here’s a nifty little guide on using this matrix!
Set Boundaries
The most important thing you can do is to set firm boundaries. You don't owe everyone else your attention at a moment's notice. You don’t have to say “yes” to every request. (I know this is not what you’ve been taught, but we have to course-correct and reteach you.)
Get comfortable with saying “no” to things that don’t align with your values and goals. Recognize that you can’t do it all, so you must prioritize your time, and energy, and focus on the most important/pressing items to you and your business. Setting firm boundaries will help prevent overwhelm and burnout before it happens.
Determine Urgency
Everything all day long begs for your immediate attention and it all feels "URGENT". This is a damn lie. It can’t all be urgent. When you’re trying to prioritize yourself, work to spot the difference between things that need to be handled right away and the ones that can wait.
Phone calls and text messages don't deserve your automatic attention at any and all times of the day. (Hello moon mode.) Emails that aren't pertinent today can wait. (<never thought I’d say this!)
Establishing a hierarchy system based on urgency will help you stay focused on what needs to be done right now and prevent you from getting overwhelmed by things that can be done later.
Need a tool? Stephen Covey has a book on this called, First Things First — but here’s the gist: Create a productivity matrix, also called the “Eisenhower Prioritization Matrix”. This helps you break your tasks into quadrants of priority and then determine your next steps.
Release Others' Expectations
We’re not talking about clients here. When you’re running a small business, clients’ expectations are the yardstick by which your business is measured. What we’re talking about here is *everyone else.* Other people’s expectations can get in the way of what you need to do for yourself, your clients, and your business.
You don’t need to be overly friendly in the world. As a small business owner, you’re likely exhausted. Worrying about what other people think is a giant waste of time. You don't owe them 15 email responses/texts in a day. You don't owe them an apology for not showing up on Instagram. You don't owe everyone a response. You don't even owe people a smile, frankly!
So get comfortable with releasing other people’s expectations. Focus on what is best for you, your clients, and your business, and say a big UNAPOLOGETIC “no” to anything that isn’t that. It gets easier with practice.
Release Your Own Expectations
Part of my growth journey has been realizing how much of the stress and overwhelm I’ve felt in the past has been self-inflicted. I've always felt the pressure to be good and kind and show up for everyone – which may be nice, but it’s unsustainable. Especially as your business and life responsibilities scale.
Like me, you might want everyone to feel valued and seen, and cared for. But the truth is: you simply cannot do everything for everyone. Continuing to try is only going to drive you insane. If you’re like me, you’re already 3/4 of the way there on the insanity scale— so you don’t need the added pressure to push you the final 25%.
Instead, we must focus on what is best for ourselves and our business. Get comfortable with taking breaks and not pushing yourself too hard. You cannot do all things for all people at all times, but you can work toward being better to yourself and better to your business.
The Bottom Line
As a small business owner, prioritizing yourself isn’t selfish; it’s essential. And it doesn’t even have to mean taking time away from your business or neglecting it.
Rather, it’s time to do what is best for yourself, your family, and for your business. That may look like setting firm boundaries, determining urgency, and releasing expectations – both others' and your own.
When you prioritize yourself, you create more balance in your life, become more productive, stay motivated, and reduce the stress and anxiety that comes with running a business. Then other people in your life reap the benefits of a better and happier YOU.
Business ownership is hard – and you shouldn’t have to do it alone. Want more help like this and to join a growing community of creatives and entrepreneurs just like you?
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