Why the Second Five Years can be more Difficult than the First

As you and your business enters into its second five years, beware of the symptoms of burn out. We know. We have been there.

Here are five major symptoms to be aware of as you approach the second five years. 

1.    Loss of Passion. You feel as though you are trapped on a never-ending grind of work, work, and work and after going through the same old routine for five years, the passion has gone. While spending so much time at the coalface, you forgot that your original objective was to climb over it. You and your business are like a ship without a rudder, going around in circles and getting nowhere fast. Without the spark that created the business, how can you light the fire?

2.    Lack of Focus. At the start there was a dream and a goal and you knew why you wanted to get it. Not only did the goal draw you, it inspired you, your team and the clients. However, as an entrepreneur, you see opportunity after opportunity and can get distracted from your core goal and if an owner loses focus, so does his business. 

3.    Lack of New Ideas. You instinctively know the gap between you and your competitors has narrowed. They copy your product or service or as a result of improved communication and technology, they are bringing in innovative ways of improving what you are doing. Your product is not new any more and you are in danger of losing your competitive advantage in the market place. Without fresh ideas, you are going to be left behind.

4.    Lack of Skills. With things succeeding, there are more people and a bigger business to manage, your management skills are no longer adequate to take the business to the next level. A lack of planning can affect productivity and profitability. You know that you don’t have the capacity to be the master of all the skills you require, and the solution is to bring in somebody who can help. But your ego doesn’t allow you to admit that you’re out of your depth. Temptation is to put the foot on the brakes and hold the business to within your competencies. And hold the reins even more tightly in your fist.

5.    Lack of Adequate Capital.  Like most small businesses you’re running close to the wire and financial resources are limited. This puts pressure on introducing new technology, marketing initiatives and better human resources to improve product or services. You are feeling the pressure of lack of adequate capital but don’t know what to do.

These are all symptoms. The core issue of all of this is you are tired and lack energy. You are five years or more older than when you started and not having had enough R & R. Burning the candle at both ends, working on pure adrenaline and lack of mental rest has caught up and you are close to burn out. Most businesses go down not because of bad business but from the owner running out of energy.

Your body may get used to all these years of work, work and more work. You could even be numb to the subtle aches and pain, desensitised to your internal alarm bells. It’s like the frog in hot water. As the water heats to boiling, he’ll stay there because he won’t know the difference. Next thing the frog is cooked. It is the same with business owners, who keep going for day-after-day. You might think you are strong but….

You may be able to relate to some of the above symptoms.  Be rest assured that all of these problems can be addressed with time. . Time to think, time to plan and time to re-ignite your passion and desire.