How Prevent Your Business From Killing You

While we pursue our dreams, let's not forget to protect our lives.

Pay attention to what you are going to read if you are a freelance business person and deal with diverse customers. You have your own work and all the customers are on your neck, this can run you down as a person. You have to know how to stay alive, enjoy your work and prosper. If you let your clients kill you with overwork, the moment you are gone they will find another person to do their jobs for them, be wise.

Recently one of Ghana’s number one statesmen died from heart attack and the doctors called it a beautiful name, cardiac arrest. I remember how I was shocked and sadden by the news and then I recalled how a friend of mine had pointed his fellow mechanic’s shop to me and told me the founder died from the pressure that the work generated.

In my life I am constantly under pressure from my clients every day. People want you to do their work for them NOW. When they call, they will not ask you what you are doing at that moment; they simply assume you don’t have a life and that you were just waiting for them to call and follow their demands.

The negative attitude

• I am a perfectionist and I can’t live with anything that have fault, hence I try to finish all the demands of my clients; I used to work and get home about midnight. These were the negative effects;
• You are always tired even after having slept the whole night,
• You are not able to wake up and learn.
• You don’t have the frequent periods where you are quiet by yourself and ponder and review your life.
• You loss the period that you use to do the little things you enjoy.
• You are always worn out, tired and not fresh.
• You keep forgetting simple things.

The positive attitude

• Don’t afraid to ignore calls of clients who have made it their strategy to pressure you with calls.
• Don’t be afraid to transfer some of the work to tomorrow; let's be realistic.
• Be willing to accept criticism; this is a way of taking the blow at a safer side and still keep standing.
• Delete some of the jobs; over collection of jobs can spread you thin and make you very inefficient.
• Focus on the 20% (most important) that bring you income.
• Love your life; learn how to let some businesses go.

 

Rest In Peace Komla, you will always live in my heart.

Thanks for reading.