I've had a tough few years in my business. During that time, problems came one after another. Just when I felt I had things under control and things were changing, another challenge appeared. In my coaching with entrepreneurs, this is a common experience. Being in business is challenging. There they are difficult times, and sometimes these continue for a long time. How do you know when it's time to quit? How do you know when to persist?

Nine out of ten entrepreneurs are burning upbased on the research we have done using Better Business, Better Life Appreciation during the last four years. Burnout is insidious. It comes slowly as we tell ourselves, “I can mess up.” When we are confused for a long period of time, our capacity for resilience decreases and burn symptoms increases. One of the worst symptoms of burnout is losing hope for a promising future. It is often at this point that we want to give up.

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When you feel like this, it's vital to assess what's really going on with the business. Avoid making hasty decisions when you are in the middle of a crisis. Give yourself thirty days to assess the situation and explore your options.

of Better Business, Better Life Appreciation is a crucial tool in your journey to combat burnout and helps you assess the health of your business. It's the only assessment created by a business psychologist that assesses entrepreneurial burnout in relation to the health of your business systems. Our findings show that the symptoms of burnout are exacerbated in businesses with system gaps. Entrepreneurs who do not burn out have nearly twice as many systems in place as those who experience burnout. By taking this assessment, you will receive valuable feedback on the systems that need improvement in your business, leading to a higher quality of life.

In my coaching with entrepreneurs, I notice that allowing weaknesses to exist in our business for too long can be easy. We are aware of the problems, but we avoid addressing those. Allowing multiple vulnerabilities to exist in business over a long period of time makes us especially vulnerable to problems that quickly accumulate in a short period of time. For example, keeping a toxic team member because your busy season is coming up can lead to that person leaving when you need them most.

Cash flow is a struggle that, when continued over a long period of time, can leave us vulnerable to burnout as we make survival trap decisions that can make our situation worse. Multiple issues can be at play when cash flow is a problem. Dig deeper instead of assuming that increasing sales is the solution to your cash flow challenge.

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If your income has increased and cash flow is a challenge, it's likely that expenses are outstripping income. This often happens in growing businesses, especially when you add team members to meet growing demand. In this situation, you will want to look at ways to improve business efficiency and reduce payroll costs. What expenses can be cut? What activities are team members doing that could be automated? Do you have underperforming team members? If so, let them go.

If sales stagnate or slow, you're likely not serving your sweet spot. Your offer may not appeal to your core customers. Identifying your key customers and interviewing them to better understand their needs will help you align your offering to better serve their needs and give you insight into how to adjust your marketing messages to attract more business from customers like your top customers.

Often, people's challenges can make us want to dismiss them. Dealing with difficult or demanding clients takes a toll on us and our team. To deal with underperforming team members who are not trainable can make us question our leadership skills. Adding a system to help you consistently attract A-players to your team will help reduce drama on your team. Similarly, putting a system in place to attract high-quality customers while creating filters to screen out poor-fit customers will reduce PITA (“Pain on Assets”) customers.

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Ask for support. When I was going through tough times, I worked with my coach. The objective perspective was invaluable – we all have blind spots. I also confided in other business owners and got great support from knowing I wasn't the only one having this experience and hearing about their experiences. Often, I could formulate a more effective plan after receiving input from my coach and colleagues in similar situations.

I deliberately identified the early signs of success to let me know that my plan was working. I also focused on wins and successes each week, which helped me keep moving forward, even when there were setbacks. Because of the challenges we experienced, we strengthened several systems. Because of this, our cash flow is stronger than ever.

Deciding to let the business go is a viable option, especially for entrepreneurs who have experienced severe burnout over a long period of time. In this situation, it can be useful to work with a trainer to determine the best way to transition the business, what can be strengthened in the business over six to twelve months to increase its value, and what is not worth the effort.

Entrepreneurship demands a lot from us. Giving our priority self care and seeking support will help us make the best decisions during difficult times.