Overwhelmed

Here’s a business parable for your consideration.  An interesting definition of a parable is a story that never really happened… and yet it happens all the time.

The business owner slumped in his chair as he described his sense of despair.  He and his wife have owned the business for 9 years.  The owner’s wife does the bookkeeping and some administrative work, but also has a full-time job, which contributes significant income to their family and more importantly provides health care insurance that they don’t feel they can afford without her job.  The owner would like his business to be more profitable so that his wife could leave her job, but neither one sees that as realistically happening in the next year.

The owner works long hours; on average 12-15 hours per day.  Evenings are spent catching up on “paperwork”… usually emails, quotations, or other followup.  During the day, he handles dozens of phone calls, while also fitting in the key operation task that only he can perform.  Weekends are taken up by business projects that he doesn’t have time for during the week.  The family hasn’t taken a vacation in five years. 

The employees are a mixed bag.  Their individual wages usually exceed what the owner pays himself.  One of them is quite loyal and dependable, but the others are unmotivated and uninspired.  One of these is a particular concern, showing up late, calling in sick, and usually has a poor attitude when she is working.  But she does perform an important function for the business that seemingly would be hard to replace.

The owner feels tired, trapped, and betrayed by his dream of creating a life-supporting and wealth-creating business for himself and his family.  He is overwhelmed by the work, and doesn’t see a way to break free.  His sense of responsibility to his customers and employees won’t let him quit the business and get a job working for someone else.

Along with this sad story comes a sad truth, which is that there is no easy way out of this sense of being overwhelmed.  But who said it would be easy, anyway?  The good news is that there is hope, and even a certainty that this business and this owner’s life can be much better.  A business coach might be a good place to start, because the change that is required will be difficult to implement alone.  If that were the case, it would have already been done.  But if the owner is really motivated by the goal of a better business and life, they can certainly handle the extra effort it will take.  After all, the one thing that is evident in their life is their work ethic and dogged determination.  They just need to channel that into the changes needed.

If this parable sounds like you and your business, please ask yourself if you are at a stage where you could use some help to make the changes that will transform your situation.  And also ask yourself if you are willing to actually change yourself to accomplish your goals.  If the answer to those two questions is yes, you’ve already made the first step on a path to a brighter future and a new, fun story about success.