GUEST BLOGGER FRIDAYS: 5 Ways to Turn Stress into Small Business Success, by Stacey Shipman

In my last blog posting I pointed out that with all the great stories out there, and expertise, I decided to post “Guest Blogs”.  Instead of once a month, I will be posting these every Friday.

If you would like to contribute to a Guest Blog Friday, just send me your posting for review.

This Friday is a  post from Stacey Shipman:

Stacey Shipman is a speaker, writer and consultant who helps business owners and leaders present themselves and their ideas with more confidence and clarity. Visit her website www.staceyshipman.com to get free tips and download your free reports: So What About Stress and 3 Common Speaking Mistakes and How To Fix Them ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 Ways to Turn Stress into Small Business Success

A young woman getting ready to transition to self-employment attended one of my stress management sessions and shared with the group, “No matter where I go I feel stressed. I’m beginning to think I’m the problem! How do I deal with me?”

Can you relate to that question?

When I decided to pursue self-employment in 2006, I thought my stress would disappear. As a small business owner I know you know this isn’t true. I felt stressed working for a large organization and stressed working for myself. I wondered whether I would ever feel satisfied, instead of stressed, about my work.

As I thought about the possible causes of my stress, I became aware of the common denominator: ME.

I realized that my personal life is not separate from my professional life. I am the common denominator to my stress and to my success.

What is Stress?

Before I go further, let’s make sure we’re on the same page about the overused and often misunderstood concept of stress.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary stress is a response to external influences.

Your response may be positive or negative and most likely shows up in one or more of the following ways:

Mental (ie,worry, forgetfulness)

Emotional (ie, anger, sadness)

Physical (ie, headaches, muscle aches, illness)

Behavioral (ie, sleep issues, eating/exercise, smoking, excessive drinking)

How Stress Affects Your Small Business

Stress may affect you, your employees and your small business in a variety of ways including

• Costs. According to the website stress.org, stress costs US employers approximately $300 billion per year in costs related to health care, productivity, absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover.
• Decreased productivity due to lack of focus and procrastination
• Low energy and/or frequent illness
• Poor company image. Feeling stressed, frazzled and overwhelmed keeps you from presenting your self in a trustworthy and respectable way when networking, talking to clients or leads, or communicating with employees.
• Customer service. A bad day can get in the way of effectively servicing customers.
• Poor communication among employees or with clients may lead to any number of customer or financial related mistakes

Managing stress and maintaining a positive company image does not require lengthy vacations. Consider the tips below to make a powerful shift from stress to success, even when you’re short on time.

Acknowledge How You Feel. Say out loud or silently, “I am stressed, irritated, frustrated, angry!” Writing is also a great way to release thoughts and tension. Sometimes that simple acknowledgement is what’s needed to find a solution and feel better.

Breathe. Steven Covey in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People suggests that between stimulus (ie, difficult conversation) and response (ie, yelling and screaming) there is a space. Use that space to breathe and pause. Take three to five full inhales and exhales to settle thoughts and identify a favorable response.

Get some exercise. When feeling overwhelmed it’s easy to forgo exercise. That is when a break is needed the most. Take a walk or stretch at your desk. The bottom line: stop thinking for a few minutes and move to boost focus, energy and creativity.

Power down. Tied to your computer or mobile device all day? Take time to power down for a few minutes each day or per week. Give yourself some time to work without distractions.

Get support. Get support from peer groups, a counselor, coach, doctor or trusted medical professional.

Success in your small business starts with you. If you, like the woman in my workshop, feel stressed where ever you go, find and practice tools that can help you make a powerful shift from stress to success.

Wishing you less stress and more success in work and life.

 Stacey Shipman is a speaker, writer and consultant who helps business owners and leaders present themselves and their ideas with more confidence and clarity. Visit her website www.staceyshipman.com to get free tips and download your free reports: So What About Stress and 3 Common Speaking Mistakes and How to Fix Them.