Our family gathered around a fire pit this past Saturday to celebrate my son’s birthday. During our fireside chat, there was a debate about the word ‘sustainable’. Of course, having two family members highly educated and passionate about the environment, the discussion was focused on sustainable environmental practices and what that meant.
And this got me thinking about ‘sustainable’ business and its definition. So I ‘googled’ the definition of sustainable – ‘capable of being maintained at a steady level without exhausting natural resources or causing severe ecological damage, sustainable development.’
When you look at your business – how would you evaluate whether it is ‘sustainable’?
- Are profits generated sustainable over the long term without exhausting you (the natural resource)?
- Are you able to continue to generate those profits over the long term without heading to burnout?
- Can you keep up your level of work (# of hours per week etc) over the long term without crashing?
- Is your business model sustainable over the long term without depleting the energy and resources of your team?
After 40 years as an entrepreneur, I have come to realize that building a business that sustains success isn’t always easy or simple! Perhaps you started your business to bring in some extra cash or perhaps it was to build an empire but either way, sometimes the path to predictable profits and sustainable success gets a little unclear! Truth be told, on more than one occasion, I’ve lost my way.
It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle. It’s easy to get caught up in following one course of action or one method without realizing it’s NOT the path to sustainable success. More than once, I’ve seen small business owners fall into the habit of building a business that is not sustainable long-term without burnout.
What about you? If you look at your agenda, can you keep this level of involvement/this level of hustle for the long term?
If someone else were to look under the hood of your business, would they see a business structure that would ensure predictable profits and sustainable success for the long term without the owner burning out?
My reason for asking you these questions isn’t to make you feel uncomfortable or guilty but to bring awareness to a trap that I see so many business owners fall into. I’m on a mission to eliminate entrepreneurial burnout and help small business owners like you enjoy predictable profits and long-term sustainable success.
So if that’s something you’d like to enjoy (along with more freedom and profits), then I know you’ll love my new podcast series The Path to Predictable Profits & Sustainable Success. Last week, part 1 was released and this week on the podcast I dive into the ONE thing that’s keeping you (and other small business owners) from predictable profits and sustainable success. (Take note of the word – ONE!!)
I know you won’t want to miss any of this series on the Work Less PROFIT More business podcast! Don’t forget to download your super helpful workbook that goes along with this series (here).
Be sure to listen, share and subscribe here!
YOU CAN DO THIS!
Diana
