Ask established business owners about their enthusiasm, and they'll often tell you of the time they realized the honeymoon was over. The luster of starting a business, being your own boss and chasing your personal dream will dull a bit with the passing months and years. That's reality.
But if that waning excitement actually turns to boredom, your business will be in big trouble. Don't worry just yet because you needn't lay inert like a sitting duck, fearing the business boredom boogeyman will descend upon you. Here's how you can spot the onset of boredom, and what you can do to keep your business fun and fulfilling for as long as you choose.
You can get bored doing what you love?
The notion seems illogical: getting bored doing what you love. Yet it can become the open door that allows boredom to infiltrate and undermine your passion-turned-business. Sometimes, turning that passion into a business can deplete it of its original charm.
You've now put pressures on your pastime and have forced it to deliver a bottom line rather than delight you in your own time. The boredom here, if you believe you've lost your drive, might be more a disillusionment since your hobby no longer delivers the good feelings it had before. If this is the case, you might find it hasn't been a good candidate for a business—at least not for you.
If you'll make that commitment to do something about it, you've discovered one of the best cures for boredom: action
It's important to maintain your escape routes, that is the things you can do to get away from any sorts of demands or expectations associated with the outside world. If your hobby previously provided that to you, it might be best to keep it as a pastime, and possibly look for some sort of offshoot opportunity that utilizes the same skills and aptitudes yet doesn't intrude on your getaway-from-it-all indulgences. If not, you could wind up losing twice: a failing business and a smothered passion.
Is it really boredom?
Sometimes, feeling bored with your business—the sort of loathing you've developed for what once was an inspiring idea—isn't boredom at all. Oftentimes, entrepreneurs become overwhelmed by their endeavors, especially when unexpected challenges arise.
The boredom is actually a sort of flight reaction, giving you reason and cause to want to flee your situation. Maybe it has turned out to be more difficult than you originally expected. Perhaps you sought out a profitable venture yet discovered it's not something that truly motivates you because chasing money often isn't enough incentive to do something you don't really like, day after day.
If your business isn't performing to your expectations, causing you to slump your shoulders and wish it would all go away, then you would likely benefit from resetting those expectations. Perhaps it didn't turn out to be the overnight success you fantasized it might be.
That's OK. It means you've learned about the business and now need to decide what you'll do about it. And, if you'll make that commitment to do something about it, you've discovered one of the best cures for boredom: action.
Slow and steady wins the race
Your first action, after taking a deep breath and committing to do something about your disillusionment is making an honest assessment of what you're doing, and why you're doing it. Again, if it's solely for profit yet doesn't spark passion within you, that's a situation that's unlikely to change. If this is the case, it might be best to stop the business or see if you can hand it off to someone else who does love this work, whatever it might be.
When you discover there's an obstacle interfering with your passion for your business, identify it and work on it right away
On the other hand, if you truly love what you set out to do but are somehow foiled over it, decide exactly what is in your way and what part of it is proving unfulfilling. It could be there are menial tasks that bore you. You'll need to get those done in ways that are quick and effective, or hire someone to do them for you. If you find there are skills you need yet don't have, resolve to get yourself knowledgeable and adept in them or, again, bring in some help to get you up the learning curve.
Whatever the situation, when you discover there's an obstacle interfering with your passion for your business, identify it and work on it right away. Most important, don't believe you have to resolve your roadblocks in one fell swoop (or even two). Some of the challenges in your business take time to overcome.
Decide to identify purposeful steps you can take each day to inch your way along. Even if you can't resolve the situation in a single day, every day you'll recognize you're making progress. That can often be enough to spur you along and keep boredom at bay.
Raise the bar, take chances, dare to succeed
It's possible, too, that your boredom isn't due to any challenges or dulled passion; you might have achieved everything you set out to do and now haven't any positive challenges to stimulate you.
If you're business is running smoothly, congratulations! Now, determine what you'll do next to make it bigger, more profitable and more fun for you. At this point, you might be in need of stepping out of your comfort zone to grow yourself and your business.
If it's all become so routine and you can operate almost mindlessly, then your mind is left with idle time while it hungers for stimulation. Set your sights higher, raise your expectations, and dare to take a few calculated risks to see what you and your business are made of. Truly, when you step out of your comfort zone, it's unlikely you'll be bored for very long—and that will be good for you and your business.