5 Things You Can Do When You Lose Interest In Your Business

Running a business requires a huge amount of time and effort from the stakeholders. And, like anything in life, such an emotional, physical and mental investment can take its toll.

For many, this often results in becoming tired of the business itself – particularly if all that hard work doesn’t appear to be reaping the desired rewards.

Losing interest in your business isn’t something to be ashamed of, but there are plenty of things you can do to avoid all of your blood, sweat and tears going to waste:

1. Revisit your business plan

Your business plan might have been written years ago and with the best intentions.

But when was the last time you looked at it?

Don’t worry – if you can’t remember, you’re not alone. Business plans are well known for being written comprehensively and seriously during the embryonic stages of an organisation’s inception, only to be filed and forgotten about when the money starts to roll in.

If you can feel yourself becoming disconnected from the business, look at the plan again. It might reinvigorate you or remind you of why the business was originally conceived.

2. Ditch tech for a week

Put your email out-of-office reply on and close that laptop; technology isn’t needed when you reach the stage of potentially walking away from your business.

Spend a week away from technology and indulge yourself in analogue life. This is making a comeback for one very good reason: vinyl records, bullet journalling and dealing with tangible stuff helps us focus, remember what’s important and take stock.

3. Get involved in traditional networking

Sure, you’ve got hundreds of connections on LinkedIn, but when was the last time you entered a room full of people, business cards in hand?

This form of networking isn’t old fashioned – it’s a brilliant way to make new connections and reinvigorate businesses that are stalling. Just one conversation with someone previously unknown could reignite the spark that was there during the early days of your business!

4. Reassess your failures and triumphs

We all fail, regularly. The best business owners are those who embrace their failures just as warmly as their triumphs.

Take a look back at the last few months and list the failures and triumphs you encountered. What could you have done better? What changes do you need to make to ensure there are more triumphs than failures?

When you feel your business slipping from your grasp, such retrospective insight can be immensely powerful.

5. Learn a brand new skill

What else could you bring to the business? Is it in dire need of an injection of talent?

If so, instead of hitting the job listing sites, look to yourself. Is there something you could learn that would both expand the business’s usefulness to clients and reignite your love for it?

None of us should ever stop learning – particularly when it comes to running a business.

Wrapping up

The key thing with all of the above advice is to act now – before it’s too late.

The sooner you accept the fact you have lost interest in your business, the sooner you can do something about it. And yes, you might find that after exhausting all options above, you’re still not fired up enough. If that’s the case, you can at least walk away with your head held high, safe in the knowledge that there wasn’t anything else you could have done.

But I don’t think it’ll come to that!

 

Written by Mark Ellis

Mark Ellis is a freelance writer who specialises in copywriting, blogging and content marketing for businesses of all sizes. Mark’s considerable experience at director level and deep interest in personal and business success means he’s ready to comment on anything from freelance writing to workplace dynamics, technology and personal improvement.