Part of burnout in business is doing everything yourself. I get where the urge comes from–the business is your baby and you want shit done right. But in trying to do everything right, it’s easy to lose sight of the shit you ACTUALLY care about. The shit that rejuvenates you. Focusing on all the minor details will burn you out quickly.

Now, that’s where hiring good people comes in. It’s difficult to hire good people–I let go of two assistants before I found a good one, AND discontinued working with two Instagram content managers before finding a wonderful fit. 

But finding good employees is only half the battle. The other half is KEEPING them by ensuring they do not experience burnout as a result of my control issues. I’m having to be attentive to my relationship to fear of loss/grief so as to not harm them in the process. So what do I mean by my “relationship to fear of loss” A.K.A. “grief”? 

By that, I mean I am afraid of losing control; I am afraid of losing my investment; I am afraid of things being done differently than I imagine because I assume that my way is the best way, and my business, as a product of my imagination, is an extension of me. So, in a sense, I fear losing a part of myself. My identity.

If I hire someone, I need to trust them. I know what it’s like to be a great employee who is poorly managed via micro-management and my employer’s fear. It is exhausting and causes a lot of damage to team members’ mental and emotional well-being. Let alone self-esteem. 

Attending to my own fear of loss is essential if I want to create something different.

If YOU want to create something different.