With great power comes great responsibility. If you’re the owner of a trade business, you’re not only responsible for making sure your team gets the job done well, you’re also responsible for paying them, keeping hazards to a minimum, making a profit and all of the other stuff that comes with being the big dog. So how do you cope when it all gets a bit much and you’re stressed to the max? Try these tips to reduce your stress so you can go out there and kill it!

Get to delegating
You might feel as though it would take less time to just get it done yourself than to show someone else how to do it, but for the sake of your stress levels, it’s important to delegate wherever you can. Not only does it save you time in the long run, but it’s also important to your team’s morale if they know you’re trusting them to do it right.

Remember the good times
It’s easy to focus on the things that are going wrong, but that all gets a bit overwhelming and can put you in a constant bad mood. Amongst all of the day-to-day firefighting you’re doing, make sure to take time out to appreciate the good things you and your team have achieved that day or that week – it’ll help you stay positive and move forward, but it’ll also keep your team onside and working hard for you.

Planning is key
Theoretically, the more planning you do, the less stress you’ll have overall. Planning shouldn’t be just day-by-day – you’ll need to plan with bigger picture thinking as well to make sure you’re meeting your goals and have a plan in place should anything go wrong. Having some kind of risk management strategy planned will help take the stress out of the big things because you know you’ve planned for it. Have a rainy day fund for any large unexpected expenses, and have a process you’ll follow if a chunk of your team is sick or injured.

Don’t always be a ‘yes-man’
Depending on how long you’ve been in business, you still might want to be taking every job you can to keep that cash flow healthy. Sometimes this can mean that you and the team are taking on more than you can handle, so don’t be afraid to say no if you don’t think you can dedicate the time and effort a project deserves. It’s all about quality not quantity, and your reputation for doing a job well and being somewhat exclusive will bring you more jobs anyway!

Get some down-time
It’s hard as a business owner to not be thinking constantly about your work, but to keep your stress levels down, make sure you’re regularly taking time out for you, whether it’s catching up with friends or watching the next episode on Netflix. Switching off for a few hours or so everyday will help you stay energised for your role and will mean you don’t burn out and end up getting sick – that’s just not what you need!