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Scott Gerber

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Entrepreneurial Burnout? 17 Tricks To Get Over The Hump

Posted: 06/ 9/11 04:38 PM ET

I think I'm experiencing entrepreneurial burnout. What can I do to get past this feeling and get back to being my creative and productive self?


--Max, North Carolina


The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council. Founded by Scott Gerber, the Y.E.C. is a nonprofit organization that provides young entrepreneurs with access to tools, mentorship, community and educational resources that support each stage of their business's development and growth. The organization promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to youth unemployment and underemployment.

Follow the 90 Percent/10 Percent Rule
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Spend a solid 10% of your time working on something you love other than your startup, whether this means pursuing a side hobby, freelance project, or brainstorming another idea. Forcing yourself to switch gears will reactivate the other parts of your brain/heart that you've perhaps been neglecting. Chances are, you'll begin seeing new areas of opportunity in your startup too!
--Annie Wang (@annie_wang), HerCampus.com
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I think I'm experiencing entrepreneurial burnout. What can I do to get past this feeling and get back to being my creative and productive self? --Max, North Carolina The following answers are provid...
I think I'm experiencing entrepreneurial burnout. What can I do to get past this feeling and get back to being my creative and productive self? --Max, North Carolina The following answers are provid...
 
 
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02:02 PM on 07/04/2011
Here's my 2 cents....If you work for yourself, hold strictly to your office hours. It's so tempting as an entrepreneur or self-employed professional (20 years and counting for me), to work all the time. Yes, play is important, but so is doing something to stir the creative juices. Learn something different. If you work with your mind, do something physical. If you work with your body, do something mentally stimulating, like a crossword puzzle or reading. After all, isn't that part of why we are entrepreneurs!
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Eli Davidson
Award Winning Small BusinessReinvention Expert
09:01 PM on 06/16/2011
I am in the trenches with women entrepreneurs and see that burnout is alive and well. It is key that small business owners get support to graduate from the old way of doing business.

Women tend to forget that we have 1/7 the testosterone of men. We need to honor the way our bodies function. Women business ownders are in a new paradigm.

If you are a woman please take 15 minutes in the next hour.
Take a break, call a girlfriend, and go move your body (dance, walk or move in a way that pleases you.)
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LSULinebacker64
TRUTH, FAITH, & TRUST in your HEART, SOUL, & MIND
10:31 PM on 06/15/2011
I'm on the start of 3 or 4 invention ideas at this time. My first Invention Prototype is being made an is being looked at by a business that is interested in it. I'm not looking to be a multi-millionaire overnight so as things come around I'll get started on the next one. My first drive on my mind on doing something is making a payoff on my house. Clearing my house would be fun an relaxing.
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dctackett
01:20 PM on 06/15/2011
Sounds like the key is "take a break"... do something else for a change, no matter what it is and the above seem to be suggestions for what to do...
07:09 AM on 06/11/2011
Good suggestions, to which I’d add find a network. You may be using energy on a problem someone else has already solved. You may be able to solve a problem for someone else (very invigorating!). If it’s the right network, you’ll get support, camaraderie, and revitalization.
07:59 AM on 06/10/2011
Hi Scott,

Really nice tips! It's true that when you first start your business, things are exciting and you're highly motivated to do all you can to make the business a success, however, you do so much that it's not too long before you start to burn out and your energy levels drop. I loved all the tips you've shared, they just show that it's important to concentrate on things that only you can do and let other's help you out with their area of expertise. Great post. Thanks for sharing!

Riya Sam
Training for Entrepreneurs.com
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SimplySpeaks
I'll roll with Truth even if it kills me.
01:40 AM on 06/10/2011
Thanks Scott! From someone who needed to really read this article thank you! As an entrepreneur the biggest threat to my success is burnout. These quick tips alone have already sparked my ingenuity!