How to run your business without your personal life affecting work

Things happen in life. It never goes as planned. I don’t even bother to plan much out these days because something always comes up to ruin those plans. When my husband died a lot of people asked me how I was but I got a lot of How are you going to run your business without your personal life affecting work? Do you need help? What will Kita do with her clients? As a business owner, it’s hard to run your business when life happens. Did you all know that I had a sponsored content post due 2 days after my hubs died? I needed the money so I did it and didn’t miss a beat. I did take a small break but I needed to move I needed to work. My Aunt just died a few weeks ago and her husband was back on the road working within  48 hours. Some people stop to catch their breaths others can’t stop because they have to keep moving. Stopping makes me think and when I start thinking that’s when things get bad. I need a release and for me, writing is my release. So the big question today is how do you run your business when life happens?

First

It’s OK to be human. Say no and take a break. You don’t owe anyone anything or any explanations. I had clients who needed things from me that I could not give. Some of them understood and a few of them didn’t really care. They needed what they had paid for regardless if I just lost a husband or not. Not everyone will care that you had a great loss. If they don’t know what it feels like to lose a mom, a husband, etc. they won’t be able to feel what you feel. I had to give a lot of money back to clients but that was ok. I am human and I could not take on a lot.

Second

Take some time to self-care. I put away social media for a few weeks and took long walks. I also took myself to the library and read and pigged out on bags of cookies. I was in a happy place so take that time and be in whatever place you need to be in. Take care of you especially if you have children. Go out with a friend or go out by yourself but just do something you would love. Self-care is for the person behind the brand because we are our brand and it starts with customer service. If we are good we treat others good so self-care when things happen.

Third

See your pain for what it is and don’t let anyone tell you how to grieve. Some of us grieve by getting right back to work. Some of us grieve by crying all day. Some of us get angry and need to find a boxing ring. Find the source of your pain and don’t ignore or it will fester up inside you and then you become a monster. You don’t want to be a monster who is running a business…you will scare away all of your clients and they will go right to your competition.

Fourth

Find others you can trust to help you with your business. I found a good friend who took over some of my accounts for me so that I could get a break. She knew that I would need the money when I came back so she kept things going for me. I let her keep the money from all of my gigs and then she turned around and gave it right back to me. She worked for free and didn’t even bat an eye. Not everyone will do this (Y’all can’t have my friend lol) but make sure that you give your work to others if you can. If you can’t, tell people what’s up via social media, a newsletter, or on your business page. Don’t just disappear some will understand and show you grace. Others will leave but your true clients and customers will be there when you get back.

Fifth

Revise your business to suit your needs. Whether it’s changing your office hours, coming back slowly, or coming back with a new sense of life. Don’t apologize for any of it. When my husband died I didn’t want to do Kokoa Magazine again. I felt I was in a different space so I revised my business and created It’s Really Kita and I also picked up a camera and started using that as my source of income. I no longer wanted to run a magazine I wanted to write and share my story. I did away with that business and created a new business that fit my needs. Don’t be afraid to come back a different person than when you left.

Life happens….you get sick, you find out your man is cheating, your kids are acting up in school, your car breaks down, something goes wrong in your home, you lose a loved one, clients fire you, etc. All this can happen while you run your business. It’s not easy being a business owner because if you go down….who is going to run that business.

• Have help, hire others even if it’s just one person hire them so that your business doesn’t fail while you take the time that you need.
• Hire out for other needs so that you aren’t overwhelmed.
• Go see someone if you need too!
• Find a group of people you can trust and ask them. A closed mouth doesn’t get fed. Open your mouth and speak your needs to people you trust

Any tips on how to run your blog or business when life gets in the way?