Business Anxiety

The term anxiety was birthed from words that mean to think narrow-mindedly and to be taken by the throat. As people who operate within a world with others, it is more than likely that we will feel some level of anxiety in several areas of our lives.

Here are a few anxiety triggers that can be experienced in business, regardless of the size of the organization:

Money – businesses always have an issue with money. CFO’s are always looking to reduce spending in order to increase the bottom line, while COO’s and CFO’s are seeking new ground to increase the revenue of the organization. As long as there is a business, there will be some level of anxiety created by money.

Leadership – in a day where people are changing, becoming less tolerant, more independent and less loyal; leadership is always going to be challenged. As a leader you have to improve on your leadership ability – the ability to deal with competitors, new thoughts, economic changes and the ability to deal with a variety of people inside and outside your organization. Maybe the best leadership move you can make is to appoint another leader to assist in dealing with some of these changing elements.

Growth – determining what stage your business is currently in, knowing where it is going and being able to discern when it is time to make a move in advance for the purposes of growth. I know some entrepreneurs who worked from their home office. However, in order for their business to expand they moved into an office building. Making the right move at the right time to be just ahead of your firm’s growth rate can cause anxiety.

Staff Conflict – pleasing people isn’t easy. Coming to an amicable resolution isn’t always the easiest thing to do either. Internal conflict caused the Roman Empire to collapse and it will certainly do the same thing to a business.

Retention – the Internet has created instant competition to almost every business. Consumers that are seeking more service for less cost can make them a bit disloyal. What do you do to retain clients? This can be a big source of anxiety for most small business owners.

Ideas – most entrepreneurs are flooded with a ton of ideas that seem profitable. This is both a gift to many as well as a curse. What ideas are indeed profitable? Which of those ideas are to be acted on now? Which ideas are to be executed at a later time?

These are just a few business anxiety triggers, you may have more. My suggestion here is to develop a resource or mastermind team to assist you in resolving some of these areas of anxiety. The key to handling these anxieties is never to be reactive or defensive. In cases of anxiety practice being responsive, responsible, be thoughtful and think about the “Big Picture.” Learn to manage those anxieties by developing a better you.