1. Burnout is real. I've been trying to do it all: creating, developing new products, promoting, marketing, staging, displaying, researching, looking for venues to do pop-ups, printing signage and business cards, ordering supplies, and tending to activities of daily living. I was failing at many of those. As hard as it was, I had to slow to a crawl, let some things go, and replenish my mental and physical energy.
2. Setting priorities and focusing is super important. A hundred things need to be done, now. Or do they? The world won't come to an end - and neither will my business - if I don't get everything done today. So I let logic and instinct take over. With blinders on, I stuck to one task at a time until it was completed. Much better!
3. Deciding when and how to spend money to expand is critical. At this stage of my art business, hiring a professional marketing firm is cost prohibitive. Plus, would an outsider really and truly "get" me and my style? Who would benefit more - the marketing firm or me? Not ready to make that decision yet.
4. Slow and steady wins the race. Cliche much? Ha! But it's true. After taking a week off and stepping back to regroup, some promising opportunities began to emerge! The work I'm doing to lay the foundation of this business is paying off. People are taking notice. My audience is growing. My customers are becoming repeat customers. I must be doing something right!
5. I actually enjoyed some downtime and didn't feel guilty! As one of my favorite podcast hosts says, "That is a big deal." I always feel varying degrees of guilt if I'm not doing something work-related. But this past week off has been different. I've sat and enjoyed YouTubers taking me on virtual walking and driving tours of New York City. It's been a great distraction. But it also got me my wheels turning about how to go about getting my purses into a New York boutique. If you can make it there ....
What do YOU do to combat burnout or to recover from it? Let me know in the comments.