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The $100 MBA Show
MBA2690 Q&A Wednesday: How Do I Not Get Bored with My Business?
00:09:36
Your business is running smoothly, the numbers look fine, but something feels off. That creeping sense of boredom can sneak in even when everything seems to be working. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Is this really all there is?” -you’re not alone.
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Get yours@dell.com holiday Most entrepreneurs I know, they don't quit their business because it fails. They quit because they get bored. And boredom is sneaky. It creeps up slowly until you look at your business and think, is this all there is? But the truth is boredom isn't a business problem. It's a you problem. And today I'm going to show you exactly how to reignite the spark and keep growing without burning out. This is Q and A Wednesday where we take your questions and answer them right here on the podcast. Fabio asks a great question today. How do I not get bored with my business? Fabio, thanks for asking this because it's something many entrepreneurs secretly deal with, but they rarely admit it. Let's dig in. Welcome Back to the $1. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Omar Zenholm, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to help you start, grow and scale your business real quick. If these episodes help you in any way, hit the Follow button on this podcast app. It helps us to keep bringing you practical business insights three times a week for free. Thanks. The first thing I recommend is to reframe boredom. In my opinion, it's growth knocking on the door. When you feel bored, it usually is a signal that you've outgrown the role that you're currently playing in your business. At first, everything is exciting. Every sale, every new customer, every problem solved feels like an adventure. But once you've mastered the basics, the excitement starts to fade. And that's natural. Think of it like leveling up in a video game the first level is fun, but if you stay stuck on it forever, it becomes boring. And that boredom is telling you it's time for you to play at another level. Higher level. When I built my software company, Webinar Ninja, at first I loved doing everything myself. Customer support, product demos, marketing. But over time, I had to step back and become more of a strategist, a leader, and eventually a coach to my team members. That shift really killed the boredom because I was growing again. I was challenging myself again. The second thing I recommend is to inject new challenges and goals into your business. One of the fastest ways to get unstuck and get out of boredom is to set new, exciting challenges for yourself. Maybe it's launching a new product, maybe it's breaking into a new market, maybe it's throwing a live event. Or maybe it's a revenue milestone that requires you to think differently about your systems and your recruitment. The key here is that you're not stretching yourself, you're stagnating. Let me give you a personal example. When the $100 NBA show hit millions of downloads, I could have just coasted. But I set myself a challenge. I wanted to land interviews with my heroes. So we started to do extended interviews once a month. I really wanted to get people like Seth Godin and Derek Sivers on the show because I just wanted to meet them and have a conversation with them and get some advice from them. That mission kept me fired up, and when it happened, it felt like a fresh wind in my sails. I was recommitted to everything I was doing. Third piece of advice, rotate between operator and creator modes. If you spend too much time as an operator, you're running the day to day operations of your business and boredom starts to set in because you're doing the same thing over and over. But on the flip side, if you spend too much time or all your time creating, you might feel ungrounded. The trick, I believe, is to rotate between the two. Some seasons I'm deep in operations, I tighten up systems, I'm improving the margins of our business, right? In other seasons, I give myself permission to create new courses, new podcast episodes, new products. This rotation keeps my brain engaged and avoids that feeling of monotony. Tip number four, build a team and let go. I had to learn this the hard way. Many entrepreneurs get bored because they're stuck doing tasks they already are great at, right? Tasks that no longer challenge them. So the solution is to delegate. Hire someone to handle support, to handle content editing, to handle newsletters, to handle admin. Whatever drains your energy, start delegating it. Even if they're not going to do it as good as you at the start, there will be a time where they're going to get better, they're going to train, they're going to be better than you one day because that's all they're going to do. This doesn't just free up your time, it frees up you to focus on the things that excite you again. And you could do this for a period of time and then go back to it if you'd like. For example, at Webinar Ninja, a software company, I had a period of time where I stopped demoing or being the demo guy, showcasing the software and doing sales webinars. We hired somebody to do it. It freed me up to pursue partnerships to hire new engineers. Big Picture Strategy this shift really reignited my love for business and I could step back into it at any time, which I did. You ever buy something online just because the reviews were so good you couldn't resist? Recently I was looking for a new mic setup for my studio. I found one that seemed solid, but I was still on the fence until I saw this one review. That review said it felt like I was recording in a professional sound studio. Crystal Clear Audio Fast Shipping Packed like a Rolex, that one line sold me. And yeah, fast, reliable shipping. That's what seals the deal. It's also what gets people to leave those kinds of rave reviews in the first place. If you run an e commerce business, you already know shipping is make or break. And that's why I always recommend shipstation. Shipstation isn't just about printing ship labels. It's about making your entire fulfillment process smooth, fast and scalable. You can plug into over 400 different stores, carriers and tools and suddenly everything is centralized in one easy to use dashboard. We've used it ourselves and let me tell you, fulfilling orders is less stressful and a lot faster. The automation alone can save you hours every week. It lets you batch orders, track shipments and wow your customers without needing a whole warehouse team. And when shipping is that seamless, customers notice and they leave those glowing five star reviews. Wow your customers and get rave reviews with cheaper, faster and better shipping. Upgrade to ShipStation today to get a 60 day free trial at ShipStation.com and use code MBA. There's no credit card or contract required and you can cancel anytime. That's shipstation.com code MBA this episode is brought to you by Square. 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That's sqare.com g o/mba tip number five reconnect with customers Nothing kills boredom like remembering why you started this whole thing in the first place. Talk to your customers. Get on phone calls. Get on zoom calls. Listen to their struggles. Right? Hear how your product or service actually makes a difference in their lives. I am so surprised how many people don't talk to other customers, because whenever I do, I feel like I'm doing good work. I feel like I'm doing something that's great in the world, and I learned so much from them. And I also am so surprised how happy they are to speak to me. I mean, maybe they don't expect the founder to speak to them, but I feel like it's just a great conversation. That reminder of why you're doing what you're doing can really reignite a sense of purpose for faster than anything else I've seen. For example, I'll never forget an email that we got from a customer at our software company, Webinar Ninja, who said using the platform saved her business during the pandemic. Stories like that snap you out of boredom instantly because you realize the impact you're making is bigger than the routine tasks you do every day. You understand why you have to do that. Now you understand that, hey, I'm actually making a difference. Number six Learn something new inside or outside your business. Sometimes boredom comes because you're not learning anymore. Pick up a new skill, whether it's copywriting. Maybe it's video editing, maybe it's storytelling, maybe it's on camera presence, public speaking, whatever feels fresh for you. Something that maybe you've always wanted to tackle. Or learn something outside your business. Like look into picking up a new sport or a new game or a new hobby. I recently picked up poker and that's really been a fun challenge for me because I'm a beginner again. New learning feeds creativity, and creativity really fights boredom. Number seven. Something that a lot of people just won't tell you straight to your face. I will accept that. Fun will come later. Here's the honest truth. Business isn't always supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be rewarding. Olympic athletes don't enjoy training sessions. Musicians don't love every rehearsal. Right? But they love the success. Success. It gives them the freedom, the mastery, the impact, all that stuff, the money. Let's not forget that, guys, okay? So don't chase constant excitement. Chase progress. Progress is my North Star. If I feel like I'm making progress, I feel like I'm winning. That's what actually feels good in the long run. Fabio, boredom is your signal to grow. Don't ignore it. Use it as a compass. Have it point you towards the next level, whether that's new goals, new challenges, a stronger team, or reconnecting with your mission. And for anyone else that's listening, if you feel bored in your business, it doesn't mean you chose the wrong path, right? It means you're ready to evolve. Lean into that and don't be scared because you're going to change it to something new, something better. That's not only going to serve you, but serve your business and allow you to grow even more. Don't forget, we are here to answer your questions right here on Q and A Wednesday. Just go to 100mba.net Q, submit your question there and we'll make sure we answer it right here on the podc. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. If your business is making a profit, if it's growing and you are bored, please recognize this is a blessing. Like, this is first world problem and I have experienced this myself and I have to recognize that this is a good problem to have. That means things are going well. It's your job now to not belittle this blessing, not to poo poo on this blessing and to level up wherever you are in your business, to move up to the next level, to challenge yourself, to grow into something new so that you are showing that you appreciate what you have by giving more to it. Hope that helps. I hope that makes sense and I hope that resonates with you. If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now, whether it's at Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. By hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically, and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free, and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business. And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.
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