Episode Summary

What happens when your clients love one of your services… but you no longer do? 

In today’s podcast episode, Melissa Swink discusses what to do when you fall out of love with your business, or perhaps just one of your products/services. She explores the topic of burnout and identifies several areas of your business that could be dragging you down and preventing you from loving your work. This could include clientele, partnerships and collaborations, products and services, roles and responsibilities, and team members or vendors. Listen to learn what steps you can take to cut out what’s not working, with the ultimate goal of realigning your business to work for you and bring you joy and fulfillment!

Key Highlights:

• 34% of business owners and entrepreneurs report experiencing burnout. 
• Learn how to identify what's not working in your business.
• Take steps to resolve each issue, whether it's having a conversation with a client, discontinuing a service, or reviewing roles and responsibilities.

About Melissa:

Melissa Swink, Founder & CEO of Melissa Swink & Co., has a team of virtual assistants who provide administrative and marketing support for small businesses and non-profits.

Since 2012, Melissa and her team have helped more than 100 businesses grow through the services they offer, and she is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs create profitable, scalable businesses they love.

Her work is all about doing what works (and eliminating what doesn’t) and driving real, measurable results. Visit www.melissaswink.com to learn more! 

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Hi everyone. Welcome to the Make Space for More podcast where we talk strategies for growing and scaling your business in a way that's authentic and aligned for you. I'm your host, Melissa Swink. And in today's episode, we're going to dive into a topic that is a bit sensitive, but certainly common among entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals, no matter where you are in your journey, in your business or your career. And that

I took it as a sign that now would be a good time to dive into this topic and take a pause and maybe zoom out a little bit and take a look at what's going on in our businesses. What could be going better? What could be easier and make them more enjoyable to run? Overarching theme, think with a lot of this has to do with burnout. And I was curious about what are the actual rates of burnout? We hear that word a lot. hear overwhelm. We hear burnout.

And certainly this is something that we need to take seriously because our energy and our business that we bring to the world really, let's not even just narrow it down to business. I think that the energy that we bring into our life and our family and our personal lives and our professional lives is very important. But I was curious, what are the actual rates? And so I found a report from Founders Reports.

She asked the question, what if you were bringing home half a million dollars a year to do what you're doing? Would that change anything? And so if you really sit with that for a moment and think about what if was, it was paid very, very well to be doing what I'm doing, would that change my outlook or my perspective? Would that improve the way that I think about my business? So what if the answer is no?

What if it's, know what, honestly, there is no amount of money out there that would make it worth it for me. And if that is you and that's really what's dropping in for you, I just want to honor your honesty with yourself and acknowledge that maybe this business is not the right fit for you, or maybe this business, this is just not the right season of your life to be running this thing.

And that's okay. Like if you're like, just, doesn't matter to me how much I'm earning. I have just hit the wall. It's not a fit for me anymore. I just want to acknowledge you if that's you. Now I would say more than likely many people listening to this episode right now are like, yeah, if I was bringing home half a million dollars a year to do what I'm doing, sign me up. I'd be a whole lot happier. So if that is

That's probably a clue that there are some shifts that you can make for the business to be more enjoyable and ultimately more profitable as well. So that's what we're going to talk about today is if I was paid half a million dollars and you can certainly substitute that dollar amount for whatever would make sense for you. But I really love that example where like, yeah, heck yes, I would be living a fabulous life if I earn that kind of money for my business. Great. So let's talk about actually step

of the Make Space for More framework, which is all about decluttering your business and eliminate what's not working. So let's talk about what some of these categories might be in terms of what's dragging you down and preventing you from loving the work that you're doing. And this is in no particular order, but these are some common ones. So it could be that your clientele needs to shift a little

I know when many of us start our businesses, we will pretty much work with anybody who is willing to pay us. Of course, there are within reasons. But when we're first starting out, we have bills to pay, we have food to put on the table, so we're willing to give things a try. Or maybe there's a client that's like, I'm not sure if they were the right fit, but I'm gonna give it my best and see how it goes. But over time, and especially as your business matures,

Maybe there are clients that are just draining your energy or for whatever reason, just don't fit with your business model as it stands today. And again, that's okay. Your ideal client may also change over the years. Maybe you started working with a particular type of client in a very specific industry, and then maybe you found that you actually enjoy working with these types of clients

in this industry over here. No shade to the other one, but you know, things just evolve and change over time and that's okay. So it could be that there are some clients that are not a fit for you or your overall target market has changed over the years of owning your business. Let's talk about partnerships and collaborations. I know that's another one as well where maybe you've had some projects that you've collaborated with others on in the

And while those were the right thing for you at that time, again, kind of going back to the client's comments that I made a few minutes ago, you know, maybe there are just some referral partnerships or collaborations where you're feeling like maybe this isn't the right fit anymore, or maybe there's been some bartering going on where you just feel like it's no longer apples to apples, where maybe you're feeling

the amount of time and energy and maybe even money that you're putting into a particular relationship, you're not getting the return on that investment that you need. And again, this isn't about making anybody wrong, but it's really getting honest with yourself. Is it working or is it not? Products and services. This is another one where maybe you have clients who love a particular product that you've been creating for years.

or there are services that your clients love and you just no longer love those things anymore. That's okay. I'll give you an example. know when I first started my business in 2012, working as a virtual assistant, now most of the work that I did was virtual, but there were certainly local clients who still asked me to go into their offices maybe like once a month and help with filing or collaborate and do some strategy work, things like that because I had a consulting background.

And that was how I was happy to do business that way, knowing that the majority of my work was remote and I did have a flexible work schedule that I wanted. But after a time, it just became more cumbersome for me to work in person with clients. So I needed to make some shifts in my business and have some conversations around this is not something that I'm going to be able to sustain. And we can talk about some different strategies for how to step away from some of these things.

in a little bit here, but just kind of getting some ideas together of maybe pinpointing what's not working or what don't you love or what is affecting your energy and overhaul your results and what you're looking for and what your goals are in the big picture. Roles and responsibilities. This is something that maybe

that you are doing something or more likely forcing yourself to do something in terms of the running of your business that just doesn't make sense for you anymore. Maybe you have been the one doing the bookkeeping behind the scenes and it's time to just let that go. Maybe the books have been piling up, you haven't been able to stay on top of things and then maybe...

tax time rolls around and then you've got to spend days and days and days trying to get these things caught up and you really hate it and it feels like a prison sentence to sit at your desk or your kitchen table for an entire weekend trying to get caught up on these things. Maybe that is just not something that you need to be responsible for going forward and there are other people out there who can help you with that. Or maybe there are things about your role in the company that you're just

ready to relinquish total control of and bring in good, talented people who can build upon what you have established and grow that aspect. So reviewing roles and responsibilities, maybe there are some things that just don't belong on your plate anymore. And then lastly, again, this is certainly not in any particular order of priority or things like that, but take a look at your team members or your vendors that you're working

Maybe there are team members, even if they are well intentioned, are just not a good fit for you in your business right now and where you're headed in the future. Maybe there's somebody who is well -meaning, but they make a lot of mistakes. Or maybe there is somebody that you've been working with on your marketing and you're just not seeing the results that you were hoping to see and it's time to change things up a little bit. Again, no.

No shade or no hard feelings to any of these people who you have worked with to get you to this point, but maybe there's just something that's not working for you. I will also take a step back and share a couple of things here. Sometimes it doesn't necessarily mean that we need to completely eliminate or discontinue or offload any of these things or any of these people, but maybe it could be reestablishing some boundaries.

around maybe communication or reset expectations on both sides so that everybody's clear and you can feel a lot better about being in that working relationship moving forward. There's a lot of different things here that you can take into consideration rather than just eliminating completely. But often when I look at my business and certainly when I work with clients, there are things that fall into these categories that are just frustrating them to no end.

really dragging their spirits down and ultimately affecting the way that they're able to grow their business. Because when you're in that negative energy, it just can be really hard to rise above. So taking those things into consideration, I highly recommend as a next step, making a list of what's not working for you and your business. Now, this is a list that you can make when you are sitting and drinking coffee on a Saturday morning after maybe

another crazy week at the office, that sort of a thing. And this is not something that you need to share with anyone. So it is totally OK to be brutally honest on this piece of paper that you're going to be writing on. Maybe take out a notebook, legal pad, scratch piece of paper, what have you, and just make a list. I know that I have done this many times myself where it's just been a challenging time, maybe a challenging week, a challenging

month and I just get to a point where I'm like, this is what's not working. This is what's bothering me. This is what my brain is spinning on when I'm trying to go to sleep at night and just make the list, make the list. And even that is just a relief to see on paper of, okay, here are all the things that have been rattling around in my brain. Now we actually have a list. And so once you take the time to make that list as a next

Next to each item, write down what is one next step to get this resolved. Just one. Sometimes it can be really overwhelming, like, you know what, I decided that I no longer want to do one -on -one coaching. This is something that I hear from colleagues, from clients who offer one -on -one services like coaching or consulting.

where a lot of times they just decide that they want to just do group offerings instead. And so then of course, when you're looking at, don't want to do one -on -one coaching anymore, again, using that as an example, then your brain starts to go through like, my gosh, we have to do da -da -da -da -da -da -da -da to do all of this shutting down of the current offering, and then we got to launch a new offering. And it just gets really overwhelming and you get paralyzed by

That's not what we want to do here. So realizing that depending on the size of the change that needs to be made, there are probably going to be multiple steps and there's probably going to be a timeline involved with some of these things. But what is the next step that you can take to resolve that issue? So going back through our list, maybe if there's a client that's just not a right fit, maybe the next step is

get a meeting on the calendar with them to talk about here is what I think we need to change in terms of how we work together in order for this to be easier and less stressful for everybody involved. And maybe we revisit the conversation of boundaries and resetting expectations. Maybe that's the next step is getting a call on the calendar with that client. Or if maybe it's not so much an issue of boundaries,

where you have a client who you just don't enjoy working with anymore. I talk about caller ID gut check when I present on this topic and you've probably heard me talk about this on the podcast. But when that person's name comes up on your phone, like caller ID or you get a text message from them or they pop up in your email and you just go, what do they want? You know, maybe it's time

It's time to let that client go. And whenever we let go of a client, at least at my company, I want to do the best that I can not to burn bridges in the process. Now, there's a lot of emotions involved when it comes to discontinuing any relationship, working relationships, certainly no exception to that. But what I will tend to do when we come to a conclusion that a client is just not a fit for us is we

try to have a conversation in real time. We really do try to not deliver this news via email just because I feel like when you email or you text, tone is very difficult to convey and automatically things just are more direct. tend to be more, I don't know, they tend to veer on the negative even when that's not your intention.

So again, having a conversation and just saying, I feel that it would be best that at the end of the month, we wrap up our work together. Or give them a reasonable amount of time and certainly review your contract and see, is it a 30 day notice? Is it a 14 day notice? What is your policy? Make sure that you adhere to your own policy, but also making sure that as you're wrapping up the work with that client,

that you are serving them to the very best of your ability and also setting them up for success for the next person who's going to be taking over for you. So maybe that's making sure that you have standard operating procedures that are documented so that the next person can pick up that information and continue it on. Maybe it's recording some screen videos of this is how I do the weekly email newsletter and just

helping prepare your successor to pick that up and continue serving that client to the very best of their ability. There are ways to do this so that you can try to soften the turbulence of this transition. Now, same thing, let's talk about products and services. So sometimes,

Eliminating a product or a service. I'll probably talk more about service because that is the nature of my work. I work with a lot of service based businesses. Maybe it's a matter of removing that service from your website or removing that product from your menu and just not featuring it anymore. maybe it's we do have clients who are still doing this service or they still have this package.

and will continue serving them, but I don't want to do more. Sometimes it's just really that simple. Don't advertise it, don't offer it anymore. And then just continue to offer that for your existing clientele. Maybe it's that simple. Or maybe it is, again, kind of going back to that discontinuing a client relationship, maybe it's at the end of this season or at the end of this engagement,

we are not going to be renewing this service, but then also making some recommendations of here's what we can do instead, or maybe it's this is no longer something that we're able to offer to you, but I have this person over here in my network who might be a really good fit and we can work with you to have them take this over for our team. Just different things like that. What we want to do again is do this in a way that is encouraging of the best possible outcome for everybody involved.

You, certainly, you and your energy, very important, and just your overall mental load, but also the people that you're working with as well. Roles, responsibilities, certainly, it's always a great time to review what's on your plate. Who else could do this for you? Taking a look at, right now, something that I am doing is looking at adding a bookkeeper to our team for a couple of hours a week.

because I realized that there's two things in my business that I become the bottleneck on. One thing is team payments, for example. Right now in the business, twice a month, I pay out my team. And I also realized that I'm the bottleneck for this. So when I go on vacation or if I'm not available, I need to make sure that that is taken care of. So it might cause me to log in on a day that I'm off or pay the team.

early before I go on vacation. certainly there's nothing wrong with that, but taking it a step further, these are things that I'm doing by choice. However, what happens if I suddenly am unable to do team payments? God forbid life happens. I am not available to do two team payments. Who else can do them? So it's also taking a look at where am I the bottleneck, but then also where's the risk.

And there is risk when there is only one person who is able to do something. And so that's something that I'm reviewing with my roles and responsibilities. Just to give you some examples there. And I know we talk a lot about this in the Make Space for More podcast, getting really clear on what are the most important things that you need to be doing as the CEO of your company and what do we do with everything else? I have lots of episodes about the Make Space for More framework. We talk a lot about

delegating and outsourcing. I'm not going to go down that rabbit hole today, but reviewing roles and responsibilities. And maybe it's time to take another look at what is on my plate and what do I need to offload in order for me to be able to do more of the things that I love doing and enjoy doing and bring me energy, light me up and contribute to the bottom line. Same thing with team members and vendors. I know I feel like this is a little bit repetitive,

honoring contracts that are in place. We don't want to breach contracts. We don't want to burn bridges, but maybe being honest about here's what's not working and taking a look at is it something that's fixable or is it something that we just need to discontinue working together and what does that process look like? Okay, really ultimately what I want you to get here is if you are currently feeling frustrated or overwhelmed or burned out in your business,

Our ultimate goal is to get things back in alignment so that it works for you and your work style and your approach and works with your overall goals that you have for the business. And we want you to be in flow because when you're in flow, things are moving and things are going in the right direction. So alignment and flow is really the goal here. And there are ways to do that in a way that's

brings integrity to the relationships that you have and it serves the people that are depending on you well and yet does not commit you to doing the things that you don't enjoy forever and ever. So all of that being said, if you know a business owner who's experiencing burnout or just generally feeling frustrated in their business, would you share this episode with them? There may be some tips or some ideas that come to mind that could alleviate a lot of that stress and frustration and anxiety.

And of course, thank you so much for taking the time to listen to today's episode. Join me for future episodes for more tips on how to grow your business beyond you. Have a great day, everyone. We'll see you in the next episode.