After running my vacation rental business for 7 years, I burned out.
The fun, excitement, and focus from my "start-up" days had faded.
I was no longer passionate about the hospitality, which we always considered our greatest virtue.
And after coming to grips with that fact, I sold the business.
Part of me attributed the "burn out" to simply working 24/7 for 7 years. Gene Marks, author of The Small Business Desk Reference, says the average lifespan of a small business is about eight and a half years. And managing vacation rentals is really hard. So that seems like about right.
But another part of me wonders if "burn out" is really the right term. What we're really talking about here is the longevity of your business.
How long can it last with you at the helm?
To explore further, I've brainstormed some activities that can detract from our passion reserves.
If you have used a tool to solve any one of them, please share below.
I'd like to think that this thread can extend the lifespan or longevity of our businesses significantly.
The fun, excitement, and focus from my "start-up" days had faded.
I was no longer passionate about the hospitality, which we always considered our greatest virtue.
And after coming to grips with that fact, I sold the business.
Part of me attributed the "burn out" to simply working 24/7 for 7 years. Gene Marks, author of The Small Business Desk Reference, says the average lifespan of a small business is about eight and a half years. And managing vacation rentals is really hard. So that seems like about right.
But another part of me wonders if "burn out" is really the right term. What we're really talking about here is the longevity of your business.
How long can it last with you at the helm?
To explore further, I've brainstormed some activities that can detract from our passion reserves.
- Solving problems with trial and error: for some problems in this new industry there is no solution yet, in which case you have to figure it out yourself. But in most instances, other vacation rental professionals have already figured out any given conundrum. And so not taking advantage of their experience looks like energy unnecessarily spent.
- Resisting software for redundant tasks: doing the same task over and over again is like death by a million papercuts: unless you really enjoy (like therapeutically) the redundant tasks, be willing to let a software do it for you. Fortunately, there is amazing and inexpensive technology available for most of these tasks.
- Not delegating (aka. doing everything yourself): This is the easiest trap for an independent VR pro because only you know how to do things best. It's therefore a sacrifice to hire someone else (even if your processes and talent rock).
- Being too dependent on any one entity: feeling helpless is exhausting. And if you have all your eggs in one basket (product, service, organization, demographic) the stress of that basket being thrown under the bus has a real cost on your peace of mind.
- Being illegal: OK so we weren't illegal, but we *were* unregulated (it was before the city had defined short term rentals). So the daunting nature of building our business on unstable ground, knowing we could be shut down over night, that took its toll.
- Finding something else (more) exciting: Small business owners are fueled by passion, which is a limited resource. For me, the "passion project" became Esperanza (a gang intervention program) where I spent most of my time and energy. This isn't good or bad. Just a new channeling of precious passion.
If you have used a tool to solve any one of them, please share below.
I'd like to think that this thread can extend the lifespan or longevity of our businesses significantly.