Women business owners are especially prone to burnout. Many of us are caretakers and sometimes try to over meet the needs of others. Enclosed are some areas of focus for preventing and managing burnout.

Time Management
Women often struggle with not having enough time with family and children and self due to growing the business and work schedule overload. Some tips are to schedule self-care, learn to "say no" in spite of the guilt it bring, prioritize top interests, learn to set boundaries, delegate and give staff the opportunity to "rise to the occasion."

Self Care
Self-care is obvious in lowering stress levels, and is often a challenge to follow. Eating well and getting enough exercise are basics. Not often placed in the same category but should be is getting enough sleep.
Spending time with girlfriends and getting away for brief periods or longer vacations are other ways to bring more joy and less stress into your life. Staying positive and optimistic can be cultivated and often bring positive results.

Balancing  Professional With Personal Life
Another challenge is the tendency entrepreneurs have to bring work related items home and for the family to absorb the stress or feel ignored. Suggestions are to allow a transition time from your work day to discuss your work-related concerns. Then follow this with by an equal amount of time for your family to air their issues.  Other suggestions are to schedule family activities and stick to them, schedule time with your spouse or significant other which include mini-vacations and "dates" when work issues are not discussed, and learn to recognize the ups and downs of being with an entrepreneur to catch the downs before they escalate.

Financial Challenges
Entrepreneurialism is not a straight line. It has ebbs and flows on a good day and on other days, it can feel like a roller coaster. Suggestions to handle financial inconsistencies are to maintain high quality work to generate referrals, keep excellent financial records and review them regularly, track advertising dollars to find the most cost-effective results, talk to clients beforehand about fees and expectation, write thank you letters to colleagues who refer you to clients, and most importantly reach out to the Rhode Island business community by  joining business networking groups, finding  mentors, and staying visible by attending events.

Staff Support:  
Support is everything and that is especially true for staff suppport.
Suggestions are to  hire a competent and experienced administrator, encourage cohesiveness and congeniality among staff, create staff incentives, have a consistent bill collection process or hire a payroll service, and do what you do best and let your staff do the rest.

Loss of Enjoyment
Stress in your work can cause loss of enjoyment. Suggestions to bring enjoyment back into your worklife are to set reasonable expectations,
get help with the things you don't like to do, eliminate the toxic people in your work life, surround yourself with people who support your goals,
screen potential problem clients and be willing to decline your services up front to avoid personal stress and professional liability, and last but not least, create your business to do what you like to do.

The bottom line is that you can reduce the stress in your business life following the suggestions above but remember, it takes time, determination and creative solutions.