Entrepreneurs who lost their balance and succeeded in business

Starting a business often involves finding the right balance. Not all budding entrepreneurs can afford to quit their day jobs right away.

For Rebecca Kelley, founder and CEO of event technology service VenueScanner, juggling a 9-to-5 and a 5-to-9 on top of everyday life presents a whole new set of obstacles. created a world of

The constant work and effort required to cope with the ups and downs that come with both jobs became a “debilitating” experience for Kelly.

But once she started prioritizing her health as much as her business, she said her growth became overwhelming.

With sleepless nights, long hours, and a strong passion for both her day job and her side hustle, Kelly experienced burnout that many entrepreneurs and career-minded people tend to forget.

Kelly said he entered the world of entrepreneurship on a whim, but it has been a “journey of ups and downs.”

Beyond the mental, it was physical signs that inspired Kelly to change the way things worked.

Signs of burnout

“I was shaking, collapsing, short of breath…I had great difficulty concentrating and working,” she said.

Realizing that her “burnout” was becoming physical, Kelly quit her day job at Naked Wine and focused her full attention on expanding VenueScanner.

now? With around 40 staff around the world, VenueScanner has seen revenue increase 100% year over year, costs up 60% and new members and bookings skyrocketing.

“I think what fundamentally helped me was making a mental shift in terms of thinking that physical and mental health are important in order to accomplish what you set out to do.” said Kelly.

It’s not the same for everyone, she added, as she’s met many “successful” entrepreneurs and career-focused people who haven’t had a similar experience to hers.

She said some signs are more visible than others, such as physical fatigue, lack of emotional control, and even changes in mental processing capacity.

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It’s all about the individual, which she calls her “curse of compassion.”

Acknowledging that 24/7 entrepreneurship can often be addictive, she limits what she considers the “silent killers”: sleep, exercise and screen time. , she said it’s worth taking a step back to focus on what’s still important.

“I was able to get more done by doing so much less,” Kelly said. And now she’s focused on making sure her employees’ well-being is a top priority.

“There’s an attitude within the company that we value our employees and at the same time prioritize what we need to achieve as a business,” she added.

Offering things like flexible working hours, a minimum rather than maximum holiday policy, and even a “work from anywhere in August” initiative, Kelly took risks he believed were necessary.

She said she had seen the opposite reaction, believing the August Work from Anywhere initiative to be the most risky. The last quarter of this year has been the most productive yet.