How to make your health your business

Your health is your business. Do you treat it as such? 

Have you set strategic objectives and key performance indicators or KPIs to maintain and improve your own health and wellness?

Every year in October / November small and micro business owners set strategic plans for the next year. Or at least we should be!

We put vast amounts of time and effort into developing annual strategic plans which cover everything from finances to marketing, from operations to research.

Yes, sometimes you will find objectives related to staff or employee development in these plans but it seems one very important component of a micro business, often gets very little or no attention.

I am referring to the health and wellness of YOU, the business owner, often the only staff member, carrier of all responsibilities, producer of goods and services, marketer, financial officer and sales department all rolled into one.  

Ok, yes, I see, you have included learning and growth targets for yourself and yes, that is essential but what about the well-being of your body and mind?
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Have you set strategic objectives and key performance indicators or KPIs to maintain and improve your own health and wellness?

​And if not, why not?

Let me share a few reasons why I think you should include a workplace wellness strategy – even if you are a sole proprietor.

YOUR WELLNESS IS YOUR BUSINESS
You are the one resource in your business which cannot be replaced.

People are not referred to as human capital for nothing. It is our skills, knowledge, and experience that bring value (or cost) to the business. Without you, chances are, there will not be a business.

Often we take it for granted that our health and wellness will look after itself. That, unlike e.g. equipment or R&D, we don’t need to maintain it, invest in it and purposefully identify objectives for it. We consider it a private matter not directly related to our business.

Sometimes I get the idea that people pay more attention to the state of their cars than their own well-being.

ARE YOU RUNNING OR RUINING YOUR BUSINESS?
There is a fine line between running and ruining a micro business.

It takes a breakdown in just one part of the business to threaten one's livelihood. The survival of most small and micro businesses depends on each and every member of the team to be present, to be performing their tasks efficiently and to generate an income.

So, when we, or one of our team members, experience problems in any of the seven spheres of well-being – physical, psychological, social, emotional, financial, environmental or spiritual – it has a direct effect on the rest of the group as well as the business itself.

Corporate and big business know this but often small and micro enterprises neglect to invest in formal wellness programmes.

It is time that you prioritise your own health and wellness.

TAKE THESE FOUR STEPS:

  1. Stop thinking of yourself as an entity separate from your business. I am not proposing that you don’t enjoy a private life but your own well-being cannot be left at home while you are off to the office. Without you there might well be no need for an office and no business to conduct.

  2. Just as you spend time planning how you are going to achieve revenue growth or cost saving in the next year, set yourself targets to reach objectives related to health and wellness.

  3. Make sure, just as with other KPIs, that your objectives are:

• Crucial to achieving your goal – If your goal is to lose weight, going for a massage will be beneficial in general but not for weight control in particular. Be very clear about what you want to achieve and identify the best way to do it.
• Well-defined and specific – be careful of fuzzy, feel good phrases like ‘I want to be healthier and happier’. How will you go about achieving that and how will you measure it? What exactly do you need to do to be healthier or happier?
• Quantifiable so that you can measure your progress. Compare a statement such as: I want to manage my stress levels vs. I need to book two massages per month to help manage my stress levels. Which one sounds more achievable and which one will be easier to assess for progress?

  4. Once you have set your goals, include it in your strategic plan and hold yourself accountable.

Have you made your own health and wellness your business yet?

SomaSense On-site can help.
​Together we can design a workplace wellness programme which includes massage tailor-made for you.

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PS. This is my blogpost for Day Six of the 7 Day Bizblog Challenge  put out by South African Business & Blogger Tribe and Sam Posselt, Speaker of Hashtags #rsabizblogs

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