“How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?”
I’m in my mid-40s now and have no desire to revisit schoolyard scraps and put Tyler Durden’s famous line from Fight Club to the test.
Yet over the last five years I’ve found that running a business can sometimes feel like you’re in a constant battle.
Don’t get me wrong, I love every minute of my week – whether I’m developing our strategy and products; interviewing business leaders; publishing news; or compiling research such as our Founder 250 list and Tech 50 rankings. I enjoy looking after our clients; and I even get a weird sense of fulfilment from reconciling and chasing invoices (when I get round to it!)
But when every hour is planned in advance – and seldom stuck to – it’s difficult to avoid the feeling that you’re on the ropes, slipping punches and trying to stay on your feet until the bell (6pm on Friday).
So how can you fight back?
I try to build active and mindful breaks into my day: walking the dog at 6.30am; biking to and from work if it’s an office day, or a spot of morning yoga and pilates then a lunchtime run at home; picking my little girl up from school. I eat healthily – cereal, fruit, smoothies and perhaps homemade leftovers.
This works brilliantly on Monday and Tuesday. And Wednesday, if it’s a good week.
By Thursday at the latest, my plan to duck, weave and jab has gone out the window and I find myself fighting through the to-do list alongside the constant pull of news reporting. Matcha lattes and electrolyte drinks are replaced by a stream of espressos; dates by biscuits. The odd bit of evening work may become a 1am finish, if there’s a deadline to meet.
My mental focus is so completely on the business that I forget about myself.
On Wednesday this week, I was reminded of the need to function as a person as well as a founder.
Guy Littlejohn invited me to The Farm Club near Knutsford for his monthly ‘mind, body and business’ event. Guy set up Function last year as a wellness network for founders in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
After a friendly welcome from member Ste Rundell – founder of HR technology firm Talos360 and now building thrivvy – it was down to the teepee for a yoga and breathwork session, followed by a dip in the (thankfully warm) lake.
We then heard from Adam Haque, a vascular surgeon and researcher who is also building two businesses including health screening firm Tomorrow. Adam explained how our physical and mental health affects the body’s ability to prevent or fight a potentially life-ending or -limiting vascular event.
The following peer group session was a real eye-opener. The honesty of the successful businesspeople around the table was refreshing and constructive, much like the masterclasses at our FUEL events (thanks to Kiran Mehta, former VC at Mercia and now founder at Catenae Advisory; Joshua Jones, owner of Dynamic Wealth; Ian Barker, founder of catering business BRUNCH; Simon Norie, behind business consultancy Custerian; Dominic Bennett, founder of On Wellbeing; and Adam, who gave us a fascinating insight into the mindset of a surgeon as well as his founder story).
I emerged with a clearer idea of what is needed to make a success of my own business; to improve my habits over seven days (not three!); how the two are interlinked; and recognition of what I (and my business partner Chris Maguire) are doing right.
Working to build BusinessCloud for the first five years was an education; running it as our business for the last five has taught me a great deal more.
As we build in the next five, I know that looking after my mind and body will be as important as getting through that to-do list.