How can entrepreneurs manage crisis stress?
Other entrepreneurs may have different methods, but I’ll share what I’ve done. First, some outcomes that cause high stress are a matter of waiting, such as a customer saying yes, or funding approval. The more I sit around, the more stressful it becomes, so I work on other parts of the business, preferably something that breaks up the routine. So, if I’ve been concentrating on raising money, I’ll work on customer engagement, and preferably in a different environment. There is another kind of stress, and that happens when you are managing a disaster, like lost funding, or a big customer loss. In those situations, I hit the whiteboard and get to work. I’m big on, “What if we do…” scenarios on a whiteboard and work through the problem until I come up with a roadmap to get me out of the situation I’m in. Character comes out in bad times and our real value often shows up when there is a crisis. Great entrepreneurs are built from navigating sudden hits to their business that they were...