Can You Get Bored With Success?

Recently one of my private coaching clients said to me "I'm bored. The business just works, the team is happy, monthly profit is great, clients love us and I'm doing a couple of days a month tops". Believe it or not, this (nice to have) problem is more common than you would think. 

I remember the firsts time I hit this place and how weird it was. I was cash rich, time rich and running the perfect business based on passion BUT it was boring. I sat in a cafe on a Wednesday morning, having a long brunch “complaining" to my business coach about it. 

Fortunately for me, it didn't last very long - I redefined my goals and quickly found myself growing into an order of complexity that has made my last few years anything but boring (sometimes I wish I had of let myself be a little bit bored for longer). 

Boredom kicks in for two major reasons:

1. Success requires repetition - you eventually figure out what works and you’re wise to repeat it as often as possible. 
2. Sometimes the winning formula doesn’t require you (the founder) to be involved all that much - you might need to speak on stage, write some articles, answer your emails and lead an occasional meeting but beyond that, you actually get in the way of your team performing. 

Boredom typically kicks in for an entrepreneur when they have an experienced team of 6-10 people and revenue above ￡1.5M+. The small-team are dynamic and purpose driven. They also don't need much of your time in order to get on with their roles. 

A smart entrepreneur will recognise they are onto a good thing and that hiring more people or squeezing every last penny out of the P&L won't necessarily make the business better. 

Sure, you could grow however going beyond 12 people brings complexity. The team will require more management , HR policies, better systems and a proper office - do you want the hassles that come with growth or are you just doing it out of boredom?

Instead you could try to become more profitable through efficiencies. Be warned though, cost-cutting may disrupt your functioning ecosystem - do you really need to squeeze every penny out of the business or are you just doing it out of boredom? 

Be careful what you chose to do out of boredom:

1. Recognise that as an entrepreneur you've built a muscle that is attuned to solving problems and dealing with stressful situations. In the same way a bodybuilder feels the need to workout every day (so I've heard), you will have a strange desire to use your "entrepreneurial muscles" for no other reason other than it feels weird not to. 

You built these muscles as you were getting the flywheel of your business to spin. A lot of effort only gave you small shifts initially but once you have momentum, very small nudges will keep things running. Be hyper-aware that your desire to end boredom might cause you to create problems where there are none or to enter into pointless challenges that aren't your best use of time, energy or money. Being bored could easily get you to invest a stupid venture, engage in unprofitable growth, dabble with harmful distractions or pick fights. 

2. Recognise that more is not necessarily better. The only productive way forward is either to grow your business or develop other facets of your life. Growing the business beyond it's current state will involve "crossing a desert". You'll have to invest into the assets that will take you into new markets, develop new products or expand into new territories.

At this next scale of business, you will spend your time messing about with the inner workings of your business - culture, systems, funding, etc - rather than simply serving your clients. You will lose some of the control of your business either through share dilution, debt funding or on new leadership. The fun and playful business you have today will turn into a more professional, methodical business with greater overheads and stresses. On the other side of "crossing the dessert", you'll likely have a business doing 5-10x the revenue with about half the margins but it will potentially be salable if you want an exit for a life-changing sum of money. 

The alternative is to stay small, improve the business and develop its assets without growing the team past 12 people. This won't be a full-time job though and you will need other interests. You could mentor startups, you could work with a charity, take up a sport, travel extensively or dedicate yourself to family and friendships. 

You'll have to build your own compass. By now you've figured out that very few people are hit by a bolt of lightning that gives them their purpose in life. Some people experience a tragedy and can dedicate their lives to preventing it from happening to others. Some people land in a dream job and their purpose is to keep holding the tiger by the tail.

Most people with a strong sense of purpose make it up and then stick to it. Building a compass requires you to define a vision, a set of values, a goal, milestones, rewards penalties. You have to build it like a computer game designer would code software and then you need to forget that you made it up and play it like a champion would - to win.

Your game might have nothing to do with business. It might be a game for social impact or for meaningful relationships. It almost certainly won't be interesting if it's purely about hoarding wealth. 

It’s not something you have to do on your own, that in your own life you have “proximity-bias”. You can’t possibly have perspective on your own life, so it’s wise to call upon the support of mentors or coaches to help you define the next move that will hold your attention. 

Boredom is a normal part of that rarely get's talked about. I bet most big bands are bored with their own songs. I bet most champion athletes get bored with their sport. I'm sure people in healthy relationships have to constructively deal with an element of boredom too. 

The way you deal with your boredom will ultimately dictate a lot about the quality of your future - Choose wisely.