Wow! George’s description of being busy is enough to make anyone feel like a lie-down. It will no doubt be utterly familiar to anyone with a new business though.

The variety means it’s never boring, but it can mean your attention gets scattered around in a random fashion.

So what can you do?

How true! Kevin’s comment just goes to highlight the whole value of the Fishbowl. Setting up and running a business can seem easy if you’re thinking about it from your armchair as you watch Dragon’s Den or the Apprentice, but as the outgoing Fishbowl businesses have amply demonstrated, it certainly isn’t. It requires determination, clarity, energy and courage. And you need all of those to take a brave and honest look at progress over the past months, as the businesses end their swim around the Fishbowl. Here are some pointers to help them reflect.

Starting a business is a hugely exciting time. It’s also – as we all know – a lot of hard work. The exhaustion can catch you unawares at times as Lyn and Lynne have discovered. These tips aim to help you manage the adrenaline rush without burning out as quickly as a firework.

Both Prescient Power and Better Languages have been affected by bereavements recently. This is in addition to being in the exciting yet unpredictable phase of growing a business. It’s a lot to handle and I am not surprised that both have been suffering some signs of ill-health (sickness bugs/migraines) in amongst the good days.

I find the three stages of transition (from work by William Bridges) a helpful framework in such times and can help when dealing with change and loss. It explains what is likely to be going on for people involved and offers some suggestions for coping well:

1. Endings

Each transition we experience sees the end of something. It may be a job, a relationship, a life – and it may mean the end of a particular identity for us (an employee, a married person and so on). Even when a change is welcome, the ending stage still represents some element of loss. We tend to either treat these too seriously (“that’s it, it’s all over”) or be too dismissive of it (“It hasn’t really affected me”).

Rituals are important here, funerals being a clear example. They are a way of acknowledging what has happened, and the associated mix of emotions. In all kinds of change, rushing on without recognising what is being lost is rarely helpful in the long term - even if what is lost seems trivial or commonplace.

2. The Neutral Zone (I think of this as “camping”)

This is uncomfortable. At the same time it can be very creative. It is a time of feeling empty or confused, where nothing seems to work properly. "It is a phase when you've let go of one trapeze with the faith that the new trapeze is on its way. In the meantime, there is nothing to hold on to." (William Bridges)

People want to hang on to the old familiar situation or rush forward into a new one, leading to stubborn resistance to change or a hasty leap into new situations (the rebound relationship for example).

Tips for Dealing with Change

•    Accept that feelings of fear or confusion are normal at this point, and it takes time to re-orientate yourself. You will feel as if you are in freefall. Some days will be better than others.
•    Create temporary structures - "camping" - hang on to small comforts (favourite TV, bathtime);  take care of yourself (food, exercise, rest);  focus on small successes; curb sky high expectations of yourself. Resist the urge to make big and irreversible decisions at this stage.
•    Strengthen links with other people - social connections are the number one buffer against stress
•    Find some reflection time alone - writing, walking, gardening - whatever is your thing...

3. New beginnings

New beginnings often aren’t as obvious as we would like. It’s usually about what gradually starts to “feel right” – a hunch rather than a fanfare. If you haven’t floundered around in the neutral zone for a while it can be difficult to recognise what does feel right. But when it does, go for it. Take small steps towards what feels right for you.

In our Fishbowl businesses, there is a lot going on and they are having to deal with change and loss. It’s creative, exciting, terrifying, sad – the whole gamut. It needs support – and my very best wishes are with them.

Meeting the new businesses last week was a big reminder of how much of a journey being an entrepreneur is. To get from an idea to a blossoming business is no easy path but it is one that is never boring and, I believe, where nothing is wasted. Each experience is one step on a vivid and steep learning curve which helps to inform future decisions.

One of the themes coming out of conversation was how much uncertainty all of the businesses face. Whether this is trying to work out what potential new clients are after, or how existing clients’ needs are changing, or how the landscape has been altered by personal circumstances. Plus, of course, we are all grappling with the general uncertainty in the economy to a greater or lesser extent.