Reflecting on Starting Up a Business
It’s funny how four months can feel like both a heartbeat and a lifetime when you’re starting your own business. I’m Sam, a chiropractor and rehabilitation specialist, and I set up Back to Roots Healthcare in February this year. As I sit here thinking about all that’s happened since then, I realise I’ve already learned more about business, balance, and myself than I could have in years of reading guides or scrolling through LinkedIn tips.
This is not a rags-to-riches miracle story or another “look at my six figures” blog post. What you’ll find here is an honest reflection on what actually works (and what really doesn’t) when launching a small local business, trying to keep your sanity, and still, somehow, helping people live better lives.
Let’s dig into what starting up really looks like: the mess, the lessons, and how to ride the waves without tumbling straight overboard.
Why This Matters
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve either just started a business, you’re about to take the plunge, or you’re deep in the weeds and wondering whether anyone else is getting swamped too.
Starting a business is thrilling, but it quickly turns into a plate-spinning act. At the start, the plates are empty and the spinning is fun. Suddenly, clients arrive, admin piles up, social media wants feeding, and you’re answering emails with one hand while microwaving last night’s coffee with the other. What used to feel like freedom—total control over your diary—can start to become a trap if you aren’t careful.
No one tells you that being your own boss is mostly about not being your own worst boss. If you don’t get a grip on structure, balance, and your own decision-making quirks, you risk burning out or blowing up little problems into big expensive ones.
Work can easily become your whole life, with all the guilt, backache, and caffeine jitters that brings. Ask me how I know.
Running a business requires more than making money or “living your passion.” You need to learn where your boundaries are and what to do when they get battered by Too Many Things At Once. If you want a fair shot at survival or growth, you have to learn to step back, reflect, and adapt your systems before you run out of steam.
Common Pitfalls
Every new business owner tells themselves: “I’ll be so organised! I’ll stick to my schedule! I’ll make time for myself!”
Three weeks later:
- Planning flies out the window as soon as the phone starts ringing and clients appear.
- You start believing you can be in three places at once: clinic, admin, golf club, social media.
- “Just checking socials” somehow eats half your evening, and you end up writing blog posts at midnight.
- Every problem feels urgent or huge. Every decision becomes a giant, knotty knot of overthinking.
A very common mistake is confusing being busy with being productive. Another common trap is telling yourself you have to get every decision perfect the first time, or it’ll all come apart (spoiler: it won’t).
As business picks up, most founders let their carefully constructed systems go out of the window. If you’re not careful, you create chaos that follows you home every day.
Another issue is neglecting your own health, family, or hobbies because you feel guilty when you aren’t “hustling.” It might feel noble in the short term, but exhaustion will catch up with you in any profession, especially healthcare.
I learned most of these lessons the hard way so you don’t have to.
Step-by-Step Fix
Time for practical solutions. Here’s how I pulled myself (and my business) out of the spiral.
1. Build Your Weekly Structure and Actually Stick To It
The world doesn’t hand you a timetable when you quit your job. If you’re not careful, other people’s needs and your own distractible brain will fill every slot on your calendar.
I had to sit down and get brutally honest: how many hours do I need for clinic? When do I want to see people at the golf club? What about admin, marketing, training, blog-writing, and, shockingly, weekends?
I now have a living, breathing weekly plan. Mondays are for admin and planning, Tuesday and Thursday are clinic-heavy, Fridays for the golf club and follow-ups. Weekends are non-negotiable downtime.
Do I always stick to it perfectly? No. But it gives me a fighting chance when things get busy (and they always do).
Use a tool that genuinely fits your personality. If you like digital (I’ve made peace with Google Calendar), stick with that. Pen and paper works well for visual thinkers, especially if you love crossing things off. The important thing is that the system lives in a place you actually check, not a pristine notebook gathering dust.
2. Separate Work and Life or Lose Both
In the giddy early days, I nearly convinced myself the relentless “always on” hustle was necessary. That’s a fast track to resenting your own business and eventually delivering second-rate service.
You need to consciously protect your personal time. Don’t treat downtime like a guilty secret; treat it as crucial maintenance for your brain and body. I catch up with friends, play sport, flop out with a book, and try not to feel nervous about switching off my phone for an hour.
It takes discipline to say, “No, I’m not available. The clinic is shut.” But every time I set a boundary, my focus sharpened when I was actually at work.
Set your out-of-office email for regular “quieter hours” or certain days, even as a single-person business. You’ll train clients to respect your time. Plus, you avoid that constant heart-skip every time your phone pings at midnight.
3. Tame the Analysis Paralysis Monster
Hands up if you’ve ever spent two hours picking a photo for Instagram, agonised over a font for your flyers, or rewritten a three-line email sixteen times. Just me?
I used to believe every little thing was high stakes. I started acting before I felt “ready” and learned most choices are fixable. I’ve wasted a little money on marketing that didn’t work, but I discovered what my audience responds to.
If you find yourself stuck, pick the best option you see, take action, then make notes about what happened. That feedback loop builds confidence far quicker than reading one more “how to be decisive” blog.
Keep a small “Decisions Journal.” Each time you get stuck, write out your two main options in a sentence or two, then pick one. Spend no more than five minutes. If it’s a real disaster, you’ll know for next time; usually, you’ll surprise yourself with how little trouble it caused.
4. Get Practical with Tech and Branding (Even If You’re Not a Designer)
I’m no graphic designer, but learning how to create my own social posts (hello Canva), tweak my website (thanks Squarespace), and Google my own business until I found it among the search results gave me real wins.
Don’t obsess over having a glossy, corporate look if you’re a solo or small business. Focus on clarity—how easy is it for people to find you, understand what you do, and get in touch? I put my business on Google, freshened up my clinic page, and made sure client contact was just a click away.
Every small win, like improving my listings or uploading a helpful blog post, makes my business more visible and accessible.
Don’t struggle in silence. I worked with Elwyn and Ken at Pixelhaze Academy to troubleshoot my Squarespace site and sharpen my visual look on Canva. Sometimes a short 1:1 chat or tutorial saves you hours of hair-pulling and delivers results you couldn’t have managed solo.
5. Actively Nurture a Local Audience
It’s tempting to spend all your marketing efforts online. I tried the Instagram advertising thing. Honestly, my money is better spent on local, real-life connections. People come to me because they’ve heard about me directly, seen my poster at the golf club, or chatted to me after a class.
For local businesses, reputation is king. Positive word of mouth and testimonials do more for new client enquiries than any slick campaign.
I now focus on:
- Delivering great results for my clients and gently encouraging them to leave reviews
- Using Instagram and Facebook to document real client progress (with permission)
- Getting out in the community: running workshops, talking to gym managers, and just having actual conversations
- Saying yes to the odd poster in the local café or gym. It keeps you front of mind for people who see you as part of their routine
Don’t try to do all social platforms at once. Pick one you enjoy and use it to show your work, not chase meaningless “likes.” People care about useful tips, before-and-after stories, or updates about classes, not how many hashtags you used.
6. Celebrate Small Wins and Document Progress
Momentum in business is slow and uneven. Some days you’ll feel unstoppable; other days you wonder if anyone will ever contact you again.
Documenting my progress—writing this blog, posting on social media, and keeping a “done” list—helped me stay grounded. Every new Google review, each successful workshop, and even the struggles deserve space in your working memory. Over time, you’ll gain proof that you are, in fact, getting somewhere.
Keep screenshots or a scrap folder of positive client messages, reviews, and completed projects. On slow days, flip through it for a quick mood reset. You’re building a real business, not just ticking boxes.
What Most People Miss
One thing that usually slips through the cracks is that running a good business does not mean being the busiest, the flashiest, or the most perfect. You need consistency and confidence.
That confidence comes from acting, reflecting, adjusting, and acting again, not from landing one big client or launching a shiny website. Most people think that mistakes are disasters, but almost always, they’re just lessons wearing slightly embarrassing hats.
People also underestimate just how important community is, meaning actual human connections in your area. Algorithms are nice, but local chats and reputation count more.
Another point worth stating: it is completely normal to feel out of your depth. The difference is in pushing through that feeling anyway, little by little. Your future confidence sits just on the other side of that awkward phone call, messy flyer, or blog post you nearly didn’t publish.
The Bigger Picture
Sorting out your work-life boundaries, making decisions faster, and learning to market without cringing can fundamentally change what your business turns into. The change goes beyond daily routines.
You end up:
- Wasting less time on decisions
- Burning out less often (or at least recovering faster)
- Attracting more of the right clients, who already “get” your approach
- Actually enjoying the bits of business you used to dread
- Making space to learn new skills, adapt to new opportunities, or occasionally take a real holiday
If you keep investing in your own growth, such as improving your branding, building your Google profile, or taking part in community events, you create a business that feels like a living, supportive extension of yourself rather than a burden.
Progress is slow, and at times uncomfortable, but over a year or two—not in a fortnight—the compound effect adds up. You still get wobbles, but you recover faster and you see results.
Wrap-Up
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your own business, take heart. You’re not failing, you’re learning. Set a structure, defend your downtime, and don’t be afraid to act (even if you sweat a little). Building a good business is as much about reflection as it is about energy.
And remember, help is out there. Working with others, whether that’s through Pixelhaze Academy, a local mentor, or even just a friend who’ll tell you straight, makes the whole thing less lonely and a lot more productive.
If you want to see honest updates about how a small healthcare business can grow, check out my updates on Instagram and the Back to Roots website.
Want more helpful systems like this? Join Pixelhaze Academy for free at https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership.