Business owners ‘can’t run on adrenaline forever’

As business owners continue to juggle multiple roles in an attempt to make ends meet, one CEO has pointed towards simple streamlining changes as key empowerment tools.

HR Leader recently spoke to Jessica Whatman, chief executive and founder of AgentSync, about the challenges that business owners across Australia currently face – and how they can be mitigated through simple process changes.

“A lot of business owners end up wearing every hat in the business, which makes it really hard to grow,” said Whatman.

“I see people spending most of their time stuck in admin – things like emails, invoicing, or customer queries – instead of focusing on strategy or bringing in new clients.”

Whatman claimed that business owners and entrepreneurs who live by the “I’ll do it myself” mantra quite easily fall behind the eight ball – wasting both time and energy.

“Delegation is a big challenge, too. Many entrepreneurs are hesitant to hand things over because they think no one else can do it as well as they can,” she said.

“The problem is, when you hold onto everything, you just run out of time and energy. It becomes impossible to scale if you are constantly ‘in the weeds’.”

According to Whatman, virtual assistants (VA) can be an easy fix for business owners who are feeling under pressure.

“Virtual assistants make a huge difference. They take on the tasks that drain your time – things like managing your calendar, replying to emails, booking appointments, and even handling parts of your marketing. It’s not just about offloading work, though; a great VA helps you put better systems in place so your business runs more smoothly,” she said.

“What’s exciting now is how VAs are using AI tools to work even smarter. Whether it’s automating parts of your CRM, speeding up content creation, or using AI for data management, they’re combining human judgement with tech to get things done faster and more accurately.”

“When you’ve got that kind of support, you can focus on the stuff that really grows the business, like sales and building client relationships. Having a VA gives you more time back, and that time is where the real impact happens.”

Relying on a VA to take over the more monotonous tasks that business owners face is a simple fix for business owners who Whatman believes are pushing themselves “way too hard”.

“You can’t run on adrenaline forever. I think a lot of business owners push themselves way too hard in the early years, but if you don’t find balance, you burn out. Sustainable success comes from building something that doesn’t rely on you being in the thick of it every day,” she said.

“It’s about having strong systems and the right people in place so your business keeps moving even when you take a step back. Long-term growth also means you’re building something that’s actually scalable and gives you freedom down the track – not just a job you’ve created for yourself.”

Kace O'Neill

Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.