The start of the year has come and gone, and with it came some harsh realities about starting a business.
I don’t know about you, but I found it incredibly difficult to get back into the swing of things after the holidays. When I started to set my goals for the year, I felt discouraged instead of excited.
I’ve been taking things step by step, working really hard, and I’m so passionate about what I’m doing, but things aren’t moving as quickly as I’d like them to.
reality set in
I started to panic about money. What is my break even point? How many clients do I need to take on in order to cover expenses? How many more would I need in order to pay myself the money I need to survive on a monthly basis?
Those numbers scared me.
How was I ever going to get there?
Is it time to give up??
time to quit?
Panic consumed me. I had no idea what to do. I was depressed, irritable and so disappointed.
Instead of refocusing on my business, I considered finding a part time job instead – something that would give me a bit of money while things continue to grow but wouldn’t require so much brain power that I would be too exhausted to put any time into my business.
Just thinking about this made me feel like a failure. To take on any sort of job would mean that I would lose my flexibility to work with clients and attend events. It would possibly mean that I’d end up months behind where I am at the moment, making the journey much longer and harder.
an objective perspective
When you’ve been on the startup journey for some time and you hit bumps along the way, it’s easy to get discouraged. When you’re working on your own, there may not be many people around to lift you up again. It’s easy to let self-doubt creep in and those doubts and fears can quickly become unmanageable.
A serendipitous lunch date with Mark Leruste helped to snap me out of it.
With genuine interest, enthusiasm, and encouragement, he asked me a lot of insightful questions about who I am and what I’m doing. Some caused me to reconsider the decisions I’d made along the way and others caused me to re-evaluate what was working and what needed to change. He also offered some really insightful observations that not only got me thinking objectively about my situation, but also sparked so many exciting ideas, renewed my sense of purpose, and gave me that nudge to get on with it.
i refuse to quit
Sometimes all it takes is an objective, heartfelt and brutally honest conversation with someone to get you back on track.
That lunch date melted away my January blues and restored my confidence. The voices of self-doubt have been replaced with these voices instead:
I refuse to quit.
It is absolutely not time to quit.
I refuse to give up on everything I’ve built up so far.
Nor walk away from the people I most want to help.
I will persevere.
And I will make it work.
over to you
Does my story sound familiar? What have you discovered about the pitfalls of self-doubt? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts so do share your comments below.
Hi Danielle, thanks so much for this post. I am in such a similar place! I’m so pleased to hear you’ve gotten through it and I love your affirmations (if you don’t mind me calling them that).
I feel on the edge of a break-through for the business, but in some ways that makes the voice saying ‘I think it’s time to quit’ even louder. In fact, when I read the blog title, I imagined that the content would be on why it *is* time to quit! It’s challenging to know what is authentic prudence and what’s self-sabotage.
Deep down I know that I’m blessed to be working on something I feel so passionate about, and that I need to keep putting one foot in front of the other. It helps to be surrounded by others on a similar path (especially those also facing significant personal sacrifice) which helps me to see the value. Thanks for your honesty – it helps to know I’m not going through this alone!
Claudia, thank you for sharing. You are definitely not alone in this.
I find that very often we put on a brave face when talking to people about our business. We say “oh yeah it’s going GREAT!” while deep down we’re dealing with so much uncertainty and anxiety because either things aren’t going quite the way we want them to or things are going great and we’re afraid of what success may mean.
One step at a time. Patient. Loving. Calm.
Brilliant, honest post Danielle – I know many will be reassured and inspired by this.
For me, whenever I’ve felt that “it’s time to quit”, I’ve discovered I can tweak it to… “It’s time to quit… something”. A mindset, a perspective, some drama; an unprofitable product or a time-wasting networking group, maybe.
For example, when I used to send out an all-singing, all-dancing newsletter, I was getting dragged down by the amount of time it took to put together. “Urgh, I have to quit writing a newsletter”, I thought, but actually it was the WAY I was doing the newsletter that I needed to quit. I switched to a super-simple plain text email that linked to my blog – far less work, and actually it had more impact.
It sounds like you’re quitting the idea of having to do it alone – by reaching out to other wonderful inspirational entrepreneurs. (That Mark Leruste is a wise one, huh?)
Yes!! I love this idea Corrina and the mindset shift is such an important thing to do!
It’s time to quit the idea of having to do it alone!
I love Corrina’s re-frame. Quitting SOMETHING that isn’t working rather than throwing baby out with the bathwater often can only be achieved by sounding off and getting support from our entrepreneurial friends. Glad you had Mark to help 🙂
I’m glad I had him to help too. 🙂 Having support around us is so important, but so is being honest with those who support us. If we just sit there and pretend like everything is okay, we’re not going to get very far. This reminds me of what I wrote only two weeks ago! http://www.stepandstone.com/real-reasons-ask-for-help/
Providing you are tolerating the discomfort at least for personal growth then it’s meaningful and once worked through is a recipe for success. If there is no personal or professional growth then reframing, reviewing etc is what’s needed to adapt to a situation.
I agree, Sharon. Yet sometimes we give up too soon because things are uncomfortable and in that discomfort we are unable to see the personal or professional growth.
Thanks for such an honest post, Danielle. I thought it was just me who was feeling the challenges of getting back on the horse for the new year.
And I loved Corrina’s observation that it is often time to quit something. Funny, the last couple of days I have been thinking about the things it is time for me to quit this year … so now I am making my list of things to quit before sitting down with those business goals.
You’re definitely not alone in that Donna. I’ve spoken to a few other business owners this month how have found the start of the new year to be challenging. Good luck with your ‘quit list’ and with your business goals 🙂
Thanks Danielle! It takes two to tango right? And the work you’re doing is so freakin’ awesome that I won’t let you throw in the towel. Not just yet at least 🙂 Using entrepreneurship principles to foster social transformation isn’t just a fancy concept, it’s necessity, and people on that journey need support, guidance and direction. And that’s where you come in. Thanks for doing the work that matters! See you over a hot bowl of tofu 🙂
Thanks so much, Mark! I look forward to seeing you again soon. 🙂
I so been there too!!! keep focusing on your why and how you want to feel…lovely to read about your vulnerability. I connect with you and thank you ;)) we are not alone..