On today’s episode, I’m going to remove the sugar coating and tell the truth of why business is too hard for most people.
You have to be borderline psychotic with a hint of masochism to get into business.
I don’t actually mean that, but what I do mean is: you either know you’re cut or for it, or you don’t.
If you THINK you want to start a business, but also think you would be fine if you didn’t, then it may be worth knowing…
BUSINESS IS REALLY FRICKEN HARD.
At this point I’ve built three businesses and have two more in the holding pen.
Some days I can’t BELIEVE how hard it is and I think I’m totally nuts for getting into it, but there’s one thing that has never faulered:
My deep, unquestionable knowing that I’m an entrepreneur and this is how I want to make money and impact the world in my lifetime.
Do you have that deep unquestionable knowing?
When you closed your eyes and imagined “what you would be when you grew up” could you see a classroom? A boardroom? An office?
Or did you see complete darkness like I did?
I was literally putting on my cap and gown for my university graduation with NO job lined up nor a vision of what job I’d work.
(…what I didn’t instead was move to LA to pursue an acting career, but that’s for another episode at another time)
My entrepreneurial drive is like a galloping horse and I’m bumping on the back, holding my hat, just trying to stay on.
I don’t have a choice.
THAT is why, when business is really fricken hard (which most of the time it is), I stick with it.
I can’t NOT do it.
But here’s my issue…
If you follow business coaches online or read about successful CEOs and mega billionaires, they don’t show how TRULY hard it is.
They talk about “struggle” and “hardships” but don’t have the guts to tell you exactly what that looked like.
They don’t talk about the time they fucked up.
The time they made a mistake that costs thousands of dollars.
The time the reputation of their business was put on the line.
The panic, the tears, the frustration.
And they don’t talk about all the times they quit
They don’t talk about how alienating it is to live in a “9-5” world and feel like you don’t belong.
What about hearing from ALL those people who tried to succeed in business and DIDN’T make it?
Why don’t we hear about all the failed business efforts?
Why? Because we are embarrassed?
We are embarrassed that we decided to step away from the status quo to do something different and failed?
WE WERE BRAVE!
We heard the calling to go against everything we knew to follow an idea and WENT FOR IT!
Do you have any idea how many people don’t?
How many people have dreams unanswered and unattempted?
….
This is for the entrepreneur who feels like the black sheep of their family.
This is for the entrepreneur who works a day job they HATE just to help fund their business idea
This is for the entrepreneur who is poor for sooooooooo long and can only HOPE their business makes them money
This is for the entrepreneur who LOST a fuck ton of money on a business
This is for the entrepreneur whose business replaced getting married, buying a house, and having kids
This is for the entrepreneur who lost time climbing the corporate ladder because they were too busy trying to grow businesses
And this is for the entrepreneur who feels like they are gambling more than just themselves
I see you. I’m with you.
SO let’s talk about what’s hard:
Have you ever read a .gov website??
Do you open a partnership, sole-proprietorship, or a corporation??
Legal fees, business fees, license fees, FEES FEEES FEEES
What type of bank account and tax paperwork do we need?
It’s easy to choose a name, open an IG, and create a logo, but the “business-y stuff” is truly what we are avoiding because there’s no manual!
Psst! Check the right side bar if you literally want to know >>
Lord, almighty, god help me when it comes to asking people to financially support a business idea!
To avoid asking from others, you start to invest your own money. Well, guess what happens when one of your business ideas tanks? So does your money…. Great.
You’re also investing your blood, sweat, and tears which will equate to something crazy like 3 cents an hour at the start. Time is money. The more time and money you have, the more you can put towards your business, but neither of those things grow on trees! Some business owners will have more than you and that’s just the game of life.
Sister, look.
I get that my pursuits are interesting, but I literally eat, sleep, and breath my business. That last thing I feel like talking about is my business!
People in your world will start to associate you with your business. Don’t lose sight of your independence even from your own ideas!
Here’s a tip: Your stuff won’t sell if no one knows your selling it.
You may get into business because you love photography and think you could make money doing it. But you cringe at marketing your services.
Marketing is HARD! And it’s not just IG reels and trending dance videos.
It’s ads, it’s email marketing, it’s networking, it’s collaborating, it’s copywriting, it’s agencies, it’s A LOT!
Raise your hand if you got into business because you dream of dealing with customer satisfaction.
Hopefully, you’re going to hear great reviews, and then you’re also going to hear some nasty shit getting thrown your way. And in those moments you just want to flip the customer the bird and tell them where to shove it… which makes coming up with a more pleasant option that much harder.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a business 101 rule book that everyone reads making all businesses the same. No. You’re going to deal with other businesses that have different values, different ways of doing things, and different personalities. They may be more powerful than you or they may be too small to give you the support you truly need.
Just because someone else is in business doesn’t mean they automatically empathize with and support yours.
That’s when business is extra exhausting.
You invest so much time and energy. You say no to dinner events. You stay up late to get something done just to see minimal results at the end.
Those days are hard. Being broke is hard.
Pushing the boulder is so damn hard.
So, this is why business is too hard for most people. At any one of those times, people will quit.
This is what I want to normalize:
> Most people don’t even get started
> Most entrepreneurs fail more than they succeed
> Running a business can feel like more work than a regular job
> The hard stuff somehow feels less hard the more and more it happens
> Most entrepreneurs aren’t mega millionaires
> Every business is different and one business’s path to success says absolutely nothing about yours.
I don’t want to discourage you from giving business a go!
Starting and building businesses have single-handedly given me the greatest growth of my lifetime. It’s impossible to measure how much I’ve learned and how much more empowered and gritty I am because of business (and I grew up on a farm and playing high performance ice hockey so I know what I’m talking about).
I feel unstoppable!
I feel limitless
I feel like fucking shark
My ability to exist in uncomfortableness is HUGE
If there was a fear factor challenge where all the competitors had to exist in the most uncomfortable energy in the world, I’d kick all their asses.
There is nothing I’m convinced I can’t do.
I’ve met the most incredible people who inspire me to go big and who see ME. I know my ideas hold value and that I’ll lay on my death bed and think, “holy shit, I squeeze ever last fucking drop outta that life!”
And the patience of an entrepreneur is like none other! We may look like we are hustling and pushing, and rushing, but we’re doing that for sooooo long (and possibly forever).
It’s passion like I’ve never felt it before!
I just want you to not be shocked when you realize how hard it is.
Regardless of whether I felt called to work a regular job or not, what I’ve chosen to do is MUCH harder (and I’m willing to go in the ring for this bold statement).
Regular folks have to climb the ladder. Entrepreneurs are literally building their mound to the top WHILE STANDING ON IT!
I used to care so much about the success of a business idea, but every trial and tribulation just makes you realize how unclear success even is!
Was it successful if a business was great for 3 years and then flopped?
Was it successful if a business took a chance and lost everything?
When you consider going into business what IS success?
Do you see an end, what is it? or do you believe this is a forever thing? A wheel that never stops?
Focus on finding the FUN in the chaos of it all!
Dedicate to the growing of the business regardless of its “success”
Enjoy the JOURNEY (cuz it’s long, sister) – celebrate the wins throughout. Don’t brush off a win becaue there’s still a long-road ahead
(I just had a business friend say that to me when I celebrated their fundraising campaign).
When shit really fucks up, cry, get mad, and then keep going
Try again!
You may have to start TEN businesses to eventually find one that sticks
Stop making business about you.
Stop thinking the success of your business is connected with the value of your humaness
It’s just a business and the one you’re working on now may not be the one that lasts
And to those of you who find business too hard… know when to quit.
Know when it’s just your ego holding on and it’s actually time to end this relationship and say goodbye.
And be smart.
If you don’t want to gamble everything you’ve got on your business, then don’t.
If you don’t resonate with all this talk about taking big risks, then don’t!
A business NOT aligned with you will not last. It’s not sustainable. If you are prone to burn out then the business will burn out.
DO what you’re comfortable doing and EXPAND into your areas of growth
And to my sisters who feel crazy for entrepreneurship, I’m with you.
You suddenly live in a world where EVERYTHING and ANYTHING could be a business.
The realization that opportunities are limitless can feel overwhelming.
You can barely fall asleep at night because you brain is racing with ideas.
You know if the world wasn’t slowing you down, you’d have changed humanity by now.
Luckily, entrepreneurship is becoming more popular. Soon we won’t be the “black sheep” of society. Soon there will be more extensive classes in school about starting a business.
Soon generations will have more parents who also didn’t work a regular job.
When starting a business becomes more normalized, I want to hear more truths.
I want to hear about the financial backing someone had from the start
I want to hear about the previous business ideas they tried that were stupid, but lead to incredible growth
I want to hear about the fear in the moment they decided to take a huge risk… or about the moment they didn’t and regret it.
I don’t want to see the yachts
I don’t want to see the money guns
I don’t want to see the champagne
I don’t want to see everything after the fact
I want to talk about the DIRT. The realities.
I want to pull back to the curtain and show you what SUCKED and then tell you what I learned and why it didn’t make me quit.
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