“January was a hard year, but we made it.” Have you seen that meme? I laughed when I read it as we said hello to February, but honestly… February feels like more of the same.
Does it feel that way to you?
I want to acknowledge you. Whether you’ve felt on fire or whether you’ve felt like dirt, I acknowledge you.
If you are in this online space growing a business and raising a family, you are doing hard things. I know it’s true because I’m doing hard things alongside you.
You and I pour our heart + soul into building a life according to our callings and convictions. We invest precious energy, time, resources, and SANITY into what + who we love most.
We say no to things so we can say yes to dreams.
–> The opportunity cost can be high.
The gurus tell us to work smarter and more strategically in our businesses while holding onto the romanticized idea of hitting big $$ revenue goals. Pretty quickly, that idea collides with our reality, and it may seem like it’ll never work out like it’s “supposed to.”
Maybe you’re building your business into a box made of other people’s templates because that’s what “they say” will be the key to growth, a steady stream of clients, or hitting 6 figures. You see what others are doing and try to emulate that — because if it’s working for them, it’ll work for you?
When it does work, we feel relieved.
– Like we’ve reached a significant peak on the mountain range of the biz highway.
– You’re cruisin’ on that highway.
– You’ve got your sunnies on overlooking the horizon (and you’re lookin’ goooooood).
But on days that nothing is going right, you wonder if it’s worth it.
On the worst days, you question if this thing is really your calling. Does Jesus really want you to pursue this? Is this opportunity cost TOO high?
Those feelings hit hardest when the laundry is piled high. When the children are clamoring for you because you’ve spent an eternity putting out a client emergency or dealing with a customer complaint. When your personal paperwork is a disaster. You’re like, “my household management actually stinks”. (You may have processes in your business, but they feel so non-existent in your home). You can’t keep doing it all.
You feel embarrassed and afraid to reach out to anyone about how you’re feeling. It’s hard to let people in to your heart when you feel less than. What if they think less of you because you admit to not. having. every. thing. together (even though we all know none of us do)?
Entrepreneurship is a hard thing.
I felt every single one of those emotions these last two weeks–the good and the bad. I had breakthroughs in business that included new ideas for services so I can serve more people + more thoughts about creating a Verity sister company + ways to scale what I’m already doing + confirmations of core values I hold dear.
But I felt all of the Y U C K, too, because of silly things that shouldn’t have gotten me down, you know?
I could have easily let feelings of inadequacy get the best of me. Eaten my feelings with a bowl of peanut butter cup ice cream (there may have been some of that).
But I’ve been on this road long enough to know that even when we feel like utter failures, we cannot forget the things that are good.
Sweet friend, don’t forget those moments of goodness. Getting dinner on the table after a long day of working your business can be a struggle, so if you made dinners this week, here’s a high five (tonight, I didn’t, and that’s okay).
If you got through some of your list this week, you get a hug. Especially if you had to shuffle things from Monday to today… {er, let’s just go ahead make that tomorrow}.
If you took time away from your screens and rested and really LIVED, you get all the love in the world from me.
Business is hard.
I have no advice for you other than to LOOK UP. Look up to Him and His strength. We are strong when we are weak because of Him.
You don’t need anymore advice today, you just need a kindred spirit.
So we press on toward excellence and growth. We press on through challenges and set-backs. We press forward in this race set before us. I know you can do it.
The question remains: how can I help?
What do you need from me + from those around you? How can we change this online space to something more supportive and less noisy?
This is not rhetorical. If you need a sounding board, a listening ear, a vent sesh… I’m here. And I just wanted to say: you’re NOT alone + you’re doing really great.
Share this with a friend, and let her know she’s doing great, too. 💗
