“If you START messed up, it’s not your fault. If you STAY messed up, it is your fault.”
I saw this quote recently and it has been on my mind ever since.
Running a business is tough – so many businesses come to me saying they’re working so hard but are still lying awake at night worrying about all the things they need to get done, all the decisions they need to make and of course cashflow. Infact cashflow is the thing that keeps them awake!
The first 2 years are the hardest. Did you know research suggests that businesses started by older people tend to have a 70% chance of making it through the first five years, whereas among businesses started by younger entrepreneurs, the figure is only 28%?
Anxiety is debilitating. You’re literally fighting yourself and that’s pretty messed up. To make matters even worse, you can’t see it, it’s not obvious to people on the outside that makes it difficult for people to help you. Some days you’ll feel fine and dandy and other days you’ll feel like you want to leave your own body so you don’t have to think the same thoughts over and over again, with a racing heart, a nauseous stomach, weak knees and laboured breath.
Running a business can give you severe anxiety especially if you’re starting out on your own. With a never ending list of jobs to do, umpteen decisions to be made every single day and challenging clients to deal with it’s amazing that we don’t self combust on the spot! Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone and this is exactly the reason why. If you start feeling anxious or overwhelmed you’ll start dropping the ball, it might be only once or twice at first but you don’t want to start making a habit of it because it can be a very slippery slope. Then before you know it your money has run out, your business reputation is irreparable and the prospects of getting your business back on track are slim to none. The best way to prevent all this from happening is to get help early.
Sometimes it can be hard to hear but with both your business and your life you are the only person that can help you get better. Before you can set out on your journey of self help you must first accept responsibility for yourself. Of course there will always be outside help available to you whether it is a business coach, a therapist, a nutritionist, a personal trainer, or whatever else you think will help you. But in order to get better YOU must make the decision to get better. No one call help you before you start helping yourself. It can be very easy to look at others that are not doing as well as yourself and think “I can’t be doing that bad if that person is doing worse than me.” Get out of this mindset right now! It’s not doing you any favours, you do not need to get stuck in a rut to realise that you can be doing better for yourself. It can take people years to realise they need help and once they start they all say “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”.
I’m here to help, as are hopefully your friends and family- but it’s really down to you. If you are feeling overwhelmed or anxious about your business please reach out to me or the others in my Facebook Group. For one-to-one business advice, book your Free Strategy Call with me now.
Hugs,
LDC x