When the going gets tough… Keep marching on

Whether you are just getting started with your little biz, or you have already started a biz and now you are working on improving it, growing it, or making it more successful, you have probably figured out that it is a bit of a roller coaster ride. A lot of ups and downs!

Let me guess: you have a to do list that is terrifying. You keep adding items faster than you can get them done. There are a million things you need to do and would love to do for your biz, not to mention all of the things that you should have done a long time ago and still haven’t gotten around to.

On top of the ‘business’ to do list, there is a ‘life’ one as well – you have a house to clean, laundry to do, errands to run, meals to cook, kids to ferry around, homework to help with, and possibly a job outside of the home you still have to show up for, at least until you get your biz off the ground, which you wonder if you will ever do because there is not enough time!

When you work on your biz you feel guilty that you aren’t doing something special with your kids. When you play with the kids your mind is on the chores that aren’t doing themselves. When you are working on the household chores you are annoyed because you would rather be working on your biz.

And all of this is manageable on the good days. The ones where you get amazing feedback about your product, when your favorite client passes your name on to more fabulous people, when you get a nice big order, when you come across a fabulous opportunity. On those days it feels ok, that the hard work and juggling and stress is worth it.

But what about the bad days? The ones where you deal with a difficult client, where your fantastic new product idea has fizzled out, where a big order gets cancelled, where no one seems to be visiting your online shop. On those days you wonder why you started this biz in the first place. Whether it is worth the time you are spending, the stress you are feeling.

On those low days, this is what you need to do:

Take a break.

If one of the reasons you started the biz was to stay home to be with your kids, take a day free of biz and be with your kids. Or do something just for you, something you are probably neglecting (exercise, wine with friends, a good book…) in order to get everything else done. Take a complete break to find joy in other parts of your life.

Don’t compare.

We all tend to look at what other people are doing with their businesses and comparing it to our own. Everyone else seems more successful, more accomplished, further along in the game. That is completely false. Every single one of those ladies is feeling as stressed as you. Has the same ups and downs, the same worries at night. Remind yourself that on the surface we all look like we have it together, but behind the scenes there is a story that you are not aware of. So don’t bother comparing. It is useless and false.

Connect with others.

One of the tough parts of starting your own little biz, especially one you run from your kitchen table, is a feeling of isolation. All of us feel a bit like we are on an island alone. There are no employees to lean on when you are having a low. The best remedy for this is to connect with other biz owners. Get on Facebook or Twitter and connect online. Find a networking group in your area and go to the next meet up. Find a few local biz mums and invite them to meet up for a coffee. Is this terrifying? Hell yes! But force yourself to do it. You will not regret it. Seriously.

Wait for a high.

Like I said, biz building is a roller coaster ride. There are fun parts and scary parts and boring parts. There are highs and lows, ups and downs. When you are in the middle of a low, remind yourself of the highs. Print out all of the great feedback you have received about your biz and post in on the wall. And tell yourself, just when things are down, something comes along to boost you up again. Just around the corner is another up that will make your day.

Keep marching on.

When the to do lists are long, and your energy is low, and you are wondering why the heck you are doing this, it is very easy to want to curl up in bed and hide. Don’t. (well maybe just for a little while.) Just remind yourself, it will all get done. By the time that deadline hits, this will all be done. Then pick a task and do it. Just put one foot right in front of the other, left-right-left, and keep marching on.

Get inspired.

Find something that will give you a reminder of why you are doing this in the first place. Post it on the wall next to your ‘highs’. Create a playlist of songs that will get you energized or inspire you to keep going. Collect quotes that give you strength or make that light bulb go off.

To help get you started

Here is the song that I play when I am having one of those low days and what inspires my mantra:

Here is the manifesto I wrote for mums in biz to remind me of why I love building this biz, and why I do indeed plan to keep marching on. http://buildalittlebiz.squarespace.com/manifesto/ please feel free to print it for yourself and share it with others…

How about you? What do you do to fight the lows and remind yourself of the highs? What inspires you when the going gets tough? How do you deal with the overwhelm we all feel sometimes? I would love to hear from you!