There are good days and bad days in business. If we’re being honest there are good years and bad years in business. But I wouldn’t trade it for a job.
The truth is as an entrepreneur, I LOVE my life. Most of the time. I don’t want to paint the super glossy picture I keep seeing in the ads I see on Facebook. I’m not sitting in front of a sports car or vacationing on the beach in a tropic location or jet setting around the world. But I am sitting on the couch in my sweatshirt and jeans working next to my husband and best friend. I am attending my sons band concert tonight. The 7th concert we’ve had this month, but who’s counting? I do get to decide what business I say yes to, and what business I say no to. I get to set my hours in a way that is in alignment with the needs of my family. In short, I get to set my goals and my pace every single year.
That my friends, is pretty dang amazing.
So yes, entrepreneurship is hard. But it is possible to have so much joy in the journey. Here’s 5 things I do that help me LOVE being an entrepreneur.
- Perspective- It’s so easy to look ahead and see how far you are from your desired outcome or destination. It’s discouraging when all you do is look forward and realize you are never, and will never be exactly where you want to be. A successful business owner recently described this to me as chasing the horizons. Horizons move. And you never catch them. Instead another business owner recently told me one of his secrets is to look at life and say, “Everything is perfect for me.” Finding joy in the journey means that we have to find joy exactly where we are. Not were we will be. Not when we hit our sales goal. Right NOW!
- Quit the Comparison Game- This is the FASTEST way to rob yourself of joy. When you compare professionally, you will find yourself chasing the wrong opportunities, the wrong business, and the wrong strategies. Because instead of finding your path, you’re trying to live someone else’s.
Put overwhelm in it’s place- Overwhelm is an emotion, not a situation. We’ve all been in chaotic situations and felt really calm. We’ve also been completely stressed and overwhelmed in a quiet, warm house, surrounded by peace. When I put overwhelm into the emotion category, it helps me move through it so much more quickly! I can change my emotions in a matter of minutes. But situations take time to adjust. I don’t want to wait to feel happy until those situations have changed. So I adjust the emotion quickly.- Know how to spend less- If you put yourself in a situation where your business has to produce 50K or 100K, or any specific K a month in order to even get by, it’s really stressful. Most business owners increase their spending when their revenues go up. As a result, they don’t really make more. And then they feel like they have to keep producing at that level. It’s much more joyful to spend less and then when sales go up, you have more profits. When sales go down, you’re not a stressed out mess.
- Read job postings on Monster- About once a year I have an “I quit” day. Something happens that makes me want to throw a royal tantrum. And I find myself looking on Monster.com for jobs. It takes about 20 minutes and I realize that I am completely unemployable. Not because I’m not incredibly talented. But because I don’t want to work on anyone else’s terms. I value my freedom too much!
The new year is right around the corner. And as you are setting goals and making plans to increase sales and profits next year, make sure you are also considering what to adjust so that you can truly love building and running your company next year.
Thanks!
Amy