Over the years, I’ve had lots of moments where I’ve felt alone in my business. I’ve had to make decisions alone, stay up late nights working alone, and be the sole person responsible for the ins and outs of daily projects…all alone.
Sure, there are times when you can turn to a friend, spouse, or someone in your field for guidance, but for most people in business…those moments are rare.
As a blogger, I felt it too. There aren’t built-in networks for online entrepreneurs. There aren’t people who you can automatically turn to for help or understanding.
That’s why it can become isolating at times.
Maybe you don’t have an audience or clients yet. Just SILENCE.
Maybe there’s a recent lull in activity and you’re in a dry spell.
Or maybe you are just overwhelmed and want to disconnect from the online world, but you’ve got too many things on your plate.
You might start to wonder…why am I doing this? Is anyone out there listening? Does what I’m doing even matter?
I know these thoughts all too well, because I’ve been there more than once myself.
There’s something about being an online entrepreneur, and maybe about entrepreneurship in general, that makes you ebb and flow between loving and hating your business.
Some days I’m psyched to start on the next big project. Other days, when I’d rather be at the beach or doing anything other than work, I might be feeling a bit resentful and isolated.
I might be hating myself for how long it took me to make a decision when there was nobody around to ask for help. I might be stressing over a particular client interaction that didn’t go so well. I might be feeling guilty for working when my husband or kids need my attention.
It’s taken me years to figure out ways to cope when those feelings come on. I’ve customized my whole business model to accommodate these emotional shifts…and it’s helped me a lot.
I don’t feel guilty anymore for doing things my way.
But sometimes I still have those days. I think we all do.
That’s why we create our own networks. We reach out to others. We turn to friends or colleagues for input or advice.
But we also can’t forget how important it is to listen to ourselves. Sometimes you just have to take a day to yourself and count it as downtime, so you can regroup and come back stronger the next day.
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