Anyone who tells you building a business online is always easy might not be telling you the whole truth.
We’ve got to put in the time and energy to learn new things. Things will go wrong. Sometimes we’ll make mistakes. We have to work through personal issues.
When I decided to work online from home I jumped in without realizing I’d have to learn things like branding, marketing, accounting, customer service, and more. And while I’d do calculus or statistics for fun if I had the time, QuickBooks makes me break out in hives. (Okay, not really, but I don’t like accounting.)
I also had no idea the kind of personal growth it’d take and the limiting beliefs I’d have to work through. Things from childhood, even some things that I hadn’t thought about in 20 years, started popping up and trying to hold me back.
I’ve made mistakes and ran into challenges along the way. Some were almost enough to derail me completely. At one point in my business I nearly quit. I took a job as a barista (surprising choice?) for a few months while I tried to decide if it was worth it to be an entrepreneur.
So I’d never tell you it’s EASY.
Some parts can be. The things you’re great at, that come naturally, that part’s easy. But building a business? I’d tell you to expect challenges. Know that technology will fail you from time to time. Sometimes you won’t find support where you expect it. Your plan might not work exactly like you hoped.
It’s still WORTH IT.
You can get through the challenges and come out stronger and more confident on the other side. You can find the support you need if you look for it and allow it to be there for you. And if plan A fails, there are 25 more letters in the alphabet and infinite numbers.
Here’s my question to you today: How determined are you to make it work?
If you are determined, keep going one step at a time (even when some of those steps move backward instead of forward), and stay strong, you can make your business work.
Remember that sometimes being strong means being strong enough to reach out for and accept help.
Like the flower that somehow managed to grow through that little tiny crack in the sidewalk. When it feels tough, think of that flower and know that you can break through.
Thank you to my coach, Therese, for inspiring this post.
Thank you for this great post. We all need inspiration to keep moving forward. I appreciate the honestly in the post that it isn’t easy and sometimes its seems you are moving backward instead of forward. Thank you for keeping me inspired and moving forward.
Hi Mich…Being determined is very important especially when you have goals in life…
I understand where you are coming from. There have been many times when I have felt like giving up because I didn’t see the fruits of my labor right away. Hopefully if I keep pushing, I will see some major progress.
Hi Mich…Thank you for the great post you have here for us and for me, this is very inspirational…
Sometimes it takes a bit to realize just how determined one is LOL — sometimes it takes a bad experience (albeit a self-esteem shattering experience in my case), a life changing event (having a baby at 42 — what was i thinking LOL) and then the DETERMINATION to put that bad experience behind, grow from it and take my power back!!!! I owe some thanks to you, Michelle ;) The blog challenge in October really helped. and I would not have know about it if I weren’t such a loyal fan of you <3
Much appreciation and gratefulness!!!
Kimberly
Nice post – it definitely takes determination to keep working for yourself. I just started my business 4 months ago and I think I have learned hundreds of new things each day. But it is so worth it! And working on my business and helping my clients makes me so happy :)