The Question I Dread

The Question I Dread

What's the #1 question Entrepreneurs get asked by almost everyone they know?

"How's the business going?"

It's asked by kind, loving, caring friends and family who want to talk to us about something they know is important to us. But it presents a major dilemma doesn't it?

Do I go with a simple "It's great!" and then dig around for a recent win to tell them about, and/or change the subject.

OR do I tell them the truth, which is, 

I want to quit at least 3x's a week, I'm tired, I'm losing sight of why I started this in the first place, and it's definitely not meeting my expectations.

We've all been there right? I think most of us never totally leave that place. As creatives and entrepreneurs we seem to be biologically hardwired to dream, and reality, no matter how practical we try to be with our goals never fully lines up with those dreams we love and live for. 

So how do we deal with this dilemma of unmet expectations, unrealized goals, or broken dreams? Well let's keep the honesty going here....

I'm still very much working that out

But here's what I've got so far:

1. I'm working as hard as I can, and that is more than enough.

I don't need to dig deeper, push harder, "girl, wash my face", or toughen up. I need to take a deep breath, rest, re-adjust, and move forward at a pace that I can sustain. Because this is a marathon, not a sprint.

2. Goals are nice to have but they don't equate success.

I CAN re-define success in a way that suits the lifestyle that is important to me and it does not have to look like you, or my favorite influencers, or the top brands in my market's versions of success. It doesn't even have to be based on units produced or dollars sold. Maybe success is a metric of quality of life.

 3. It's okay to give an honest answer.

If things really aren't "good" or "great" I can say so. Maybe not everyone who asks needs the whole story, but I also don't owe anyone a nice polished version of me or my business. The people who love and care about me want to hear the truth, and anyone who is getting more detail than they wanted? They'll just stop asking the question and that's okay.

The bottom line is that this sh*t is hard. And to be honest, it stays hard. But the good news is, the longer we stay in the game, the more we learn, the stronger we get, and as these businesses grow, they challenges AND the joy grow too. Keep up the good work fellow entrepreneurs. And know I'm right there working along with you.

-Cassie

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