How did I even get here?!

How did we even get here?!

Here, in Business, I mean…

One minute you’re working ‘for the man’, lining someone else’s pockets and conforming, falling in line, blending in…

The next you’ve set up on your own, doing it your way, blazing your own trail… and guess what?

It’s actually working! You’re doing it!

You’ve gone from just ‘I’ll give it a go, what’s the worst that can happen…?”

and powered straight through to

‘OMG – this is ACTUALLY HAPPENING’

In fact, it’s happening SO much and SO awesomely that you’re sometimes blinded by it, lost in it, all-consumed by it – That you don’t see how far you’ve come.

Everyone tells you they see what you’re doing and hint that you appear to be doing well, raking it in, living the dream.

Why does it make you feel uncomfortable when they say that?!

You shrug it off and change the conversation like you’re afraid you’re going to be caught out somehow.

Yet you can’t put your finger on why.

When you started out on your own, you didn’t think further than phase one.

The exciting phase of naming your business, telling people about your plans, choosing your ‘HQ’ and getting your business cards created...

(That luxurious 540gsm white silk premium, tho...)

Hiring people to help you HAD crossed your mind, but not yet. You’d cross that bridge as and when you came to it.

IF you came to it.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves now...

Fast forward to now.

Business is, indeed, booming.

Which you’re delighted with, obviously.

What you’re not delighted with is the knot of anxiety in your stomach, that appears to be there more often than not these days. Usually in the early hours of the morning.

Because you’re not sleeping great any more are you? Too much to think about.

Did you remember to send that email, though?

Did your Accountant get the information they’d been asking for?

You DID remember you’ve got a customer coming in tomorrow didn’t you? No?

It's 4.45am. You might as well get up now, to be honest.

Get a head start on your day.

It probably won’t turn out to be another 5am to 10pm day.

Probably.

You can always knock off at 5pm and then come home and work, can’t you?

Your family are used to it by now anyway.

Sure it’s caused a few arguments but THEY KNOW that you’re doing it all for them.

THEY KNOW that you’ll turn this around and then soon you’ll ALL be enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Don’t they?

They have stopped asking you when you’ll be home though… And, weekends have been non-existent for you for most of this year.

The thing is, your business needs YOU.

There is no denying this.

BUT

Most, if not all, of the things that are keeping you up at night, that are making you feel TRAPPED, keeping your business SMALL and potentially unsettling your FAMILY life…

They’re not REALLY things that you should be concentrating on in the first place, are they?

If you’re honest.

Imagine how it would feel, to get that BUZZ back about your business.

To feel excited about going to ‘work’, maybe knowing you have support from someone else in the business or in your network that you could TRUST with all the ‘small but essentials’, the day to day stuff that you no longer need to fret about.

Imagine someone asking you ‘How’s Business?’ and your answer being ‘Business is GOOD’.

Imagine meaning it and saying it with complete confidence and conviction.

Imagine planning a holiday, a weekend away, even just a day out of the office.

Because you can.

How would that feel?

When even WAS the last holiday you took?

When was your last day off?

(And I mean, a real day off by the way. Not a fake day off that you’ve just CALLED it that to keep the peace at home, when in reality you’re just not physically at work – you’re there in body only; your mind is at work, you’re not present because you’re on your phone all the time. You might as well be at work.)

Imagine being able to knock off at the end of the day.

Dipping in and out of a bit of social media, the odd check of your emails – of course. But because you WANT to, not because you’re under pressure to. Kicking back in front of the TV, reading a book, a game of golf, whatever your thing is (you do you)…

Imagine sleeping at night.

Do you even know how damaging to your health and mindset this constant stress, anxiety and lack of sleep is? I know you do. But you see it as a temporary thing. Which of course, it can be. If things change.

Imagine a new beginning.

Imagine falling in love with the new, improved business you’ve created and ultimately getting your LIFE back.

Be good, eh?

Positive conversations, entering business awards, networking because you want to (not under duress), sharing your knowledge, mentoring, planning without panic, making new connections, holidays, fun, family, friends, life.

You could be reading this now and thinking ‘Uh Oh, Drama Queen Millsi’s finally lost the plot’. And if you ARE thinking this then GREAT, it means that none of the above has ever applied to you.

But if any of this is resonating with you? Well, then it means it’s time to face facts that your business needs help.

YOU need help!

Speaking from the heart as a business owner that has, along the way, struggled, beaten myself up, felt like quitting, felt like a fake and a fraud, felt skint, felt rich, felt overwhelmed and felt downright crap at times...

I wanted to share a few key things I feel are essential to help you to BUST through this phase and start loving your business life again.

1. My first piece of advice to you is to SHARE.

Everything changed for me when I found people I could trust to be open with, to voice my concerns, to admit I was struggling and to literally cry for help!

I quickly realised I wasn’t alone, I immediately felt better for speaking about it and I learned that there are a lot of people out there that can help. Whether by listening, offering advice, offering practical hands-on help, introductions/referrals, sharing their experiences…

There's a quote that I love by the fabulous Jim Rohn...

"You ARE the average of the FIVE people you spend the most time with..."

Who are those people for you?

Are they YOUR people?

Quite often we rely on family and friends as our 'go-to' when we are in need of a moan, a rant... Of course we do, they are our nearest and dearest.

But sometimes what tends to happen when we share our worries with those closest to us, their instinct is to keep us safe, to keep us small.

This can result in us playing TOO safe, TOO small.

Sometimes those that we share with will want to protect us from whatever is going on; because they don't like to see us struggling. So, you know that if you share your fears and true concerns with them, they could encourage you to quit.

Which you don't want to do.

So you don't share.

And the cycle continues.

2. Which leads me onto... FIND YOUR PEOPLE!

Networking.

Being WITH people, talking TO people.

And if the thought of rocking up to a REAL LIFE networking scenario gives you the shudders, seek out your people online.

That's where I found mine.

I know some amazing, supportive online groups that I'd be more than happy to share with you. You can even join online networking groups, which are AMAZING supportive places to be - without having to even BE in a place! Networking in your PJ's is a REAL LIFE THING! #whoknew

Once you've found your CREW, your PEOPLE, you'll see things start to change.

You'll share - honestly and openly, you'll listen, you'll learn, you'll help and you'll get help.

It's a gamechanger, for sure.

3. Recruitment

Strange advice coming right up from a Recruiter:

Don't recruit.

Or, do recruit.

But be sure you're in the right 'place' to.

I've seen so many business owners struggle with the overwhelm that business can often bring and they tend to go one of two different ways:

One could think 'enough is enough' and go all-in, recruiting a team of people to help them; paying little attention to who the recruits are / their needs / what their role is... Sure, they get the people. But they also get a whole load more stress, responsibility and anxiety thrown in for good measure. That was NOT the plan.

The other extreme is the person that is SO terrified and fearful of the anticipated responsibility, cost and DRAMA that hiring an employee could bring, that they muddle through regardless; sleepless night after sleepless night, health suffering, poor mindset, depression, stress and anxiety aplenty. ALSO not the plan.

Recruiting can be the most positive thing you can do for your business.

If you're sure, 100% certain that now is the time.

If now ISN'T the time, look into what a VA (Virtual Assistant) could do for you, even just to free up your Administration.

Start small, get clear on what's helped, see how you feel and go from there.

Any of this sound familiar?

Was this you?

How did you BUST through from overwhelmed, frazzled Entrepreneur to chilled, positive Business Owner?

What would you advise to others?

What was the first thing you outsourced / took action on?

If this IS you right now and you're feeling the pain and not knowing which way to turn, then let me assure you - you're not alone.

Remind yourself of why you started out on your journey and take small steps to get back on track.

You'll be falling in love with your business all over again, before you know it.

DMx