Post-Competition Depression & Why Entrepreneurs Like Yourself Should Understand It

As a business coach and trainer, I feel a sense of responsibility to not only advise on the challenges that clients bring to me… but to also warn them of potential pitfalls that they might not be aware of yet.

I’m transparent and open about my own personal struggles and experiences because my hope is to normalize the entrepreneurial journey- its ups and downs.

Reading and learning from others have helped me… I believe it’s important that I pass it on to the next person.

In today’s marketing age, it’s imperative to be clear on the outcomes we create for clients and to leverage the language that our clients desire in our marketing messaging.

Thus, we have an Accelerator program with a clear focus: empowering women entrepreneurs to land 5 and 6-figure corporate clients.

In the words of Peter Drucker, the purpose of business is to create a customer.

As a sales trainer- I’m clear on the fact that without sales, you do not have a business.

Yet and still- for the entrepreneur, I do believe it’s dangerous to think that the attainment of 6-figures, 7-figures or 8-figures, alone, will provide a sense of completion or fulfillment.

All over social media, I see messages about the 6-figure or 7-figure goal line.?

To some degree, I understand.

We have a program called the 12% as a reminder that less than 12% of women in business ever yield 6-figures in annual revenue.

However, I believe the danger lies in focusing on revenue markers as a destination-

versus focusing on the growth journey of entrepreneurship and understanding the significance that you’re assigning to your ambitions.

I was recently reading about “post-competition depression”.

Various articles talked about elite athletes who train for years and who successfully win the “championship” or “gold medal” of their field…?

and then who find themselves depressed after the excitement of their wins die down.

Some of the articles spoke about the intense drive and desire that athletes maintain over years …

And the mental struggles that athletes face once that level of drive is no longer necessary.

I found this relatable to business and the evolution that we as entrepreneurs experience as our companies advance through various stages and our roles change.

While I am big on celebrating my revenue wins- when I look back, the greatest fulfillment along my journey thus far has never come from hitting revenue milestones.?

If I thought my significance was going to come from achieving a specific revenue goal... I would have been left completely empty.

There’s an intense level of drive and intensity required to go from nothing, simply an idea, and then to gain momentum in business.?

We reference this as the “Validation” stage in our Accelerator program.

Yet as the business augments from “Validation” to the “Traction” stage where it has experienced some consistent sales but needs better marketing and sales systems— a different level of intensity is needed.

And then in what we call the “CEO Activation” stage, our role as the entrepreneur undergoes a significant shift.?

The intense drive is often still there but our focus shifts from leveraging that drive to activate clients and instead shifts to activating our team and being an effective leader.

We share these shifts and stages with our clients to help them get a bird's eye view of the journey to come.

When the journey is described as purely achieving 6-figures or 7-figures in revenue… one might achieve those markers and find themselves completely lost and wondering “now what?”

My son just graduated high school this past Friday. He has always been an avid athlete.?

Time flies and it only seems like yesterday that he was in elementary school and we we were attending basketball games where these young kids didn’t know how to dribble or execute plays.

Their coaches urged them to master the basics.

Yet and still, many of the kids didn’t want to learn the basics—?

they wanted to take half-court shots, do fancy footwork and look like an NBA highlight reel.

As we watched from the crowd, we often watched these kids lose games because they were focused on taking shots they didn’t have the skillset for yet…

when they could have just focused on basics that would put consistent points on the board. Small gains that would have produced the “W”.

Over the years, I watched the young kids who had an insatiable appetite for mastering the fundamentals of the game become elite athletes.

And how relative is that to us as entrepreneurs?

As a business and sales coaching team, when we’re training entrepreneurs, so many want to skip over the basics—?

their why, their anchors, building a solid foundation for their business, refining their messaging, getting clear on positioning, creating significant value, forging high-quality relationships, investing in their team, instituting repeatable sales process, growing their business acumen…

And instead, they simply want to focus on the long-range shots…

"Coach, I just want to know ROI-based pricing so that I can close a 6-figure deal."

But just like sports, it’s mastery of the fundamentals that positions you to successfully sink the long-range shot a mere instant before the buzzer rings.

As a coach, I’m tired of people pursuing entrepreneurship so that they can look like a social media highlight reel.

I get excited about coaching leaders who are committed to the journey, who are compelled by a sense of purpose that sustains them and helps them endure the ups and downs ...

... leaders who are looking to shift the culture, solve complex problems, create jobs and/or even break generational curses by building wealth.

... leaders with self-awareness and a growth mindset that when the going gets tough… they don’t lash out at others…. they look in the mirror and lean into introspection.

Entrepreneurship is a performance sport.

Day by day, I’m learning more and more that my love for the entrepreneurial journey and my excitement about whom I’m becoming along the way-

are my secret weapons and saving grace.

If you’re looking to grow your business with corporate clients ...

and want to join hundreds of other women entrepreneurs like yourself, in-person, who are also motivated to create change while mastering the fundamentals of serving corporate clients…

Time’s almost running out for you to register for our conference: Women Consulting Corporate Live!

Grab your seat now at womenconsultingcorporatelive.com

Founder & CEO,?Stimulyst

Creator,?The 12% Accelerator?(Formerly known as The #BigMoney Movement)

Binge our Youtube Channel where we have hundreds of training videos!

Subscribe & listen to our Women Consulting Corporate Podcast on?Apple?or?Spotify!

Recognized by LinkedIn As A Top 15 Sales Influencer & Sales [in]Sider

Featured in NBC, CBS, NPR, Essence, Voyage Dallas, SXSW, Linkedin Sales Solutions

San Antonio Business Journal's 40 under 40

Hubspot INBOUND Fellow

18 Sales Leaders To Follow in 2020 by Wiza

Recognized by Saleshacker as a Top Female Speaker for Sales

DemandGen?Sales Thought Leader Award Winner

NAWBO San Antonio Woman Business Owner of the Year Award Winner

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