Being a business owner is a rewarding and freeing experience. You get to make your own schedule, bring your ideas to life, take all the decisions to make it successful. You see it grow over the years and it's all because of your hard work. But being a business owner is also tiring and overwhelming, as it takes a lot of courage, perseverance and thrive to not give up.
Your business is your child, it becomes part of you so it is very easy to start doubting yourself when something goes wrong. Most of the time those negative thoughts are related to the fear of lacking money. We all, as entrepreneurs, thought at least once:
“Oh my god, we will eat potatoes for the rest of our life because we lost that client. Our business is over!”
(Dramatic music. End of the scene. Curtain closed.)
Let's be realistic and less dramatic, it takes A LOT OF MISTAKES to have a business closing down but not having a regular and secure employee's income can make you pessimistic from time to time.
Every business owner's nightmare
Business owners stress about money and there is one thing that we all fear. Something that happens every year and is every business owner's nightmare. This horrible catastrophe is called…
Business slowdown!
It's ok, don't be scared and come back here for a minute. Those slower times happen to any businesses and can actually be a blessing in disguise (yeah we know, it is hard to believe. It took us 3 years to realize that!).
Time to take some me-time.
Remember how often you complain about not having enough time to take care of yourself as a person? Well those slowdowns are opportunities for you to relax and enjoy life: go visit a new city, finish those books that are waiting for you on your bedside table, spend quality time with your loved ones…
If you know this slowdown happens every year at the same period, then get the rest you finally deserve instead of stressing out about it. You know it is not gonna last anyway!
Time for new projects.
If you feel like you get enough rest during the year and feel guilty of working less: first, well you should not feel guilty! Second, this is the perfect time to get your creativity going by thinking of new projects you can add to your business.
Grab a pen and a notebook; and start writing down all the ideas that come to mind… You now have the time to make them come to life!
Are slowdowns happening too often?
If you feel those slowdowns are happening too often or come out of nowhere, then maybe there is something wrong. No need to panic, it doesn't mean you are getting out of business. First, you need to understand why this is happening, look around and dig deeper to understand clearly where it comes from:
Maybe you have been a bit lazy with your marketing strategy.
Maybe there is a new competitor in town.
World events can also affect negatively businesses.
Second, is all about finding solution to make it better. Complaining will not make it magically go away, you have to act on it.
Put yourself out there.
Staying passive, away from everybody will not help to make your business more fruitful. You have to show the world how confident and proud you are about your biz-baby:
Go to events and Meetups.
Talk to people, be open to create new collaborations.
Register to seminars to improve your knowledge and see how others are running their businesses.
Part time jobs can be a life saver!
If money is getting very short for you because your business is going down, you can always find a seasonal/part time job to help you bounce back and THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. We know what you guys are thinking:
Going back to work for someone else, pfff never!
Entrepreneurs are proud creatures who don't like to ask for help and admit when there is something wrong. This is understandable, we put so much effort and sweat to keep our businesses alive that we love to think we did it all by ourselves.