30/12/2021
Though rewarding and fulfilling, running a business is really hard.
What they don’t tell you is that it can cause severe anxiety, and drains you mentally to the point of depression in even the most laid back people.
People will talk about you, compare you to others, use you, they sometimes view you as a service, and not a person anymore.
Friends and family will expect discounts on everything, and value you, and your hard work, less than a big chain store.
You have to worry about if you forget to email/message someone back, are they going to think it was on purpose? Did you disappoint them? Will they hold that against you? When, in reality, you just can’t get to everyone’s messages and emails.
Starting up and running a successful business puts incredible strain on personal lives and relationships, many of which fail because there is just often no work/life balance. You need to be the director, the worker, the administrator, the marketing team, the accountant, the cleaner..... All whilst being a parent, a husband or a wife, family support, friend...
There’s a reason you don’t see many people succeed in small businesses after 5-10 years. It takes a toll. It’s freaking exhausting. This was especially the case this past year.
Most times, you have to really enjoy what you are doing, to continue in your business, fortunately enough, I do.
This is a small reminder that we are just normal people with hectic lives. Be kind, be patient….. and hopefully more of us will stick around!
I copied this from a friend and thought it was pretty spot on with regards to me and many other small businesses!

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