When you look at successful entrepreneurs, you see the fruits of their labor, but what you don’t see are years of struggle, sleepless nights, stress, anxiety, loneliness, depression, despair, heartache, and the unbelievable amount of time and money spent building their empires. Entrepreneurship can be very lonely and depressing, but hopefully, all your work pays off and you can be happy doing what God made you to do. Sometimes though, it just doesn’t work out.
As an entrepreneur who works out of my home, and has for over 10 years, many people think you have it easy. You can work when you want to, no commute, take breaks as needed, and you can even work in your underwear.
In fact, many people think you don’t work at all. However, that’s just not the case. Working from home can be incredibly difficult. While the above mentioned things are awesome, it takes dedication, determination, and a great work ethic. I actually think more people can now relate to entrepreneurs after quarantine kept us all working from home.
There is nothing as frustrating as when you work hard on a marketing plan, design a great eye-catching graphic, post something awesome on social media, and no one “likes” it. It hurts to be honest. You know that friends and people you love see it, but don’t take a second to hit that button. Sometimes you put so much effort into something and people couldn’t care less about it.
It can be extremely frustrating when family or friends never refer your business. Being an entrepreneur can be very lonely. It’s easy to say, stop being such a downer, but these are real things some of us feel.
With all that said… Is being an entrepreneur worth it? ABSOLUTELY. When I had my wedding business, we filmed hundreds of weddings. It was incredibly hard to keep up with scheduling, deadlines, marketing, and bridezillas. What made it all worthwhile? The email I would receive after a couple watched their wedding video that told me how amazing it was. Many times they told me that they didn’t even remember many parts of their big day. If we weren’t there filming, those memories would have been lost.
With this business, Aerodev, I have the ability to coach people who have never had a business before. To see them make it and be successful, is a beautiful thing. I also coach people on social media, or help them when they don’t know what resource to use. Then you see the lightbulb turn on, or to get that email thanking me so much for helping, makes it all worthwhile. I have new business owners who say they need a website, but have no idea where to start. Instead of just doing it for them, I teach them about what they need and why they need it. Now they get it and understand what they are paying for. Getting that email saying thank you and how much they like it makes it worthwhile.
The years of struggle, sleepless nights, stress, anxiety, loneliness, depression, despair, heartache, and the unbelievable amount of time and money CAN all be worth it.
Pray, work hard, give, brainstorm, try something new and outside of the box, understand your weaknesses and get help with them, take a break, learn, read, and grow. These are keys to your success. It’s a hard long road, but the trip will be worth it. Dave Ramsey says, “Success is a pile of failure that you are standing on.”
Keep fighting and trying, but also know when it is time to say stop. Some people are not meant to be entrepreneurs, or just haven’t found what they are supposed to do yet. That’s ok. Look at it as a stepping stone where you gained a lot of knowledge. Sometimes failures turn into blessings if you learn from them.
Would you like to help an entrepreneur? Most of them are free!
Here are some ways to do so:
Like/follow their business pages.
Like/react and comment on their posts.
Write them a positive review.
Share their posts once in a while.
Refer them.
Pay full price.
Pray for them.
Andrew Pelnar, Owner
Aerodev, LLC
Want more Aerodev Recommendations? Check out our Resources Page! https://www.aerodevllc.com/resources