Hey there! To be honest this is probably a topic I would have avoided on my own, but I’m challenging myself to stick to the content calendar! That’s what its here for, right?!
There are many joys and MANY challenges in my life and business currently. While everyone has ups and downs, I’m learning the life of an entrepreneur is a very intense rollercoaster that i wasn’t full prepared to jump on. Am I regretting it? Heck no! But I am learning lessons literally every day, while I know there is an infinite amount to learn, I’m hoping I can share what I’m learning with you along the way. Who knows who’s out there in the same place as me!
Let’s start with the joys! I’ll keep it to a list and not ramble on today 🙂
- Flexible schedule
- I pick who I work with (I LOVE my clients!)
- I can offer the services I want
- I can keep the business how it is, grow it, change it, whatever I want
- I create my own goals and decide how I reach them
- I’m my own boss
- Learning new things every day
The challenges:
- I’m my own boss
- I’m responsible for all the things
- Success or failure is on me
- I’m not great at marketing myself
- Discipline is a skill that takes lots of effort (I know that’s the point)
- Imposter syndrome is VERY REAL
- Sometimes I don’t know how to stop working and relax
- A HUGE learning curve – always something new to Google and figure out on my own
- I offer my time and skillset – I will eventually need to offer something other than time to grow
That’s the business stuff. When it comes to life I have become an expert at getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Its where I live, and have lived for a very long time. In some ways I believe that’s a great thing. I feel I am capable of handling many situations without panic, but it also means that I don’t know how to relax. I’m hardwired for stress, which can be great for building a business, but finding the balance between that and living life is proving to be very difficult. PLEASE take this to heart when I say that if you’re starting a business so you can create the life you want for yourself there will be a lot of sacrificing that needs to be done to get there. For me its ending a toxic relationship and moving back into my dad’s for a few months. Do I want to be relying on my dad and keeping my fingers crossed that my bank account isn’t in the negatives by the end of the month? NO! But building something real and long lasting takes time, and I’m showing up and digging the trenches every single day for this dream of mine.
That is both the challenge and the ultimate joy. Sacrifice is an incredible challenge, but also an overwhelming joy.
WIth that being said – I am building things I’m passionate about into my business plan. For example, I love hiking and being out in nature so as I’m making my goals for 2025 I’ve included completing the 52 Hike Challenge! I’m breaking the 52 hikes down into how many I’d like to compete each quarter, and this means I’ll be scheduling that time into my business! I feel that is how I’ll ultimately create a business around a life I love living – life and business will coexist happily and successfully.
There are joys and challenges in all things in life. You just have to pick your hard. My hard is forcing myself into the time of sacrifice I’m in now so my life is all the things I want down the road. I’m seeing glimpses of it now, and have that feeling that I’m on the right path, I just have to keep going.
If you’re on this journey as well, or considering this journey, be prepared for hard, and know that you’re going to have to be ok with it for a really long time! But keep in mind that it won’t be hard forever, or at least it’ll be a different kind of hard. There will always be challenges in life, and by going through the hard you’ll be better equipped to handle it.
You’ve got this! We’ve got this! Let’s goooooo!
Virtually Maggie 
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