Starting A Business Is HARD!

Today I’m taking a few minutes to reflect on what it’s been like to start this business.

In short, it’s hard as hell. And I’m tired.

And I don’t say this to enlist sympathy or to scare anyone away from starting their own business. I say it because it’s the truth (however brutal and ugly). And even the most organized, well-read, business-savvy person will tell you that doing it alone has its. . .  challenges.

Because when it’s just you, you’re the owner, the CEO, the business manager, the HR and legal departments, the accountant, the marketing and social media coordinator, and the office assistant. (And honestly whatever else you can think of because random one-off tasks will pop up here and there.)

Every other task is something I’ve never done before. Many of them I have to do and then redo because I didn’t do it right the first time. The silver lining is that once they’re finally done, I can pat myself on the back for figuring it out (and then maybe cry because I’m a sensitive lady).

But Amy, why don’t you just outsource some of those things and make your life a lot easier?

Oh, believe me. I think about it. I dream about it! And I will do that someday. But for now, I’m focusing on marketing the business as I’m building it so that one day (when there’s revenue and a budget) I’ll be able to hire an assistant to take some things off my plate.

The real silver lining in all this is that if I had done all the research about how to start a business and all the logistical tasks involved and what it would cost and how much time the prep alone would take before I actually was able to launch and run the business, I might have turned tail and run.

No regrets. I’ve learned so much. And I can’t wait for this business to thrive.

I had fully intended for this post to have a much more upbeat tone (oops). And while sugarcoating things isn’t really my style, I’m glad it turned out the way it did. Because it’s much more rewarding to be authentic in storytelling than it is to downplay one’s struggles into something cheerful and palatable for the sake of a more pleasant read.

Thanks for sticking with me.