Going back is not starting from scratch
Sometimes, you have to go back.
All the way to the beginning.
You find yourself walking the same distances, fighting the same struggles. Or simply put, you find yourself looking at jobs and submitting applications, when you were absolutely sure that your business was going well and your clients had put their faith in you and what you have accomplished for them.
This is entrepreneurship. A violent yet funny rollercoaster.
The only difference between your past and today is you. You are not the same, and you know it. You know how to walk the path, because you have done it before. You know the goal by heart, because you held it in your rhetoric hands. This is the most important thing: remember that you already know what to do and that you can do it even better this time around. This is how you stay alive. This is how you keep breathing, because going back hurts. A lot.
In my own experience, Entrepreneurship is not about failure or success. It is not about feeling down because your clients have left you, or bouncing up and down because you have acquired a highly-rated new one. It’s about keep trying and keep breathing. Trying to stay as steady as possible among the chaos. But in order to do that, particularly when your ships are down, you need to be able to buy food (and eat it) and pay your bills. I am not talking about luxuries, like going to the movies. Nowadays, there are still some things you can do -and have fun doing them- for free. But I am talking about finding the necessary resources to keep your boat floating. If possible -and if you believe in it- do what you can to keep your business, whether it means finding a job -again- or asking for referrals -again- or picking up that boring certification course -again- right where you left it, and finishing it.
Going back hurts because it feels exactly like that: going on reverse. The rest keeps moving forward and you feel somewhat stuck. But fear not, my dear invisible reader. Remember this: it still hurts but you know you can take the hit. Stand up, find something to eat, take a day to have fun, ask someone for support and keep searching for new ways to make your business better and stronger again.
