Read this if you’re thinking about quitting your freelance or soloprenuer journey
Don’t be like me, and you’ll be set free
I have attempted to start 11 distinct businesses over the last 7 years.
Only 4 made any money.
Out of those 4, I’m only doing one still to this day.
Truthfully, I have a disease. One that is much more common than you think.
SOS. “Shiny Object Syndrome”. Have you heard of it?
It’s not actually a medically defined disease, but it can be devastating. SOS is the habit of constantly chasing “the next big thing” or the next new thing.
Instead of sticking with something and seeing it through, you jump ship and leave it behind at the first site of greener grass.
Does that sound like you?
If it does, and you’re in the middle of thinking about quitting your freelancing or soloprenuership journey, I encourage you to stop, reflect, and record.
Instead of quitting and moving on, do this first
I hate quitting.
I hate the idea of not seeing something through to the very end. It’s a value instilled in my by both of my loving parents (who could admittedly be quite intense at times).
However, i’m a founder at heart. A maker of new things. Someone who gets tremendous joy from pushing the boundaries i’m capable of and developing mastery of a subject.
So for all of you out there like me who are stuck inside this dichotomy of wanting to avoid being a quitter, but having tons of “earth shatteringly good ideas”, here’s some advice to make sense of it all.
1. Take time to pause.
Get away from the work that you’re doing for an extended period of time. Maybe it’s a weekend getaway to a cabin. Maybe it’s working non stop all week to be able to take one full day off and go to the park.
2. Reflect on why you started your business in the first place.
Did you do it for money? To be cool? To please your parents or spouse? For freedom?
I encourage you to write this down, record a video, or even make a voice memo. The point is to get your thoughts out of your head and organized. Really dive deep into this Why. It will help ground your thoughts and remove any temporary discomfort or excitement that’s causing the desire to move on.
3. Wrestle with the future and your ideal day to day life.
It’s so easy to go through each day on autopilot. I know I have before.
When i’m in that state, i’m much more succeptible to the daily struggles or other extenernal forces blowing me in on direction or another.
Instead, I encourage you to use whatever framework you’d like, and get really clear on what kind of future you want. What does it feel like to wake up for you? What will you be doing for most days? Where are you doing it? Who and what are you surrounded by?
The more specific, the better.
Same as above, get these thoughts out of your head.
4. Talk with someone who you trust
As a business owner, things can be isolating. You can start to get tunnel vision and lose perspective.
Some of my best decisions and times I was able to weather a big storm came off the back of a heart to heart with a friend or loved one.
Share your fears, hopes, dreams, and the reality of your situation with them. Let them in. Commit to being transparent and emotionally available with them to get an outside perspective on your situation.
Now that you’ve done all that…
Take a deep breath and repeat after me…
“It’s okay if I quit this”.
Truly. Quitting isn’t the end of the world and if you’ve took the time to pause and reflect, but you’re in the game for all of the wrong reasons, then set yourself free.
That being said, it’s also okay to stick around through tough times.
It’s admirable to fight through struggles and grow something you truly care about even though it’s not working out for you right now. To keep going even though you can’t possibly imagine how you’ll get through it.
That’s what being a business owner is at times, and almost everyone has been through the same. It’s one of the universal truths of growing a business.
The dips and the plateaus.
Today as I work on growing https://bestfreelancertools.com/ , i’m reminded of how important having a compelling why is, and going back to it when times get rough.
I lost a little steam on building BFT this week due to working on my agency and being busy.
But i’m not going to quit, and my focus is clear. I know where I want to take it, and it’s only a matter of time.
Quitting the drop shipping stores was an easy choice, and I believe the right one since my heart was never in it.
Hope this helps and feel free to reach out if you want to chat about what you’re going through.
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