The Entrepreneurial Roller Coaster
For every down, there’s an upside-down loop.
We are closing in on month 3 of starting our own business. There’s been plenty of ups, and there’s also been a few downs. The downs haven’t been bad per se, but enough so to be considered a down. They serve as a reminder of what’s on the line (our livelihood) and a little kick to the tush to make sure we’re always giving it our all. I remind myself on a weekly basis to not count our chickens before they hatch, and that a promising meeting or phone call won’t always turn into a signature on the dotted line.
We’ve definitely experienced our moment or two of downright panic. I mentioned that I have no intention of re-entering the corporate world over The Ascent in a previous post, and that’s still the case. However, that doesn’t mean I haven’t applied for a handful of small, part-time jobs for a little wiggle room in our budget, and I am more than ok with that.
In entrepreneurship, you have to do whatever it takes.
What I’m Learning
Starting a business can be messy (shocker!). It can be stressful, it can cause sleepless nights, it’s always more expensive than you anticipate, and it has its disheartening moments. I knew this going in, I just hadn’t experienced it firsthand yet. I’ll be honest, I was naïve in hoping that our business would be different, that we wouldn’t experience that, but alas here we are. And I’m glad. We are still extremely fortunate in our startup and our situation.
We have family members who want to support our venture with capital, we have connections that we know we need to provide with value in order for it to be returned 10-fold, and we have faith that everything’s going to work out. We are far from rock bottom, but it’s close enough to light the fire under our butts to move upwards. Steve and I have acknowledged and accepted that it could very well be two years of not taking a paycheck. But we’re going through the short term pain for the long term gain, and we’re definitely in this for the long game. To quote a one Gary Vaynerchuk, “you have to eat shit before you can eat caviar”. Two years, even three or four or five, of ramen noodles and paying our rent with dog-sitting is a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of life. We are designing our own life, we are pursuing this path because we know we’re each driven enough and together strong enough to get there.
Business Meets Pleasure
Venturing into this with Steve has also had a fundamental impact on our relationship in an amazing way. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: we are partners in every sense of the word and we are in this together. We celebrate wins together, we get messy together. That doesn’t mean we fight — any tiffs we have are “squabbles” and they’re never about work, they’re about whether or not coffee is chemically addictive, or how to pronounce “caramel/carmel” or some stupid goofy thing like that. We’re “messy” in that we’re both getting down and dirty with side hustles, we’re both completely fixated on and fine with living on a shoestring budget, and that we use our relationship with one another as an escape from the stress that we know we’re both feeling. More people need to go into business with their significant other. You know, as long as you’re great at communicating.
Communication. Is. KEY.
When we’re scared, stressed, confused about anything having to do with the business, we bring it up and we talk it out. You wouldn’t believe the number of times there’s been a slight miscommunication about a very important aspect that, if left untouched, could have turned into a bigger issue later on. Instead, we bring it up and talk out the miscommunication only to realize that we’re both very much on the same page, just have a different way of verbalizing it. We are both owning up to our parts and our roles in what we’re trying to do. Neither is single handedly responsible for anything, and with that, we are constantly helping each other out, checking in on one another. If one of us is stressed then the other knows how to pull them out of it and vice versa. Spending all day working/living/playing together has allowed us to get to know each other better than I think I’ve ever known anyone. We’re both in this so we can empathize with what the other is feeling, be it excitement or not.
The Ups To Our Downs
I don’t want to make this mushy, nor am I a very mushy person, but stay with me on this for a second, because it is important (to me). The love we have for one another is always an up whenever we’re in the middle of a down or not. When something big doesn’t go as planned and is the cause of added fear or stress, we say time out. We take a step back, give each other a hug, remind ourselves that it is never the end of the world and we are never going to let ourselves be put in the worst-case scenario. We reassure each other we are not going to let the other down by not giving it our all, and that no. matter. what. we have one another. Our relationship trumps all else in our lives, and we absolutely refuse to let any downs in our business affect it. The pitfalls only make us stronger as a couple, and drive us harder to succeed in what we’re building together. We genuinely appreciate one another, and we say it often. Even though by now we both know it, we still say it.
The other great thing that’s come from the messiness of entrepreneurship is that I will never forget the lifestyle adjustments that come with it. And this is even voluntary on our part. It’s keeping me grounded and reminds me of the people who aren’t as lucky as we are, financially, medically, etc., that need help. Steve and I have always been dead set on there being a strong philanthropic arm of The Ascent when we get it to a point where it’s actually making money that can be used to help people in need. What that looks like exactly, we’re still discussing, but I always hear how out-of-touch the top 1% is with the rest of society, especially low- to no-income families, and I will never forget others that need help. That is high on our to-do list, and the sooner we make it, the sooner we can help make a difference for even one family. Whether that be a new home, a scholarship, or even keeping Planned Parenthood’s doors open, we want to help anyone in the world that we can on their ascent.
Upwards & Onwards
Starting your own business is hard, scary at times, but more importantly motivating when you have your long term goals in mind. Businesses don’t happen overnight. Steve and I are in this for the long haul, we’re doing it together, and while we’re still taking the occasional mental break (entrepreneurial burnout is real), we couldn’t be happier. The pitfalls still beat an office job, and the triumphs serve as continued motivation.
If you’re feeling burned out, disheartened, what have you, don’t stop. Take a couple days to relax and regroup, and keep chugging through. Be in it for the long game, because what’s happening right now won’t last forever. Think about why you started and keep on keeping on.
