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Stuck in a hard season in your business? That’s okay! They affect all of us, at every stage in business. Let me show you exactly how to lean into these seasons and avoid the summer slump.

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What do you do when things get hard, frustrating or it feels like nothing is going your way?

We’re going to talk about what to do when you’re in a hard season of your business.

Notice that I didn’t say if it happens… it’s WHEN it happens.

There are hard seasons at every level of your business. It’s not “I’m going to have a hard season in the beginning because I’m a beginner, and then all those lessons are going to be behind me and it gets to be easy from here on out.” No.

We tend to have this idea, this illusion that once I’m a beginner, once I master that, once I’m over that - it gets to be easy from here on out. And that is just not the way it works.

If you’ve been in business for any length of time you have probably noticed by now that there are hard seasons. And I’m not talking day… sometimes it’s months, sometimes it’s years.

So I want to talk about what to do and how to view the seasons when it’s hard because you’re going to face them at every level in your business.

So get ready for a big pep talk, Boss.

entrepreneurship is hard

Each level presents new challenges in business.

Some entrepreneurs have a mindset that once they reach a certain point, they have "arrived" and things will become easier. However, that's not how life works, or how business works. Each level of business presents its own unique challenges and difficulties, a ‘new level, new devil’ and all that.

Sometimes, you might find yourself stuck at a particular level for an extended period. Does it mean you’re rubbish or wrong? No, it’s just the game of entrepreneurship. As you progress and advance, the challenges become more demanding and that’s actually the opposite of how a lot of people see business. They think, Okay, well, once I hit 5k a month, it's going to be easy. Once I hit 10k a month, it's going to be easy. And then they're surprised when it's harder and requires a different level of skill.

Where I see people get stuck at the same level is because they're frustrated and they feel like they should be at the next level. This is when I see people look elsewhere. This is when I see them looking at other options, from a place of believing that it's easier somewhere else, that the grass is greener, that it's not going to be as hard over there.

Newsflash, it's going to be just as hard, it's just going to be different. You're still going to find that you have to defeat a villain over there, too. So, you can choose to be upset about that, or you can choose to lean in.

Here are a few things that I want you to do when you are in a hard place.

1) notice your Narrative

Step one is to notice your narrative. What are you telling yourself about the challenges? Are you surprised by them or expecting them to disappear on their own? Are you waiting for circumstances to change instead of realising that you need to change and improve?

I've seen many people plateau because they wait for referrals, ads, or external factors to make their business successful. Instead, ask yourself, "What is required of me to advance to the next level?" Advancement often comes at a cost, not necessarily monetary, but something you may be reluctant to give up. We're not talking about sacrificing your mental, emotional, or well-being here. It could be sacrificing your ego, some money temporarily, or saying no to something you want in favour of business growth. It might involve waiting for certain things, like buying a home or quitting your nine-to-five job, longer than you're comfortable with.

Impatience arises when people want immediate gratification while progressing in their business. Massively successful individuals who have built seven, eight, or nine-figure businesses will tell you that they delayed their own gratification. They were willing to wait for material possessions and instead focused on developing skills, growing assets, and building their business. Pay attention to your narrative during challenging seasons. What meaning are you attaching to them? Are you surprised by the difficulties? Are you simply waiting for things to change?

2) reflect on your why

The second step is to reconnect with your why. Reflect on why this work is important to you. What is the meaning behind it?

Without strong reasons and a compelling purpose, it becomes difficult to show up during challenging, frustrating, and emotionally draining moments. When nobody is acknowledging your efforts and it feels like there are no rewards or victories, what motivates you to keep trying? If your reasons are not compelling enough, you may end up quitting, stalling, stagnating, or even looking for easier alternatives elsewhere.

3) grow through each challenge

Let me tell you that running my business now is both my favourite and toughest endeavour. I've had to learn skills I never thought I'd need, and I've had to learn them through painful experiences and trial and error. I made sure to surround myself with mentors and be part of communities where successful entrepreneurs running the kind of business I aspired to run were present. I didn't go to school for it; I had to figure it out on my own. I understood that these were the requirements for reaching the next level. And let me tell you, every level of income you aspire to achieve will come with its own set of obstacles and conflicts that you'll have to overcome.

Recently, I started working with a client again after a break of six months. During our previous 12-month coaching, her business revenue was on track to double this year. However, now we're facing a new set of challenges to work through. Sometimes we mistakenly believe that as things get better, they will also become easier. But that's not how it works, especially if you want to live an unconventional, impactful life (the entrepreneurship life). There is no easy button, although I wish I could tell you otherwise. Some of my clients have even asked me when it will get easier and when they can finally stop worrying and enjoy the fruits of their hard work. I tell them that's what retirement is for.

As an entrepreneur, you choose to actively engage in uncertainty and risk all the time. If you want certainty and to avoid uncertainty or risk, maybe working for someone else is what you truly desire.

let’s recap

So once again, pay attention to the narrative you're telling yourself. Evaluate what's working and what's not working. Revisit your compelling reasons for pursuing this path. Ask yourself "What is my lesson here? What do I need to learn in order to overcome and grow from this?"

Instead of doing this, most people spend the hard season telling themselves that it shouldn’t be happening to them, maybe something is wrong with them. That is not the case. It is essential to growth.

However, most individuals opt to wait it out and end up emotionally drained from the prolonged struggle. Throughout the hard season, they continuously tell themselves that it shouldn't be happening, they should be somewhere else, something is wrong with them, or perhaps they shouldn't even be in this position.

Unfortunately, we often make things even more challenging by the stories we tell ourselves. This leads to a difficult emotional experience during the hard season, compounding the negativity. Can you see how all these factors add up negatively?

Then I see people emotionally depleted from the hard season because they don't know how to navigate it. They don't know how to frame it in their mind. And that's when I see them check out and take a break, only when they return they’re defeated to have lost momentum, so it’s even harder. That's where they either look elsewhere, or quit entirely, or they just stay stuck.

I want you to think about what your lesson is. What is the hard season teaching you? Where is the gift?

If you're not willing to pay the cost of advancing to the next level, we can't complain if we are choosing to stay at our current level. We have to choose hard, we can’t avoid it. Believe me, there have been some big obstacles this year alone for me. So far, it's been really hard and I've had to decide over and over.

I asked myself, What is this teaching me? What is this teaching me for my future? How is this shaping me for the next level? Did the mindset magically make it go away? No, I still had to do the hard things. I still had to make hard decisions but it was worth it because my reasons were compelling.

So if you are in a hard place right now, I just want to encourage you to lean into it. Engage in the hard, stop waiting for it to go away. Stop waiting for it to get better on its own. Learn what you can from it.