Hey. Do you feel like giving up sometimes? this might be difficult to think about,
but it's so important we talk about it.
First of all, I want you to know that it's totally okay to have feelings of giving up,
and it's okay to talk about them. Too many of us are afraid to speak up when we're feeling bad,
or to be honest with others,
or even with ourselves which is sometimes the hardest
But I think you'll find that the more we talk about it,
the better you'll feel because you will understand that
this is something most people experience at some point
or another. And you'll see that you can overcome it.
Hi. I'm Mei Pak and I help artists, makers,
and designers make a living selling their handmade products online.
While I usually love talking about marketing
and making sales, running a business is really hard to do.
And your mindset is a big part of the journey.
You have to juggle so many different emotions like self-doubt, anxiety,
frustration all while trying to do the day-to-day tasks of keeping your shop afloat.
Today I'm going to focus on helping you get through. Running a business is really hard.
Don't underplay that first and foremost. You might feel like this should all be so easy,
especially since it seems like other people make it look easy.
And you might feel like you're the only one who's having a hard time,
but that is simply not true. Okay?
This is hard work. Most people aren't profitable until years after starting.
So, before anything else, give yourself credit for diving into the deep end and working
like crazy in a super hard job or career
so that you can follow your passion and pursue your dreams. That is so freaking brave.
That's powerful and not everyone can do what you're doing.
The truth is most new businesses fail.
Most people give into giving
up. What sets you apart from the rest, though, is that you keep pushing through. You see everything,
every hardship, every setback, every difficult afternoon,
as a learning lesson. You take something from all of it
and you use all of this to build up knowledge to do
it better next time, right? Because there are no mistakes,
when you think about it. There are no regrets
as long as you keep learning, as long as you keep taking your newfound
knowledge and using it the next chance you get. There will always be ups and downs.
That's totally normal. And I don't think it's necessarily productive to try to fix that
because that's just the way it is,
for every business owner for every person.
So don't beat yourself up on the hard days.
Just dust yourself off, think about what you learned,
and choose to try again tomorrow. On a practical level,
if you're worried that your business isn't where it's supposed to be
or where you want it to be, do a business audit.
It helps so much to see the bigger picture.
Sometimes we freak out when we look at too short
of a time period for how well we've done
or how many sales we've made. But when we take a bigger snapshot and look over a longer time period,
maybe you'll be surprised to see you're actually not doing too bad at all.
Doing a business audit helps put things down onto paper and gives you an action plan.
Sometimes how we think our business is doing or how we feel
it's doing isn't actually the reality of how it really is doing.
Take it from someone who's been there before. But when you see all facets of your business
on paper, for example, how much sales you've made, where those sales are coming from,
how much money you’ve spent, where you're spending most of that money,
like, in different categories, and what you spend most of your time doing every day,
you can see what’s not working and what is. You'll
stop placing so much blame on yourself also
because the problems are no longer abstract and you can actually put in the work to fix,
whatever isn't working and do more of what works. Like
we keep doing social media day in day out.
How many hours do you spend a day or a week on social media for your business?
I'd actually love for you to tell me.
So let me know in the comments
so we can all get an idea.
And then I want you to do the math to figure out
what that hourly rate is, how much time you've put in,
and how much sales you've gotten out of that.
Look into where you've also gotten some other sales that didn't come from social media
and how was that?
Maybe that's something you want to explore more
and do more of what's easier
and worth more of your time to pursue.
Because it's no secret that social media is super time-consuming
and is a very low ROI form of marketing,
which means for your investment of time and energy into social media
you actually don't get back a worthwhile return.
Something to consider. This may not be true
for everyone but I would be willing to bet that it's true for most of us.
If there's one thing you can do right now, after this video today is a business audit.
Make a list of what's working and what isn't. Sometimes
We also don't want to face the truth of
what isn't working because then we'll feel guilty or ashamed that we spent all this time
doing some meaningless work.
But we can't fix the problem until we are aware of it
and we acknowledge it, right? If we are in denial,
it will only get worse until it is too late to repair. And I promise you
there is no shame in this at all. No one is judging you.
I am not judging you. We have all been there.
Another tip I have is, don't be afraid to take a step back and do some soul-searching.
A lot of new business owners get
so caught up in the day-to-day that they lose sight of why they're doing this in the first place.
When you start to find yourself operating aimlessly,
or you're not sure what this is all for. It's time to take a step back.
Ask yourself why you wanted to start this business.
Reconnect with your reason, for pursuing
all of this. Is that why still a strong enough pull for you?
Do you have the same dreams as you did
when you started out? Are the dreams strong enough to push you forward.
If they aren't, then it might be time to re-evaluate.
When we no longer have that thing in our hearts
that ignites the flame, it's a lot harder to put in the time and energy
we need to make our business work. So make sure that fire is still lit inside of you.
And if it isn't see how you can reignite that flame. While you’re soul searching,
it helps to prioritize self-care. Remove yourself from the daily grind,
okay? Because when you're too close to your business,
because you're pushing so hard every day,
it's hard to think objectively about it or to be agile and grow.
And honestly, I always want you to prioritize self-care.
You can't take care of a business, if you aren't taking care of yourself.
Take some time to each day to do something
you love, something just for you.
When you turn your hobby into a business, yeah,
you know, some of that love for your craft goes away a bit. When I've made my 10,000th cupcake charm,
you can bet I don't want to make another cupcake charm
ever again. Burnout is a real and scary place to get to and the longer
you stay in there, the more likely you’ll just want to throw in the towel.
So keeping your battery topped up every now and then will help prevent you from going to that dark
place to begin with. Nurture yourself,
go outside, spend time in nature, read a book, journal,
go out with friends, get therapy or counseling
if you need extra support. There's no shame in any of that
and whatever works for you carve out time aside.
Put it in your calendar and do it, prioritize it, don't put it off.
The more we put into ourselves, the more we can put into the world,
I cannot emphasize the important of that enough.
Here's another tip for you, I want you to get into the habit of cherishing every win.
Even the small ones, those are actually the most important. Did
one person sign up to your email list this week?
That's a win. Did you get a positive review?
That's a win. Did you set up your website?
That's a huge win. Took new product photos?
Amazing, you should be proud and celebrate.
Once you start celebrating every little win,
you will actually get to see how far
you've come and be grateful for your progress.
This can be a huge mindset shift for you to make that,
when you do make it, will change everything for you and your life as well too.
Many of us don't do this and so we rush through this journey and after a few months or years,
we feel like we've done nothing because we haven't made a ton of sales
yet. We feel like a failure. That's
when you start questioning everything because you defined the win as making it with your business,
whatever that means to you. But running a business,
it's a lifestyle. It's a journey. There is no finish line
honestly. So the more you can stop and smell the roses,
the more you will feel good about everything.
It's really all about gratitude and that can be so powerful in your business
building journey. I know that some days you might feel like
giving up. I have been there so many times myself.
Keep persevering. You’ve got this.