“Where does it hurt?”
It’s one of the first questions mothers ask their children because, let’s face it, everyone gets hurt sometimes.
Even before he had his first words, my son Samson (now 15!) was a very good reporter of where it hurt. So much so that I made it clear to sometimes-skeptical doctors: “if he says it hurts there, that’s where it hurts!”
As business owners, most of us aren’t out here scraping our knees or breaking the odd bone on the regular. But there’s another kind of hurt. It’s the nagging, low-level hurt you can’t point to. It’s the thing you’ve learned to live with.
The Hard Work of Doing It All
Running a business is not easy but, for most of us, it’s worth it. We all have our stories about why we finally hung our own shingle. For me, the catalyst was getting laid off from a job I really cared about. I remember going home to my little apartment, cracking a beer, and telling the walls, “I’m never going to put my career or economic security in the hands of another person ever again.” (Toby Myles came to a similar conclusion.) And that was it. The next day, I got busy creating my articles of organization.
Maybe your story is different. Maybe you kept your day job as you built your business, sliding into self-employment only when taking the risk hurt less than punching a clock every day.
It’s fashionable to talk only about the happy reasons we started our businesses. But, if we’re honest, there’s a bit of pain in that story too. Maybe you were tired of spending your days doing work that bored you, or just didn’t fit who you are. Or maybe you loved your job but you knew you could do it better if you were your own boss. Something pricked you in the butt and said, “Now, lady. Do it now or there are more pokes where that came from.”
In short, in the oft-quoted words of Anais Nin, “the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
A Different Kind of Pain
I started my first business 22 years ago, and I’m pretty sure I’ve experienced most of what entrepreneurship has to offer – good and bad. We’re all working our butts off, day in and day out, to attract new customers or keep the ones we’ve got. No matter what business we’re in, in the beginning we wear all the hats. We’re the owner and the bookkeeper. We’re marketing and sales. We’re human resources and office management. And, above all, we’re our business’ best (and sometimes only) champion.
And that’s hard enough! But when your business starts to grow – well they call them growing pains for a reason. Now you have to learn to trust other people to do all the things only you could do before. How does a person even begin to do that?
A Tipping Point
I think in any business, there’s a tipping point. It’s the moment when you’ve have enough with making do. You’re ready to soar. But to do that, girl, you need systems.
Supportive systems ensure that everyone in your business is pulling in the same direction. Systems catch the balls that fallible humans occasionally drop. Systems keep your business humming even when you go on vacation (yes it’s possible!), or your oldest and most experienced employee – the one who knows what’s really going on around here – quits or retires or just plain moves on.
There are many different types of systems. Sometimes software can help. And that’s where we come in.
We get it. We’ve been there. And together, we can find those hidden hurts that you’ve put up with for too long.
Intrigued? Schedule a (virtual) coffee with me to chat about where you are and where you’re going. No pressure. Just mentorship, ideas, and a friendly face who knows what it’s like to be in your shoes. Let’s see what we discover!
