As a 6x founder on her own wild entrepreneurship journey, I am here to stake a claim:
Entrepreneurs are NOT normal.
…And that’s GREAT!
A desire to be normal would really get in the way of the innovative, counter-cultural, groundbreaking ways entrepreneurs like you have to think to stay in business.
But this not-normal-ness can be hard when it bumps up against your very human desire to belong.
Because most of the world is not going to start their own businesses, it can feel hard to fit in with most people while also flying your entrepreneur-flag.
You have family, friends, former colleagues, and acquaintances who just…don’t get it.
That’s hard. Even if the people in your life are supportive, there is still a point at which they just don’t understand what drives you to be in business for yourself, the challenges you face, the joy it brings you, or the sacrifices you’ll make.
This can feel lonely. Here are a couple things that will help when your entrepreneurial journey feels a bit isolating and you start to wonder, “Was becoming an entrepreneur too crazy?”
Tactics for You to Own Your Entrepreneurship Journey
When you spend too much time with people who don’t understand why you’ve chosen this (arguably crazy) entrepreneurial route, you can start to question yourself too. That’s why you need to spend time with other extraordinary (albeit perhaps a bit crazy) folks like yourself.
You deserve to be seen for who you ARE, not who you aren’t.
You need to be with people who embrace your choice to take this weird and wild journey – because they’ve made that choice too!
Furthermore, you need to learn to love yourself not despite the ways you are different but because of them.
You must intentionally choose to celebrate your unique and brave decision to go into business for yourself.
If your choice to start a business is considered crazy, well it’s our brand of crazy.
So get over here to the place where you can join us in saying:
We like it, we aren’t backing down from it, and frankly we are damn proud of it.
Embrace Your Questioning
Most people aren’t cut out to be in business for themselves.
But did you know that even those of us who choose to embark on an entrepreneurship journey over and over still have days that we question ourselves? We think: Should I be doing this? Why am I doing this? Would it be easier to just go work for someone else?
Questioning your career choice, btw, just shows that you are a curious, flexible thinker.
Everyone once in a while it’s good to take a look at our life choices and consider if they are serving our deepest desires and purpose. (Adam Grant has a great book about this called Think Again. 10/10, highly recommend)
But these questions should come from our internal desire to do our best and contribute to the world. They should not be triggered by other people’s limited views on what success or careers should look like.
Keep Naysayers Near But Also Far
People are going to have a lot of opinions about your choice to start a business.
Those opinions are fueled by that person’s experiences and beliefs.
Maybe that person comes from a place of expertise (they are also entrepreneurs), of scarcity (they fear not having resources), of abundance (they believe there are enough resources), or of misogyny (believing women don’t belong in business despite data to the contrary), to name a few.
But all of those opinions? They belong to the person they came from.
This means they are not inherently true. They are colored by the person’s perspective.
Be sure to critically analyze the intentions behind another person’s advice or questioning before internalizing it.
Often, others speak out of their fear for you.
This is tricky because it may sound like they don’t believe in you or your business. In reality, they may be too afraid for you to be able to see how capable you are and how your business is flourishing (or will flourish).
Two things can be true.
We can see that those people’s fear comes from their desire to see us safe and secure. And we can also see that it is their fear, not ours, and that advice coming from that place is useless.
If you have determined a person’s advice is coming from their fear, you can employ the “keep them near but also far” approach. Here’s how it works:
You can remain in positive relationship with those people by remembering that their intentions are good. E.g. when they want you to be safe and secure financially, and they see entrepreneurship as threatening that.
But you can also hold their opinions at a distance. You can choose not to internalize them. You can remind yourself that they prioritize security (or what they see as security) while you value things like individuality, independence, freedom, and creativity. Their opinion is for them, and yours is for you.
Become a Boundaries Baddie
Near but far doesn’t work for everyone though.
Some people are just too emotionally close, are too frequent or aggressive with speaking against your dreams, or are prescriptive instead of just sharing their perspective.
When this happens, we suggest setting a boundary with the person. You may set a boundary by just not spending as much time with them.
Or you may verbalize the boundary. That works best when it’s framed as, “I know you are telling me this because you care about me and want what’s best for me, but it is actually harming me in [list specific] ways.”
Try to express clearly how their naysaying is directly affecting you. Maybe it’s undermining your confidence, maybe it’s draining your energy, maybe it feels like a gut-punch to not have their support.
Boundary-setting conversations aren’t easy for most people. Be effective by keeping it focused on your feelings and on clearly identifying the behavior that is causing those feelings.
If you set this boundary and they can’t respect it, you may have some tough choices to make. But in the meantime, you can take positive action by filling your world with people who DO support you…
Seek Community with Other Crazies — Erm, I mean Business Owners — on Their Own Entrepreneurship Journey
For every interaction with someone who doesn’t understand (or approve of) your choice to be a business owner, make sure you’re getting an interaction with someone who sees (and appreciates) your brave, bold, dreaming heart!
Gutsy Money Crew is the best (in our humble opinion) place you can do this!
Our Instagram is another. Seriously, if someone’s got you down about your entrepreneurial leap and you just need a person who will relentlessly believe in you, send us a DM.
(You’d actually be doing us a favor. We’ve got so much love for women in business, it’s overflowing and needs a place to go!)
Seek out in-person events and groups in your community.
It is great for your nervous system and mindset to spend time in person with other like-minded people. Plus being in a room full of bold, innovative, intelligent business owners is like an energy power-up.
Work with the Best Money Partners Around
Ahem, hi, that’s us. We aren’t just bookkeepers who record data and categorize transactions and then skip away claiming, “Job done!”
That would be very clock-puncher of us and haven’t we just spent an entire blog encouraging you to claim your entrepreneurship greatness?
We are entrepreneurs, first, and bookkeeping maniacs, second.
We provide our clients with pristine books — and then we put our business minds, financial knowledge, and obsession with women’s success to go way beyond mere perfect books.
We teach our clients how to understand their books and finances as well as their money mindset.
We coach them on how to optimize costs and processes. We connect our clients to the tools and experts that will make their lives easier and businesses more efficient.
We cheerlead as if we were born with pom-poms in our hands (Terra Rose might have been).
We pour knowledge, lingo, and awareness into our clients financial cups until they runneth over with confidence.
Book an intro call to learn how our services pour into your cup and your bank account!
The Bottom Line
The entrepreneurship journey can feel lonely. It’s easy to be misunderstood or not supported by loved ones, even those who are well-meaning. Use these tactics to embrace the gifts, overcome the hard, and support yourself to carry on as an entrepreneur.
