Mental and Emotional Support for the New Entrepreneur
So, you are launching a new business, have you done all your homework?
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two part series.
I want to pick up on a thread I left dangling in the wind from my last article Value Is in The Eye of The Beholder, we were discussing value and I mentioned as a new entrepreneur we would assume you had done all your homework before launching your business.
Let’s look at this as if it were a shopping list, for some reason those works well for me:
- Great business idea?
- Research?
- Business plan?
- Budgeting?
- Marketing plan?
- Mental and emotional support lined up?
Sadly, for most new entrepreneurs there’s a big yes after the first five items and a big screeching sound of breaks engaging once we reach the sixth one.
Most of us will try to fill the void exposed by this question with friends and family, which is a great option, a mentor is also a fantastic one, colleagues, past teachers, trade associations, networking groups, etc.
I will say YES, absolutely use and have all of those available to you. But remember you are the engine and the fuel that will keep this business going, if you have employees you will be the one they turn to when things get rough, so the pressure adds up.
As you would do with financial scenarios you want to be prepared for every possibility, so let’s look at the emotional side of business.
Please step into the mental theater with me and watch a short film, it was a long, difficult and challenging day at work, you are tired, you have already discussed possible solutions and alternatives with your mentors and colleagues.
Your team is behind you and you are ready to close shop for the day, you arrive home and realize you are emotionally drained, mentally exhausted and know in a few hours you must go back and be the head cheerleader again.
So how do you refill the gas tank?
Like every other area of your business your mental and emotional wellbeing are crucial, I would even go as far as saying it is the MOST important part of your business. From my point of view working on one self is the foundation needed to support all your other efforts.
So, if at the end of the day you find yourself drained of energy, tired or feeling a little lost and your support network isn’t available the best tool, or the only available at the time may be yourself, the best plan is to create a system ahead of time and be as disciplined in this area as you are with your finances.
There are many disciplines you can chose to study that can help you maintain the balance between work and mental/emotional wellbeing, but let’s get you a quick 5-step “emergency or backup plan” that can get you started and make a huge difference.
The secret ingredient and the one that will hold it together will be consistency, but worry not, I have been working on myself for decades and I can tell you there will be days when you just don’t feel like doing anything.
There will be times when you stop for a while and there will be others when you question the efficiency of it all, but if whenever you feel you are spinning out of control, deviating from your chosen path, or need to reevaluate life a bit just go back to this then reroute and move forward.
In part two we’ll cover: The Five Steps to Get Back On Track for the New Entrepreneur
Related articles:
Value Is in The Eye of The Beholder
Three part series:
Part 1: Latina Breaths Life into Respiremos a Company About Breathwork
Part 2: Latina Entrepreneur Creates an International Professional Training Start Up
Part 3: Latina Entrepreneur on Business Growth and Work-Life Balance
