Waiting for sales, Facebook likes, new followers on Twitter and blog comments can be painstakingly frustrating.
You’re pouring everything you’ve got {plus a little more} into your creative business.
You stay up late writing blog posts, you wake up early to create new products, and you think about what you can do better every free moment you have. You might even be neglecting other parts of your life–like your friends, family, and health–to get your business up and running.
I’ve been there.
The first six months of Blacksburg Belle felt extremely slow. I constantly compared myself to others. I wanted to be further ahead than I was and I wanted to be making more money.
Such a good reminder! It’s so easy to compare ourselves to others and wonder why we aren’t successful as them. I constantly have to remind myself that it takes time to grow a business, and those who seemingly did it overnight have been working at it for a long time.
YES! Whenever I talk to someone who I think has built her business really fast, I come to find out that it took much longer than it seemed from the outside.
This post reminds me of a quote I saw on pinterest… “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle”… so easy to fall into that trap. A great little pep post, thank you April!
Love that quote! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks April, this has to be your best video yet! x
Awwww…that makes my day! 🙂
Thank you so much April! This is exactly what I needed to hear 🙂
I’m so glad!
Loved this! Such good advice and just what I needed to hear today. Will be back for more!
Awesome! Can’t wait to see you back here!
Love that you are saying the real things!!
I try! 🙂
Spot on. And reminds me exactly of the quote Sophie listed in her comment. Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Always a fan of your content. But you didn’t become a success overnight? What? Rome wasn’t built in a day? Are you kidding me?!? Patience with myself and for my business is one area I need to make improvements. Thanks so much for this dose of reality.
Thanks Meghan! I lose patience easily when it comes to how fast I’m accomplishing things and I always have to remind myself of this!
Thanks April, you may think those words would be discouraging but it’s a nice reminder that we may be doing things right, but ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day!”
I needed to hear this! I’m such a procrastinator, and when things don’t happen quickly I get discouraged, even though I know it’s because I’ve procrastinated and didn’t try hard enough. I’m going to tackle my to do list right now! Thanks, girl.
Thanks for posting this video, April! It can be hard to hear that you haven’t earned it yet, but we can’t reach our goals unless we’re honest with ourselves. This makes me want to get out there and do the work that I know will lead to my success. Thanks for the motivation. 🙂
Ahh…are you talking to me, April??!!
This is totally me. Been blogging for 3 1/2 months and thought I would be much further along!!!!! But, you’re right, it takes loads of time and effort to build a successful business.
I’m raising my hand up high and saying yes, I am willing to work hard to make my goals come true!
Thanks for the kick in the rear end.
So great April. For every person who goes from zero to hero, there are 100 people who have been putting in the work. I find the balance can be hard between giving what you are trying a fair chance to work and when to decide its not working and trying something else. As the reigning Queen of Impatience, I’m surprised how relaxed I am about that. Well, most of the time….
My friend says “Don’t compare your everyday with someone else’s highlight reel”. Many people only share the good bits and leave out the sucky bits. And everyone’s timing will be different. Just because it happened quickly (or slowly) for someone else, doesn’t mean it will take the same amount of time for you. You will make 1000 different decisions. And everyone of them makes your business a choose your own adventure book. Each one sends you on a different path, a different adventure. And I’m discovering when you stop pushing so hard and fighting your way through, sometimes things work out the way you want them. Yep – sometimes you can be trying too hard.
Thank you April. I have been feeling very deflated and rather depressed today. Sometimes you just need someone to remind you of these things, perseverance is key. Having watched your video I now have a glimmer of optimism which I hope to harness in the morning with a good to do list.
Lots of wisdom to take on board this week April! Thanks for the pep talk. It definitely reminds me that I need to keep working on my jewellery skills, when it’s so easy to let the millions of tasks needed for the business side to take over.
So very true! Thanks for the great reminder! 🙂 xoxo
Thanks April, Nice episode. It is so true, success need a lot of work patience and personal development every day.
I experienced the same feelings when I opened my Etsy shop but then I realized that only with hard work things will change.
Fabulous point… no matter how much we try to speed things up… there’s a timeline involved that can’t be replaced. It’s like comparing years of experience to the newbie who might be best in class, but without the time in the field 🙂
It’s a hard pill to swallow, but I love that you come out and say it like it is!
Good advice. I’ll recommend you to other creative people I know, who are working hard to get where they want to be. I always get something from your talk of the week so I am sure they will too. Thank you.
You hit this so on the head for me. I don’t have others to compare (there are others out there but they are just not anything I want to compare myself too) to that are in my craft but I have really been in the dumps about my business. I moved and its as if I had to start all over. I had 3 years back where I moved from and had many customers. Now I moved and they don’t want me to ship the items. So I am having to get into learning how to market only on line as craft shows are not near the area we moved to. I am so glad you posted this and its the push I needed to get my butt in gear and move forward.