How To Not Feel Lonely In Your Business
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Have you felt lonely since starting your business?
This is a subject that keeps coming up for people at the moment.
Entrepreneurs really struggling with feeling lonely, isolated, like they don’t have a support network, someone to turn to or someone to just chat to that can relate to what they’re going through.
Doing things differently
It’s also actually partly one of the big reasons that I gave up on my first business.
And a HUGE reason I’ve done everything very differently this time.
As I’m preparing to go to a huge 3 day conference FULL of other like minded entrepreneurs It’s got me thinking.
Yes, it can be lonely if you’re working on your own all day but I NEVER feel it. Ever. I have an amazing network of people around me and that’s through my own community, paid communities, networking and making sure I attend the right events. I’ve always got someone to turn to and I genuinely have made life long friends who are my biz besties.
I really, truly believe that this has been the best thing I could have done and the best way I could have built my business so I’m going to share with you a few of my tips so you don’t have to go through the same thing I did with my first business where it ended up turning a dream and a passion into a very lonely chore.
The thing is you can be lonely even when you’re surrounded by people.
The first thing I want you to know is, you are NOT alone in this. It’s really VERY common BUT there are lots of ways to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.
Why do entrepreneurs feel so lonely
There are several reasons that we can feel lonely as a business owner.
One is literally just that you are on your own...all..the...time. It’s a huge change if you’re used to being part of a team or in a bigger company, there’s always someone to go talk to. Always a water cooler nearby to gossip at ;-) so when all of a sudden you don’t get those natural ‘breaks’ in the day you can start to feel quite isolated.
One is that you don’t have a support network of people who ‘get’ where you’re at and what you’re going through. This can make the journey feel SO much harder than it needs to be. You’re the sum total of the 5 people you spend most of your time with and if none of those people are encouraging you, lifting you up, giving you feedback and supporting you in your business it can again, feel really isolating. Feedback is something we always have in a corporate job and then all of a sudden you have none and the self doubt starts to creep in and you feel very ‘on your own’
You don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off or ask their opinion like you would in a corporate job so you can feel like you’re totally alone and shouting into the abyss. Not fun right?!
The negative thoughts and feelings can really creep in when you’re only having an internal dialogue with yourself.
BUT it really doesn’t have to be that way and if you’ve been feeling it too it can change from literally this moment right now!
A few ways to make sure you’re not lonely
Find a community of people who are in your position, just like the positive pants community (which is of course mine ha!). A place that you can turn to when you’re having a wobble and know that other people understand and ‘get it’ and that you’re not alone.
I absolutely find that paid for communities create an even deeper bond and support like i’ve seen in my Proactive Pants Mastermind and the paid communities that I’m in too. It’s a place where you can go and KNOW you’re 100% supported and can quickly get through any of the wobbles and know someone will be there with advice, the answer or a big old virtual hug! There’s even the option of remote co-working with people over something like Zoom where it’s as if you’re in the same room together. Just stop for a minute and have a coffee with someone like you would in a job. You’re the boss now, you get to do that whenever you want!
Research networking events in your area. Eventbrite and meetup.com are great resources for this. I know a lot of you are introverts and feel your skin shudder at the thought BUT I want you to remember how often i’m teaching and telling you to get outside your comfort zone and this is one of those moments. If you’re in a community you may be able to find someone to go with you too. Push yourself, you won’t regret it!
My entire 2018 strategy was to go to as many events as I could and meet as many people as I could and let me tell you it’s a game changer!!
Research co-working spaces in your area. If you’re in the sticks this may not be available but you can still do the virtual co working I mentioned before. If you’re in a busy town or city you will find with a quick Google search that there are a wealth of places you can go.
You can create your OWN community or start your own networking events on your own turf!
Hire a coach or mentor! Not only will you consistently be on track and get where you want to go more quickly but you will always know you have someone to turn to (depending on the Coach’s offer and how much access you get ha!)
Remember community and collaboration over competition is so much more powerful. When you build a network not only will you feel less lonely but your business will only benefit in a positive way. You can find clients, collaborators, people who will recommend you to others. It’s a win win for everyone.
Don’t forget to make sure you schedule in time with the people that matter the most to you too. You didn’t get into this so you would stop seeing friends and family, that’s the important stuff in life and something that should be prioritised. If you’re silently saying you don’t have time then you need to read this asap.
Just please understand that when you’re feeling down or feeling on your own, reach out. You do NOT have to feel on your own. Find your people because they’re out there waiting for you!
If you know that now is the time to start changing things for yourself and want to explore this further, have any questions or want some accountability to make sure you’re doing the things you need to then please book in a free discovery call so we can see what needs to happen to get you from where you’re at right now, to the successful business owner you know you can be!! All the details are in the link below.
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