How to persevere as a solopreneur

Last month, I announced my new baby to the world, to the sound of…silence.  Immediately, my months of hard work spent designing and developing a workshop to support wedding and portrait photographers in identifying their unique vision and manifesting a differentiated style and brand seemed fruitless. As a friend said when we talked about it, “Kinda makes you want to pack up all of your toys and go home, doesn’t it?” Yep, I was right there.

Then I realized something. We all occasionally feel like no one cares about us or what we’re doing. And let’s be honest, often they don’t. We’re as guilty of getting wrapped up in our own lives and failing to pay attention to what friends and family are doing, much less what’s going on outside our inner circle, as everyone else.

And when you’re one little ol’ person trying to change an industry, as I am, the message can be even harder to get out there. As Mahatma Gandhi said:

First they ignore you,
then they ridicule you,
then they fight you,
then you win.

Yikes, so that means I’m just on the first step of this journey?! I still have ridicule and fighting to go. Ok, then…

…I guess the question is, “How do we persevere?”

Realize that you’re not alone in feeling this way. We all feel unsupported sometimes. And we feel alone in our aloneness, as if everyone else has endless support and we’re the only ones struggling. But that’s just not true. I remember looking at the popular people back in high school and thinking that their lives were perfect. And then I dug deeper. I listened to their stories of being ignored by their parents or dealing with eating disorders. I realized that no one’s life is perfect; everyone suffers. Thank goodness suffering, like everything else in life, is impermanent. “Tomorrow is another day,” as Scarlett O’Hara said.

Understand that entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, and that you will have to be strong to survive. As a solopreneur, you are the captain of your ship (and the first mate, the deckhand, the cook and the galley washer). Friends and family may be supportive, but often they won’t understand exactly what you’re going through, having never embarked on a similar path. Some may even appear unsupportive because they want to protect you from being hurt or to preserve the status quo. We each have to decide if our goal is worth the struggle, and remember our decision when times get tough. (Darn it, and just like that, I’m singing that old Billy Ocean song in my head.) Anyway…

Remember that almost nothing important and meaningful comes easily. This is a hard one for me to remember because, when I look back at other things I’ve accomplished in my life, I see them as easy and enjoyable. My husband assures me that is rose-colored reality, a remembrance of how wonderful being in the flow felt when I loved what I was doing, even when the work was challenging. Which brings me to…

Try to stay in the flow by doing things your way vs. how you think you should do them. A lot of people have a lot of advice on how things should be done if you want to be successful, but their success has little to do with yours. If something doesn’t feel good and keep you in the zone, then you might need to try a new approach.

Ask yourself if you want it [whatever it is] badly enough to keep going. Runners I know tell me that everyone hits a wall during a race — a time when they’re tired and want to quit — and they have to choose what’s more important, the immediate gratification of rest or the long-term satisfaction of achievement. We, too, must weigh the perceived value of winning our ultimate prize against the pain of our past and present. And don’t forget to…

Acknowledge the support you are already receiving. It can be easy to focus on the negative: the requests for assistance that go unanswered, the blog posts that get no comments, the subscriber list that seems stuck at 12 or 34 or 104. So we must consciously look for the positives. “Where have I received support or encouragement recently?,” we must ask.

Has my website traffic gone up? Yep, it’s increased 300% since last month! Have my friends posted on Facebook or Twitter about me? Yes! And two friends took the whole workshop as I was creating it, gave me amazingly positive feedback and also some good advice to make it even better next time. So, life’s actually pretty good, isn’t it? Yes, I think it is.

What about for you?

Cheers,