It takes guts to quit your job to start your own business. When you have a clear vision, it’s easier to make that decision. Here are my 3 biggest challenges in entrepreneurship thus far. You might be surprised with the main one!
Let me start by saying I’m only a few months into my entrepreneurship journey. In my last post, I wrote about why I chose to become a Latina life coach (and blogger) so in this one, I’m going to share my experience starting my business thus far since quitting my 9-5 job a few months ago. These are my personal 3 biggest challenges so far. Finally, I don’t need to say this but I will lol, everyone is different. We all have different perceptions of what is challenging or not. You might not understand mine and that’s okay…or you might relate!
The beginning
When I made the decision to walk away from my 9-5, I knew entrepreneurship would be challenging. I had spent about a year or so listening to podcasts and following other female entrepreneurs on social media so I was familiar with their experiences taking the leap. Also, I have witnessed my father start and evolve his business over the past 20 years so I felt mentally ready to step into this new role myself.
Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone was what I kept hearing. I had heard of the stats of businesses that actually succeed after their first year or 5 years, etc. Because of that, I was prepared to put in the time, energy and work to grow my business. One of the things I was prepared to do was “put myself out there” on social media despite being super private and “shy” prior to starting my business. I thought my biggest challenge was going to be showing my face on Instagram but I was wrong.
Comparison
One of my 3 biggest challenges in entrepreneurship so far has been comparison. I have a vivid and clear vision of what my business is going to look like. I know who I want to serve and in what capacity. My business has its own spirit that communicates with me. It has a life of its own and I was the chosen one to birth it, which is an honor. This is all bigger than me.
Because of all that, I tend to get frustrated with where I’m currently at, which is the beginning haha. I tend to look at other badass Latina entrepreneurs doing the damn thing and start feeling down about my current state. One of the things that helps me though, is the phrase I heard somewhere which is: “you can’t compare your chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter 20.”
I overcome this comparison hurdle by:
- Self-coaching -Questioning my thoughts and replacing them with more self-serving ones usually through journaling or meditating
- EFT tapping -Finding a YouTube video on mindset work to follow along
- Using affirmations -Setting a 5 minute timer on my phone and saying as many empowering positive affirmations I can think of to get back into alignment
This is a process and with time, I become aware of this challenge more quickly which is awesome because I can work through it and move on. I have to remind myself that the Universe has my back and everything happens in divine timing.
Perfectionism
The second of my 3 biggest challenges in entrepreneurship I’ve faced is perfecting everything. Fun fact: I actually wanted to start this blog in July 2021. Impostor syndrome and perfectionism got the best of me and I didn’t create this website until October 2021. Then I began to overthink everything and it wasn’t until I hired an accountability coach that helped me finally publish my first blog post the following month.
In the beginning perfectionism prevented me from starting. I didn’t want to even create siempre.evolving’s Instagram page until I felt “ready.” I would spend hours trying to fix this website and then find things wrong with it which would take me back to square one. But with time, I’ve learned to just take action even if things aren’t perfect.
It still creeps up on me whenever I want to do something new *cough* IG live *cough* but I have trust in myself and know I’ll get tired of my own sh*t lol and just take the action like I have been.
RESTING
I saved my biggest challenge for last. OMG I had no idea how difficult this one would be. As a child of immigrants, resting wasn’t something I grew up seeing. My parents are literally the hardest working people I’ve ever met in my entire life. Most of my relatives are hard-workers too, which was what I grew up witnessing. There was so much stigma around napping or resting in my household. It was viewed as being “lazy” or not being “productive.”
The conditioning was REAL and I wasn’t aware of the extent of it until I quit my 9-5. Which reminds me, I should mention that I never stayed at the same job for more than 3 years due to burnout. Somehow I’d end up getting overworked (and underpaid) in all of the jobs I’ve had. At the time, my biggest talent or skill was “multi-tasking” and I was so proud of it back then. Somehow I’d end up with more tasks because I was able to handle doing a lot at the same time. This was the thing my employers loved about me the most.
The first week
The first week after quitting my 9-5 was one of the hardest weeks I’ve had in a while. I’m sure you can imagine the mental drama going on knowing this was it. I had my plan laid out of everything I was going to do in time blocks in my handy planner lol. I felt like I needed to get to work ASAP as if someone was overseeing me.
Well, for some reason my body basically gave out on me that first Monday and Tuesday. It was almost as if I needed to recover from years of overstimulating my brain and body. It was the weirdest thing. The desire to begin creating and learning was there but my body felt overwhelmingly exhausted to the point I NEEDED to sleep. The worst part was the self guilt that came with me napping. It was crazy. I was fighting with myself!
Current status
To be honest, I still struggle with this challenge since I am my own boss and spend my days on my own. It makes sense though being that I’m in my 30’s and I’m reconditioning my beliefs and thoughts on resting. I know that I want to have a “flowy” relationship with my business and build that self-trust to create when I feel led to but I’m still working on that. I’ll have to keep you posted on this one because unfortunately this one is still a work in progress. I’m sure I’m not the only one that faces this as one of their challenges in entrepreneurship.
I still feel guilty whenever I feel tired during the day. So much so that I don’t nap during the day. I’ve barely allowed myself to “sleep in” on days I feel extra tired. I still follow a rigid schedule I’ve imposed on myself such as a strict morning routine. Right now, these things seem to be working for me for the time being but I plan on changing my ways knowing “the less I do, the more money I’ll make.” If that is possible for others, it is possible for me too.
Final thoughts
Now you know my 3 biggest challenges in entrepreneurship thus far. I hear it can be a roller coaster of emotions and honestly, since I’ve mentally prepared myself for it, I don’t feel as blindsided as others might’ve experienced. I know that I was born to do this. It was what was missing in my life up until this point. So I’m excited to be on this journey, I love this chapter of my life and I’m embracing it all. Obviously, challenges will continue to arise since this is all new to me but I trust I am where I need to be and will always find the answers.
Let’s work together!
- If you’re really ready to create the life you want
- If you want to increase your happiness and feel more confident in who you are
- If you want to trust yourself more and live on purpose
I can help you! Schedule your clarity call to work with me HERE and follow me on Instagram!
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