An Open Letter to The Mums in Business Who are Failing

I know it feels like you’ve taken a big risk and the threat of failure is looming, but here is the thing…

It is your choice, whether you fail or succeed.

You decide it. No one or nothing else.

That is because…The only way you will fail is if you give up.

So, I am going to cut the mustard with you about business so you don’t fall at the first hurdles like a lot of people do…

There will be hard days where you feel like throwing your computer out the window and walking away.

There will be days where you daydream about having a super easy job at Aldi being a checkout chick and getting a weekly pay packet.

There will be days you don’t get anything done because the kids are sick, or worse your husband is sick and they are all just constantly buzzing around in your hair.

There will be days where your life / mum / wife / balance is out of alignment.

There will be days where the gravity of everything has you trying not to suffocate on the air you are so rapidly breathing in.

There will be days no one replies to your social media posts and you are feeling like you are out there all alone, even worse still, making a dick of yourself.

There will be days where you eff up and make little and big mistakes.

There will be all kinds of days.

But these are not days to give up on.

These are days to learn from.

Grow from, get stronger from.

On these days, take a step outside, breath in and out slowly and mind yourself why you are here and why you started a business in the first place.

For the winners in business, are not the smartest, strongest or prettiest.

They are the ones who rise from the ashes of a day which was burnt down to the ground and whisper to themselves ‘tomorrow, I will try again.’

Here are my tips to get through those days:

1. Follow the experts

If you are struggling with a certain aspect of your business find and follow someone who is doing it already. Watch and learn what they are doing, how they are doing it and replicate it over to your own business.

I love Pat Flynn, Amy Porterfield, Jack Delosa, Gary Vee at the moment for this.

2. Get the right mindset

When I am feeling lost, down or unsure I fix my mindset first. I watch inspirational stuff on Youtube and follow thought leaders like Oprah, Gabby Bernstein, Sarah Prout and Louise Hay. 

3. Prioritise sleep and rest

When I am in a funk I try to resist the urge to push through as it means I am not working at my most creative or productive and this is really where the magic of business happens.

So, instead, I get an early night and snuggle up and watch Netflix with my husband to give my mind a rest. This means I can wake up in the morning with a fresh mind ready to kick arse. Sure, with two kids I don’t always get an unbroken sleep but set the intention and work with what you get from it.

4. Fake it until you make it

On these days our confidence usually takes a blow, and on occasion, I have caught my thoughts being really mean and nasty to myself. I catch myself saying things like ‘you are never going to make it’ or ‘you just aren’t good enough’ or ‘what the eff are you even doing?’

So, when I cotton on to my negative thought process, I take myself above these thoughts, almost as I am looking down at them and I action a mantra to replace them. It is usually something like ‘I am an extremely successful business women’ or ‘I know I am successful and the universe is showing me the way’

The key is to believe it, feel it, visualise it and it will unfold.

5. Practice gratitude

You can look at these days in two different ways, either you can try and block them and move on from them as quickly as possible or you can be grateful for the lesson they are teaching you.

Once you train yourself to honour these hard days and say thank you for them, you will realise that business ebbs and flows and the real key to being successful is seeing these hard times as a sign which is pointing you into the direction you need to go.

6. Join a like-minded community

Being able to chat / vent / to another business mum who can relate is a sure fire way to validate that these days in business are normal, and it is not you! We all go through them.

Some supportive communities I know of are:

Mums with Hustle
Business Chicks
Business in Heels
Smart Women Connect
League of Extraordinary Women
Secret Bloggers Business

7. Embrace change

Deciding to change your business module or start a new type of business is not a failure. But, seeing it as only a waste of time and money is. Instead of looking at it from the perspective of all is wasted and gone, look at it as an investment of time and money into your life education.

It is only classed as a failure if you do not use that experience and convert it into energy to learn and grow from.

Identify what worked, what didn’t, what you liked and what you hated. Use that information as fuel to create your next project and/or venture.

And remember, working out what you don’t want to do, is one step closer to working out what you do want to do.

Move through these hard days with the least amount of resistance and you will find…

Your business will start to reward you for your determination and courage. 

Your business will reward you with the freedom to sign off and spend time with your children whenever you like.Your business will reward you with a flow of sales that come in while you are sleeping.Your business will provide you a life with freedom and profit so you can live the life you want to live.

Your business will surprise and delight you into a life you never could have dreamed would be so amazing.

So, you see….

The only way you can fail is if you decide to see it is a failure.

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