The Struggles of Entrepreneurship and Life: My Life Update

I thought I would do a bit of a life update today.

Life has gotten a little crazy. It's the end of July as I'm writing this and my husband is on strike. My daughter left for horseback riding camp for two weeks, and then came back from that. Now my husband is away for a week.

I'm single moming it, also working full-time taking care of the dog. My daughter's not in camp this week, so there's that. There's a lot going on. Many of you know my husband is an actor. He does a lot of voice work, but he also is in a television show called From. And... From is kind of a sci-fi, well, I don't know if it's sci-fi. It's like Stranger Things meets Twilight Zone meets Stephen King, okay? So if you're into that kind of thing, you will love the show From.

You can get it on Amazon, it's on MGM Plus in the States, in Canada, it's in Paramount Plus. In the UK, it's on a sci-fi network, I can't remember the name of it, Sky, I think it is. And so anyway, two seasons are up of From and season three has been Greenlit. We were very, very excited about that.

For the last two years, my husband has left for Halifax to shoot From. In the first year, he was gone for four months. Last year he was gone for five months. And he's supposed to be shooting right now. They were supposed to start shooting early to mid-July, but they're on strike. The writers are on strike and SAG-AFTRA is also on strike. So he is not working. And that is stressful.

It's stressful when you rely on income from your partner and then all of a sudden it just disappears. It's hard when a double income family all of a sudden is dealing with only one income. The other thing that's stressful is my resort, Anamaya in Costa Rica is having the slowest summer we've had since COVID. So, you know, that's concerning as well.

A lot of people are talking about a mini recession recently. It's like COVID hit, and then once we were able to travel again, everyone started traveling and doing all the things and visiting all the people and having the best time. And now it seems like we are taking a pause. We are taking a moment to reflect. We are taking a moment to breathe. We are taking a moment to just ground ourselves after the crazy couple of years that we've just been through. So now it seems like not as many people are traveling, so we're that impact the number of bookings at Anamaya.

I want to share a little bit about how hard things can be as an entrepreneur. Yesterday was the first day where I was working... EXTRA. I was working extra hours and maybe even a little "extra hard" because my husband is not working. I'm focusing to make sure that Anamaya is surviving because I have a staff of about 35 people. I want to make sure my coaching practice is on track. So I'm working FULL time. My daughter is no longer at camp, so she's here on her own. All of her friends are away. My husband left for the week. So I'm here, I'm working, I'm single mom-ing it, or at least I'm trying my best. My daughter is old enough to entertain herself to some extent, but I don't want to ignore her all day. I want to be involved and do things with her... but I'm also working.

And then our dog has to be taken out. And we could hire the dog walker, but do we really wanna spend the extra money when we don't know how long this strike is happening? (side note: unfortunately our daughter can't walk our dog because he so big and strong that one day he almost pulled her into oncoming traffic when he decided to go after a motorcycle). So there is a lot to juggle. All the things. And it can be hard. It IS hard. And I know that you ladies reading this also have a TON going on. You have a lot of responsibilities. You have a lot of plates that you're trying to keep spinning, a lot of balls in the air that you're trying to juggle. It's hard.

What's interesting is, entrepreneurship is hard without all of that going on. Right? The struggles we face as an entrepreneur, they're real. And there's a lot of highs, and there's a lot of lows in this journey of entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur can often be glamorized. With success stories and overnight sensations we see on Facebook and Instagram, and of course these sensations and these stories grab the headlines. But behind every success story are so many moments of hardship... so many moments of doubt... so many moments where you just feel like it's impossible.

So I want to dive into the real world of entrepreneurship and why it's essential to embrace the challenges and also to process the emotions that come up so we can continue to move forward. There's such a roller coaster of emotions that we go through and I think what can happen is the fear, the anxiety, the stress starts to bubble to the surface and we do things to AVOID feeling those feelings. Because we think, "I don't have time to feel those feelings. I got to get to work!" Can you relate? We think, "I got to make some money. I got to grow my business. I got to take care of things!" And so we tend to push all those feelings down, push them away. But here's the thing... We need to feel into those feelings in order to process them and come out stronger on the other side.  

And something else that is so important to mention... being an entrepreneur is NOT a linear path of constant progress.

I was talking to a client about this last night during our one-on-one session. Businesses will grow and then they'll plateau and then they might go down or they might go up and then they plateau again. The journey is not linear. It's a roller coaster ride. And it's a roller coaster ride in how your business is operating. It's also a roller coaster ride of emotions. with exhilarating highs and very daunting lows. And there will be days where you feel on top of the world... and you're witnessing your vision take shape and you feel unstoppable. And then there will be days where you question everything and you don't know if you're capable. And you might even question your purpose on this journey. Why am I even doing this to begin with? And because entrepreneurship can be riddled with uncertainty and risks, we find ourselves juggling multiple roles, wearing multiple hats of responsibility, navigating all the decisions that we need to make, and the pressure can feel overwhelming.

And then we'll doubt ourselves... especially during challenging times. For me right now, it has been challenging. It's challenging when everything slows down. We have a rental house. I have a resort in Costa Rica. My husband has his career. I have my coaching practice. We have properties in Costa Rica that are for sale. So typically, some of these areas might slow down... while other areas may be thriving. Maybe sometimes they're all doing really well, but right now everything is moving very slowly, or not at all.

My husband's can't work, but the strike is important. There's a very important reason why he's not working and chooses not to work, and it all has to be dealt with. The film and television industry has changed drastically over the past several years. There's a lot of discussion points on the table and a lot that they have to work through. So I understand how important the strike is for the writers and the actors, and I support my husband. AND I'm feeling the worry, the stress, and the uncertainty of it all.

And with Anamaya having its lowest summer since COVID, that's very frightening as well. Our rental house seems to be doing okay, but we had a very, very slow June. July and August seemed to be okay. And with September and October, we'll see. Those are the slowest months of the year in Costa Rica. And if there are not a lot of people are traveling, then we will feel the impact.

So do I lie awake at night? Does my brain spin and stress and keep me up by thinking, and thinking, and thinking? Yes, 100%. It happens. I have a coaches and support.  I meditate. I have my friends. I work out. I journal. I do breath work. I do energy work. I do all the things to try and just really keep my health and wellness in check in terms of my anxiety levels and my stress, but it still has an impact.

I think one of the biggest lessons that I've had to learn is to take my own advice of feeling into the feelings. When the fear comes up it's important to feel into that fear because I have a tendency to want to WORK. I use work sometimes as a buffer. I can use work to press down those feelings, and ignore or numb fear. But really, I just need to feel into it. I need to feel into it in order to process it and then move forward. And look, the fear of failure is real. It's something that we all face. It's common to worry about the time that we pour into our businesses and the energy that we pour into our businesses and the money and the resources... and we fear it might not succeed. And that can be paralyzing.

That is the fear that I'm talking about. If we don't feel into it, or if we numb it with wine or a bag of chips or with work or we just push it down and just pretend it's not there... that will actually keep us stuck. The additional efforting is not going to help us in any way. It's going to keep us stuck. I can tell you that each setback provides an opportunity to learn and to adapt and become stronger and that is 100% true. That is 100% accurate. However, I think it's also important to understand that entrepreneurship is hard. It just is. If we can't embrace failure as a teacher... then it can't guide us. 

Learning the lessons of your hardships will improve your strategic decision making skills, and ultimately set your business up for success. It really can, but you have to process the feelings of fear first. I'm a firm believer that during a down economy is when you can set your business up for massive success. We opened Anamaya after the crash of 2008 and we've survived a pandemic... So there were things that we had to look at as "in our control" or "out of our control" and make decisions based on that. 

So if you find yourself struggling, or questioning your path, or feeling overwhelmed, just take a step back and allow yourself to process how you're feeling. Don't give up. Seek support from mentors. Follow other women entrepreneurs. Hire a coach. Sign up to My Mastermind. My Mastermind is a fantastic space for you to feel safe and for you to feel like you are on the right path with growing your business. And the best part is that it is incredibly affordable. It's the most affordable Business Mastermind for women. If you're a women wellness entrepreneur this Mastermind is a no-brainer, You'll be surrounding yourself with a supportive network who can uplift you, encourage you during these challenging times, help you to process that fear that I'm talking about, but then also set you on the path to grow your business. Being a member of this group is about setting yourself up for success, and not letting the external circumstances interfere with how you pivot. It will help you to become the CEO of your business and truly an unstoppable entrepreneur. 

I want to emphasize that it's okay to find entrepreneurship hard because that's how it's set up. It's okay to face difficulties. It's okay to have these doubts. It's okay to have moments of despair. Allow yourself those moments of despair. Allow yourself to feel into that despair. That's going to get you on the other side of it. The path isn't meant to be easy, truly. It's not meant to be easy at every moment, and how hard it is will shift. It won't be the same kind of hard throughout the entire journey, and your journey will be unique. You can't compare your journey to others. As hard as it is, comparing yourself to others is fruitless. Everyone's path is different and success will come at your own pace. Don't let the fear of failure or this myth of overnight success stop you from pursuing your dreams.

You're not doing it wrong. You're learning. You're adapting. You're growing. Trust in your vision, trust in your why. Why did you create your business in the first place? Always go back to your why. Your why is the most powerful force when you are feeling a lot of self doubt. Trust in your abilities and have patience with yourself. Have patience with your business. It's your baby.

And then remember to CELEBRATE even the tiniest little victory along the way. That is going to help your brain see the evidence that it's working. I know it's hard, but you'll get through this. If you need help, reach out to me. You can book a free call with me. We can talk about what you're struggling with, and I can help you brainstorm different options to pivot and keep the wheels rolling forward. We can, we can work out a strategy so that you don't end up completely stuck. 

And I encourage you to join my mastermind. Ladies, if you have not joined my mastermind and you are a wellness entrepreneur, it is time you join my mastermind.

It is ridiculously affordable. It is pretty much the exact same amount that you would spend on a girl's night out for ONE night. and you get multiple trainings every single week. You get three years of recorded trainings, workshops and guest speakers at your fingertips. You get the support of an amazing group of women who are also working towards building their wellness businesses. They're working towards growing a business that allows them to serve people while doing what they love AND provides them with a sustainable income. 

We can't do this on our own. We can't. That's why surrounding yourself with a supportive network is key. It's the most important thing I've done as an entrepreneur over the past 20 years of being an entrepreneur. I've surrounded myself with people who have helped me, who have supported me, who have guided me, who have offered advice, and who have just held space for me when I was going through the muck. And truthfully, I feel like I'm in the muck again.And that's okay, because I know I'll get it all down the other side.

I've been in the muck before many, many times. Is it fun? No. But it's not going to stop me from growing my business. Because I believe the world will be a better place with every women I help step into their role as a confident leader and become an unstoppable entrepreneur. I know the domino effect of that is massive. More women need to be making more money doing what they love to do. That's my why. So even when I'm in the muck, my why is more important. That why, that vision, that reason why I wake up in the morning is more important than being in the muck. And I'll get myself out of it and I'll wash myself off and I'll continue. 

Entrepreneurship is hard, my friends. but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to stop us from pursuing our dreams and making them a reality. You will figure it out. And if you need my help, reach out to me.