Last Friday our family received a huge shock.
My nephew and his wife were in a car accident. A reckless driver hit them. My niece broke her ankle in two places.
It feels like every time we start to make progress, the devil beats us up. In this case, his scheme might very well been to take my family completely out!
But thank God they are okay.
Now, dealing with this latest twist is not easy for any of us. It presents a ton of challenges.
- Dealing with insurance companies.
- Finding a new car (my family has already been looking for a new truck as our SUV broke down last month so now neither of our families has a car right now!).
- My niece having to put her jewelry selling on hold.
And that’s just scratching the surface.
Sometimes it’s enough to make me want to give up.
Because life as an entrepreneur is not always easy. In fact, from my experience it’s like swimming upstream. Sometimes it is downright hard, especially when there are so many duties and responsibilities and needs that need to be balanced and juggled. And in our family’s case, overwhelming burdens that not many can or are willing to help with.
Sometimes I feel that it is like pulling teeth. As a matter of fact, years ago when my nephew and his wife moved up to the Springs to work with us I DID have to have a tooth pulled. So when that picture came to my mind just now as I was writing this article, I can attest to the truth of that statement!
Often it is two steps forward and three steps back. That’s certainly been the case for us last week! Then you throw in running a household and homeschooling a special needs son like I do (or whatever your circumstance), it becomes all incredibly overwhelming.
Like riding on a merry-go-round or running on a treadmill endlessly.
Will there ever be a day when your hopes and grand dreams as an entrepreneur are realized? Will circumstances ever change? Is there any hope? Why not throw in the towel now and forget it?
But before you do, ask these questions:
1) What is your life and business about? Living a great life or loving a great God? (From “Freedom From Emotional Eating” by Barb Raveling)
2) Why did you get into business in the first place?
3) Do you need to pull back and rebuild?
4) What Is working? What is not working?
5) What is God trying to teach you through this difficult time? Where is He in the midst of it and what is He saying to you?
6) Do you have a strategic marketing plan or are you just throwing promotions at the wall, hoping they will stick?
7) Are you communicating your value to your target market?
8) Do you even HAVE a target market?
9) Do you need to gain more skills or knowledge?
10) Is fear holding you back?
11) Do you believe that what you have to offer has value? Is there a feeling that you do not have value so is this self-doubt sabotaging your efforts?
12) Do you have clear branding?
13) Do you need help? Are you trying to carry the load all by yourself?
14) What is God calling you to do?
15) What is the next action step that you can do?
So when you are in that lonely place as a business owner—of crushing defeat which leads you to want to give up—truly contemplate the answers to these questions. You might just find that taking action on some of these questions will be just the thing you need to get off that treadmill of hopelessness caused by little progress.
And then you will find branding and entrepreneurial and LIFE success!
Wreck photo by Sam Beasley
Cover photo by Adobe Stock
Buried alive but not broken
By Sergey Nivens
