Conquering My Business Anxiety
Your fear of business may have started in childhood. As an “entrepreneur therapist” and coach, I often ask my clients, “Who taught you about entrepreneurship?”
My reality growing up was seeing people that looked like me, struggling, surviving, going to a 9–5, living paycheck to paycheck. There were no business owners in my circle, that looked like me “Black American West Indian”.
My parents and I were immigrants from St.Vincent and the Grenadines. Early 1980’s, we migrated to Brooklyn, New York, pursuing “The American Dream”. My parents were hard-working city workers, with a plan to retire with a good pension. Even though they made a good life, I wanted to explore something more.
The closest example of an entrepreneur, that looked like me, was a Mom on a weekly sitcom. She was an attorney and her husband was a doctor. I thought maybe, someday, that could be me.
But I thought, “Who am I, to think, I can successfully run a business?” (Maybe you’ve thought something similar too).
In my 20’s I tried to follow in my parents' footsteps and pursue a traditional 9–5. Eventually, in my 30s, I decided to step out on faith and conquer my calling to be an entrepreneur, without the slightest clue, of how.
First, there was excitement
In 2014, I was laid off from a therapist job, that I thought was secure. It wasn’t my first rodeo, I was laid off from a great job in a law firm, during the recession of 2008. Hold on, this gets better.
In 2008, getting laid off helped me change my career. This time, I wasn’t too sad either, when I got laid off, I was relieved and excited!
I declared, “From now on, no one but me is in control of my coins.” Meaning, that I should never just depend on income from a job. I decided, that there is no job security, so I might as well try entrepreneurship.
I purchased a journal at a dollar store, with a cover that read “She believed she could, so she did!” I wrote down my plans to start an online therapy and coaching business. I wrote all the steps towards each goal.
I attended all the free entrepreneurship programs offered in New York City. I watched every free webinar, and YouTube video, read books, and downloaded all the freebies. I studied famous coaches, Les Brown, Lisa Nichols, Shanel Cooper Sykes, and Valorie Burton.
I studied as much about business as I could on my own. I incorporated my business in 2015! I was excited to finally be paid my worth and help people change their lives.
Then there was “business anxiety” (and life)
I was always a great employee, and never had issues excelling in my jobs, but when it came to my own business, something awful happened. It was terrifying and overwhelming. Not only was business scary, but my personal life was falling apart. Can you relate?
My heart pounded when it was time to promote my business. My stomach was flip-flopping when I thought about selling. I worried about making mistakes all the time and stayed up at night trying to figure things out. I recognized this as “business anxiety”, not an actual mental health disorder, but enough to sabotage my business functioning.
I had the website, the social media, business cards, and more business cards, and still, Nothing happened. I didn’t make any money. No potential clients. I also didn’t get the support and excitement from my family and friends, I hoped I would.
At night, I’d cry in the shower, at the thought of being trapped in a job, which made me depressed again. But I was a single mom, so I had to make sh*t happen, so I can take care of myself and my daughter. I prayed to God, for a breakthrough.
Don’t Fake It, Til You Make It!
There’s so much you don’t know about business. You know that old saying, “Fake it til, you make it.” Faking it, only feeds impostor syndrome, so that doesn’t work for me (and it shouldn’t for you).
There are so many questions. “How will I afford this? What should I offer? Who can I offer it to? Will they pay me?”
“ Female-owned small businesses tend to have less cash and a smaller network to leverage in times of trouble. SBOs tend to have fewer employees and are likelier to be self- or family-funded rather than bank-financed.”1
My fears were all valid. But what if? It does work.
What if I could actually figure out entrepreneurship without losing my entire mind? Because mental health in business is the most important.
Eventually, I gave into the things I was too afraid to do, to conquer my fear in business.
So, What was the antidote for my anxiety?
Action, is the antidote for anxiety (and a lot of faith).
Taking small, intentional, income-producing actions every single day.
It’s in the exposure, that you learn your talents and strengths.
I no longer let “business anxiety” control my thoughts and feelings.
The best way to describe how I feel now is, “I’m so “Anxcited”!
I invested in business coaching, groups, courses, masterminds, conferences, and retreats.
The first business retreat, I attended was phenomenal. So much, so that I eventually ended up speaking on the stage in the following year with two major coaches in the business industry. And I was TERRIFIED of public speaking. That’s how inspired I was.
Circa 2018, Speaking at a Business Conference, New Orleans, USA
I fell in love with the experience of developing my business, while making business friends and continuing to attend conferences every year. Sometimes as a speaker.
Personal and business development are now part of my business budget. This is what business credit, grants, and loans are for. You’ll make the money back when you implement, what you learned.
So don’t fake it, invest, learn, grow and
Faith it, til you make it!
It might sound mystical if you’re not spiritual, but I focused on letting God guide my business and use me to reach the clients and businesses, who need my help most.
I knew as long as I do my part, God will do the rest.
In the words of rapper Drake, “Gods’ Plan.”
Conquer Prompts For Your Business Journal:
What did you learn about entrepreneurship when you were growing up?
What are your fears in business?
What is your daily motivation as a business owner?
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Hey, I’m Seneca Williams, LMHC, “entrepreneur therapist”, coach, speaker, and trainer. I help online entrepreneurs conquer their business anxiety and manage business burnout, so they can feel less overwhelmed and mentally stronger for business.
Click Here To Join the conquer list for support with business anxiety.
I started The Conquer Network for service-based entrepreneurs, to grow “mental wealth” and business.
Join the free group in the www.theconquernetwork.com
Source:
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/311333/stress-worry-rise-small-business-owners-particularly-women.aspx
