I remember the day I threw my hands in the air and announced to my family that I quit! That I give up and I was closing the doors to Sweet Spot Marketing. I had been working double time and barely making ends-meat. Here I was, a single parent trying to support my daughter on a solo income as there was no child support being received at the time, and it seemed the harder I worked in all aspects of my life, the further push-back I received.
I was tired, fed up and emotionally drained. While I had a few clients here and there to pay the basic bills, it wasn't quite enough to cover everything, and definitely not enough to financially sustain a long-term future. After going through this lull for a few months, I was ready to throw in the towel and start the search for a 9-5 job.
I thought my family would be relieved because they had watched me struggle. We are a very tight-nit family and we are always there to support one another through thick-and-thin. So when I announced at the supper table that I had made the decision to close the doors to Sweet Spot Marketing to start looking for full-time work, to my amazement my parents said to not give up and to persevere because success was just around the corner.
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| NANCY & GREGG GUPTILL |
You see, my parents are my life coaches and mentors, and I would often share with them the different opportunities I was working on, with discretion of course. They must have sensed that some of the opportunities were near closing because they highlighted specific ones. Oh I remember getting upset with them to suggest I keep going when I just couldn't wait any longer. I remember breaking down and crying saying I couldn't do it anymore that I felt like a complete failure, that the end of month bills were coming and I was out of money. I had reached my breaking point. However, in that moment, both of my parents looked me straight in the eye and asked me to reconsider. In their typical loving yet firm manner, they asked for me to sit down and listen to them, so I did just that.
My parents took turns going over the great work that had been accomplished in growing my business. They presented all of the things that were going right, and highlighted a few lucrative business opportunities that from their perspective were ready to blossom. They asked me to give myself a few days to self-reflect and to clear my head. They also asked me to give myself just a little more time before closing the doors and suggested holding off on making a final decision in two-to-three months time.
Somewhere in the midst of all the mixed emotions I was feeling, something clicked. I realized if my parents have this much faith and belief in me, I must be able to muster up a mustard seed of hope for myself and to put my faith and trust in God to let Him lead, while I let go of the reigns in trying to steer my own destiny. I had a paradigm shift in my thinking, and I made a commitment to my parents that I would hold on just a little bit longer.
Thankfully I had made the right decision at the insistence, encouragement and support of my parents. Within less than a month, two of the opportunities did blossom, changing the direction of my business forever.
I learned a very valuable lesson through that experience. When the world feels like it is closing in around you and you feel like everything in your life is about to come tumbling down, it is important to stop and put things in proper perspective and to realize this is just a moment in time. Before making any firm decisions, reach out to someone you trust who you know has your best interest at heart. When we isolate ourselves and carry the burden alone, we are stuck with only the thoughts that are going through our own minds, of which may not be a full and accurate picture of the reality of the situation. In my case, I am fortunate to have family members I can confide in. For others, it may mean reaching out to someone within your circle of friends, even within your professional network.
If you have nobody to confide in, I would like to extend my hand to you. There is always more room at my table to help others. I invite you to Private Message me through my Sweet Spot Academy Facebook Page. Head on over to the page and send a private in-box message or feel free to post publicly on the wall if you prefer. I will respond to your message within 72 hours of receiving it.
Meanwhile, for those of you facing a difficult time, I hope this post gives you a bit of encouragement to hang in there. Being an entrepreneur and running a small business is not for the faint at heart. We are going to face ups and downs in our business. It's at those times we have to stop and remember why we launched in the first place.
To all of you who are reading this blog post, I invite you to head on over to my Facebook Page and share how you will help support, encourage and inspire others today. What are some of the things that you do to lift-up, build-up and cheer-up others in their time of need.
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NANCY BETH is President & Executive Consultant at Sweet Spot Academy.
At Sweet Spot Academy, we solve and simplify "HOW" to keep your business moving forward by offering a suite of know-how based business training and empowerment programs. We focus on small group workshops and customized training programs.
Our customized business growth and skills training programs provide the inspiration, motivation and strategic KNOW-HOW knowledge that helps you and your staff confidently implement your business development growth plans.
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