This week marks exactly two years since I became an entrepreneur, how quickly that went! Where I once started painting as a form of therapy for my PTSD, I'm now suddenly an entrepreneur (and thankfully, I still paint lovely things for myself). Two years summarized in four lessons, or experiences...
more1 Facing your pitfalls
Yep... I really hit a wall. The first time I placed an order in the webshop, I lay awake all night stressed. I was so nervous: 'What if it doesn't arrive? What if they don't like it? What if I get complaints? What if I don't feel well and still have to ship an order?' It was one of my pitfalls: "what if thinking"—things that don't happen at all and probably won't happen, but that still cause me a lot of stress (for nothing, of course). If I wanted to continue with my creative business, I had to work on this pitfall!
Two years later, I'm much more assertive (I decide when I answer my emails, pack packages, and answer DMs... I don't let myself be rushed anymore), I've made a huge development in my mindset (I work 'one day at a time' or at most 'one week at a time', I often say no to things (=yes to yourself), and I fully embrace 'we'll see when the time comes'!).
In short: if you become an entrepreneur, you'll get to know yourself. If you're passionate about your business, you'll learn so much, face your fears, and grow as a person! I wouldn't want it any other way!
2 Practice with pressure
One more thing about feeling pressure. I'm quite allergic to it. I don't want social pressure, customer pressure, and especially no pressure from social media. But unfortunately, pressure is just there. You can't let orders sit for two weeks, you can let emails sit for a week, but longer gets difficult, and social media is just a part of it.
In the beginning, I really struggled with it, and my trick was to schedule days completely free, where I'd retreat into my own little world. Then, as I grew and got used to the feeling of "pressure," I started looking for solutions. "How can I arrange everything so that it actually works for me?" was my motto for a long time. So, I got away from thinking, "I can't do it, it won't work."
So I've now found a comfortable flow for myself. I pack orders twice a week, and this is included in the emails customers receive. I schedule social media for the entire week on Mondays using a scheduling program. I check my email twice a week, or sometimes just once. This way, I keep things nice for myself, still have time to be wonderfully creative (because that's the foundation and the most fun thing there is), and I stay balanced!
3 Freedom and flexibility
Over the past two years, I've discovered that I'm truly the type of person to be an entrepreneur. I want that freedom, I want that flexibility, and above all, I want the control to choose (almost) at any time what I find important, need, or want to do.
Last week, I read a list of the five qualities that "good" entrepreneurs possess: creativity, perseverance, passion, risk-taking, and reliability. It suddenly clicked: these are exactly the qualities that suit me. No wonder I feel like a fish in water as an entrepreneur!
Just a quick word about perseverance, because I don't want you, as a reader (and perhaps even an entrepreneur), to get demotivated by such a "success story blog." I sold my first "collection" on Etsy three years ago and it was a complete flop (I'll write a blog post about it sometime). At the time, I could have thought, "It's not working," or something along those lines. But instead, I persevered, created more, developed my style, and was simply stubborn in not giving up. Sometimes you just have to persevere, develop, gain knowledge, pursue interests, and make sure you have fun along the way!
4. Aligning your life with yourself
I've saved the best for last. Entrepreneurship is also a way to participate in life even when you're limited, because you can tailor your business entirely to your needs! You can try things out and discover if they don't work for you, then you simply do something else. You can scale your business as much or as little as you see fit, given your capabilities. You can find solutions, get help, outsource... there are so many possibilities!
What works well for me is that I never have to go anywhere at set times. It also works really well that if I wake up feeling under the weather or really tired, I can always take a morning off or just sit on the couch and read for a while until I feel better. I'm also a true introvert and enjoy spending a lot of time alone; it's wonderful that I don't share a desk or have colleagues!
In short, my health and happiness come first, then my business. I've learned that everything can always wait!
I hope you enjoyed reading this, and it's your birthday and you treat others! So I have some fun promotions for you!
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