F53-039: It's Lonely as an Entrepreneur or Business Owner - How To Cope

Show Summary: Today's show is about how lonely it is or it can be being an entrepreneur, being a solopreneur, or being a business owner and some of the ways to cope. I don't know if lonely is the right word but I'm going to continue to use it in these circumstances. Here are a number of reasons this feeling happens: No one at your same level to have deep chats and interaction with You're the boss and you may have employees that you work with but you don't have others at your same level. If you're a good boss, you don't talk about your stresses and anxieties with your employees. You're the leader so the stress, responsibilities, and all these deep emotions and the challenges you have are very different than what your employees are dealing with. The person you can interact with doesn't know what you do or understand it Your family or your partner in life may know what you do but you can't have deep conversations about it. Your closest friends may not have business experience or be in your space and really don't understand or know it. Talking business with them can be different. How to deal with loneliness being an entrepreneur or a solopreneur: Go to a remote workplace. Go to a coffee shop, a park, a library, etc. and just have a different four walls that you're working in. You will find this invigorating. I love remote workplaces. I love Starbucks for their internet speed and that's important. Other coffee shops have crappy internet that you could feel like you're struggling more than you're working. So make sure it has good quality high speed internet and let it rip. Schedule everything. This includes timely breaks, workouts, dropping the kids off to school or activities, taking a break with your wife for lunch, etc. This is something I do fairly well. I literally schedule out everything. Join mastermind groups. You're actually in with like-minded people who are battling the same battle you are and that you can share deeply some of your challenges, issues, and successes with. Mastermind groups are fantastic. If you're not in one or have never tried one, I highly recommend them. The benefits of mastermind groups: They are eye-opening as you get to see things through other people's eyes. You get feedback. You get to see how other businesses are run. You get the interaction you're looking for. Get yourself a coach. If you don't have a coach and never had one, get a coach to help you not feel so lonely and have someone to talk to about your struggles and help you through it. Join online communities. I recommend Youpreneur for personal branding companies, coaches, solopreneurs, and consultants. It's by Chris Ducker and I'm a big fan of him. He's a great business person and I like the community. There are thousands of communities out there so be sure to find one that fits your personality style, your business model, and the style that you like. Caution: An online community is great but then you're still wrapped up online with no real talking. So here's what I did... From Youpreneur, we spun off a really small mastermind group that I do with three other people wherein we do video-based meetup, which is another good tactic. Do video-based meetups. If you're cooped up in your basement or office and it's all you see, having a video-based interaction would be great. Join accountability groups. I've never had one but these are people that hold you accountable for the things you say you're going to do. All the accountability groups I've ever had have come as a by-product of a quality online community or quality coach or mastermind group. But there are separate accountability groups out there. Group work environment Here you'll be in the same room with other people. The disadvantage though is the possibility of being distracted. But when everyone's on their headphones (with a little chitchat) and everyone's focused, just being around other people and the feeling of another human in the same room as you is therapeutic. The harsh reality is... it is lonely and you're going to go through things, challenges, questions, issues, and problems that you're not going to know how to address. You're not going to see people everyday. Or if you're a leader in an organization, you just can't share with other people. So find people you can share things with that can help you through it and schedule your time to be away from that environment you're in all the time. Books, People, & Resources: Youpreneur eye9design - A boutique web design and WordPress agency that just celebrated 10 years in business (an eternity in the web design space). They built hundreds of websites for businesses of all sizes. Finding a web design company is hard. There are lots of options, lots of good ones but lots of bad ones. Let the team at eye9design take care of you. If you need a great website for a great price, visit www.focus53.com/eye9. Mention this ad and get 10%. Download the 15 Most Popular Tools Business Owners Should Be Using