04/03/2026
Thank you to our friend and fellow small business owner Michele Emery Henshaw for bringing this to my attention by sharing. I LOVE what I do in my business, it’s my life’s purpose and my passion but this is so true. Add being a woman of a certain age, and it can be a daily struggle, no matter how much we love what we do. Anyone relate?
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The unfortunate truth of owning and running a business.
Running a business is really hard.
What they don’t tell you is that it can cause severe stress and anxiety, and drains you mentally to the point of depression in even the most laid-back people.
People will talk about you, compare you to others, use you, they will view you as a service and not a person anymore.
Friends and family will expect discounts or may not even choose to buy from you at all because it feels like nepotism and don’t realise how much it helps if they talk about you to others, recommend you and share your stuff even if they think they’re people aren’t your audience. People will value you and your hard work less than a big chain store.
You have to worry about forgetting to email/message someone back, are they going to think it was deliberate? Did you disappoint them? Will they hold that against you? When in reality you just can’t get to everyone’s messages and emails.
Starting up and running a successful business puts incredible strain on personal lives and relationships, many of which fail because there is just often no work life balance. You need to be the director, the worker, the admin, the marketing team, the accountant, the cleaner..... All whilst being a parent, a husband or a wife, family support, friend...
There’s a reason you don’t see many people succeed in small businesses after 5-10 years. If they are successful they are overwhelmed. It takes a toll. It’s freaking exhausting. Especially the past few years when so much has been out of our control.
Here’s a small reminder that we are just normal people with hectic lives. Be kind, be patient, support small businesses …….and hopefully more of us will stick around!
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If you have, want to have or want to support a small business, PLEASE SHARE THIS🙏🏼 I promise you it will help.
I copied this from another small business owner that I support 🤍
