I remember during the first year or two when my business just felt too hard and I thought, ” This is just not working!”

I felt discouraged and huge self-doubt.

All small business owners hit the wall at times. It’s normal, however not fun.

This happens when you feel  frustrated with your cash flow and your business just feels like it is limping along. You feel like you’re putting out a lot of energy and not getting enough back.

This happens to most entrepreneurs in the first couple years of business.

You may have unrealistic expectations and expect to be making money too quickly. Assuming you know your niche clients  and you are focused on  your marketing, if you feel huge self-doubt, it’s likely your own inner demons at work.

You might be that you are doing everything right but just impatient!  I see many people deciding to quit just when they are on the verge of turning the corner.

I am reminded of the story of the Chinese Bamboo. Zig Zigler shared this many years ago.

It goes like this: You take a tiny seed, plant it, water it, and fertilize it for a whole year, and watch the ground closely. You see nothing happen.

The second year you water it and fertilize it, and still nothing happens. The third year you continue to water it and fertilize it, and again nothing happens. You feel discouraged and feel like quitting but you don’t. The fifth year you continue to water and fertilize the seed and then, sometime during this year, the Chinese bamboo tree sprouts and grows almost NINETY FEET IN SIX WEEKS! 

It is all about being patient and knowing that things are happening under the surface even if you can’t see it.

The important thing is to stay  focused on the water and fertilizing.

•  Create and action a current marketing plan.
•  Get help so you stay on track and not keep jumping around.
•  Overcome inner obstacles that are holding you back.
•  Get a part time job if needed,  to alleviate money stress.
•  Stay around positive, successful people.

Growing a business is like planting a Chinese bamboo. You put out a lot of work, and not see the results immediately. My own business really took off in year five just like this story.

What is your own story?  Have you ever felt like quitting?