Over the last 15 months or so, most of us have tried to just keep on going. Keep feeding all the humans and animals in the house. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep the business ticking over - and even GROW it!
I read about "reaching capacity" last year and figured "yeh, yeh, we all feel burned out ALL THE FUCKING TIME" - pretty much life as a mum right?
But last week - I reached it.
The day started out pretty normally. The kids left for school. I poured a coffee and sat down to work.
It was the final day of my cart being open for a particular launch and so I had plans to do lots of "last minute" marketing activities -and as I prefer to work with the ENERGY I'm feeling RIGHT NOW - I don't tend to automate much.
What you see is what you get. The whole ugly, damned shebang!
I'm sure you can see where this is going...
9:02am I got a call from the school to take my son to the Emergency Room. Whilst he was getting x-rays, I collapsed - so we BOTH ended up in the ER. Him with fractures and me at "maximum capacity".
I've always felt I had "a few more miles in the tank". Could do "just a little more". Just another 500 words. Just another client fix. Just one more...
But last Friday I hit my limit.
MAXIMUM CAPACITY.
You'll get NO MORE from this woman.
Luckily I found a packet of Skittles at the bottom of my handbag and after sharing them with my son, we both started to feel a lot better. 👍 Although his bones will take longer to heal than my exhaustion.
But the final day of my launch didn't work out - I didn't get as many sales as I wanted.
And the truth is - when we work for ourselves, it really IS on us.
When we don't work, we don't earn - simple as that.
And sure, you can get some passive income trickle in and sell some self-study stuff - but when you are a PERSONAL BRAND and the face and voice of your brand - you HAVE to be present.
Working for yourself is NOT the easy option - people seem to think it is. But let me tell you, there is a burden.
When you're lying on the floor of the hospital thinking "damn! this is affecting my bottom line" and "I hope it's not serious - I have SO much to do!".
It can be scary.
But I need you to know - you are NEVER truly on your own - even on the hard days.
One of the best things about the online education industry is that there are thousands of supportive women out there who understand. Who maybe have not been in your shoes - but they sure as hell can picture the scenario with a grimace!
I read ALL the emails and messages which are sent to my business. So if you ever want to fire one off to me - know that I'll read it - and I'll hold your virtual hand, give you a virtual hug and pour you a virtual coffee - because we're one GIANT team and we've got each other's backs.