5 Tips To Support Entrepreneurs To Reach Out And Move Beyond The Struggle

By Doug Bennett, aka The Goals Guy®

When you see entrepreneurs on social media sharing stories of their latest business success, do you assume that it was easy for them, or do you remember that they’ll likely have put in hours of dedicated effort to reach that level?

It’s very rare that any entrepreneur has a direct line to success. Think of an iceberg: you see the tip sticking out of the water but there’s a whole lot more beneath the surface that isn’t always visible from the outside.

It’s also entirely possible that the entrepreneurs you consider successful have faced or are facing bouts of depression or anxiety, alongside the business highs and lows, that you may or may not see (click here if you’d like to read my blog about some of the traits that might indicate you’re a secretly struggling entrepreneur).

It didn’t feel good as a financial planner to be on the brink of bankruptcy during the global financial crisis of 2008/9, but to many people in the outside world my business probably looked successful. It took concerted effort to turn my business and life around (click here to buy my book and read the full story).

5 top tips to go beyond the struggle

Here are five of my top tips to support you to move from being a secretly struggling entrepreneur to taking bigger, bolder steps that move your business forward with confidence.

• Start to care and be more generous to other entrepreneurs

Even if you don’t have all the answers, it’s likely that you have knowledge that could support someone else, or you could just be a bit more compassionate if someone is a few minutes late for an online call; remember that you don’t know what’s going on in someone else’s life. 

• Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help

Your embarrassment is not going to pay the bills, but asking the right people for help might support you to develop strategies that boost your income. Many industries have a professional body or association that can offer basic support, and if you start to search online, you’ll likely find specialist help for any problem you’re facing.

• Engage with people you are genuinely interested in

A fledgling financial adviser recently got in touch with me and asked if we could meet up and have a chat. He was genuinely interested in my story, which helped me warm to him immediately. Research from Harvard University has shown that when people talk about themselves, they release the feel-good hormone dopamine, which means that most people like talking about themselves! However, don’t pretend to be interested in people just to pick their brain; find people you are genuinely interested in getting to know, and initiate that connection

• Implement good advice and provide feedback on results

When the financial adviser I mentioned above got in touch, I noticed that his online networking profile didn’t have a photograph. I suggested to him that he’d find it harder to make connections if people couldn’t even see an image of him to start with. 

He let me know that he’d just set up his profile and that that was his next step.  Because he’d been so forthcoming and receptive to my ideas, I warmed to him even more; if people share their time and knowledge with you, take action and give feedback on the results that you get, because that helps to give the other person the satisfaction of knowing that they helped.

• Be open to creating your own luck

You might think that some people are born lucky, but their luck tends to come from their mindset. If you expect good things to come your way, you’re more likely to notice them when they do. Decide now that you are a lucky person (you’ve landed on this blog for starters!) and be open to creating even more luck in your life. The more that you open up to possibilities, the more opportunity will find its way to you.

And, continuing on the theme of luck, if you’ve been secretly struggling in your business and would like to clarify your goals and make great progress, why not click here to book a 30-minute complimentary call with me?  

I know how it feels to ride the entrepreneurial highs and lows, with and without support; support is the way forward. I can help you to take your business dream from concept to reality. Click here to take the next step.

 Thanks to Canadian author Sylvia Duckworth for giving us permission to share this image from her instagram account.