Entrepreneurial Rollercoasters Make Me Puke!!

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In a recent article I read by Cameron Herald, former CEO of 1-800-Got-Junk, I was able to foresee the future of what's to come in this cyclical sequence of ups and downs of my entrepreneurial career. This article had some great insight and I want to share it with all of you guys.

Basically, you have 5 stages of ups and downs. So, I'll name them in sequential order...
  1. Naive Optimism
  2. Educated Pessimism
  3. Your Purpose in Question
  4. Absolute Failure
  5. Educated Optimism
Now, let's go deeper into explanation step-by-step...

1. Naïve Optimism
This is the stage where you are extremely excited and feel like you're on top of the world. Everything that comes from your mouth is positive and influential. That's why this is a great time to promote your business through speaking and networking.

At this stage, it is NOT a good time to be...
-spending money
-doing business or budget planning
-hiring new people
-making major financial decisions

2. Educated Pessimism
Here, you know more about what you've gotten yourself into, realizing that it's not all roses. There are risks involved and possible you are more aware of your mistakes. All of this making you realize that the ball field is much larger than you originally thought it was and a lot of decisions are to be made (hoping you make all the right ones).

This is a good time to...
-be more realistic
-budgeting and planning your next step
-purchase ads and be smart by not spending too much money (or money on the wrong types of advertisement)

Not a good time to...
-Hire new people
-speak in public or to make JV partnerships

* Note:
Play a more strategic role rather than the person who rallies up the troops. This is a great time to work behind the scenes and put your chess pieces in the right places.

3. Your Purpose in Question
This is a critical moment. The moment that literally defines your future. Will you fail or succeed? You will be sick with worry and apprehension because you feel that everything is working against you and holding you from your dreams. Everyone else around you is smart and intelligent and you are stupid and destined for failure.

Here is when you need to...
-do some spring cleaning (believe it or not, having things organized can also declutter your mind as well)
-unplug (get some fresh air and exercise. Oxygen to the brain will clear your head)
-write down your goals and strengths (remind yourself what your good at and why you got in to this in the first place-b/c your awesome and better than the 9-5 lifestyle)
-get support from your friends and social groups

This is the WORST time to...
-listen to cry babies who find everything wrong in life and with people
-start drinking and doing drugs
-try to be the positive influence for others (b/c you are not positive yourself)
-be self-confident (don't deprive yourself from support from others. You need it!)

4. Absolute Failure
Not much needs to be said here. You basically gave up and let it all go down the drain.

5. Educated Optimism
You've learned more and have better vision. Feeling more self-confident, your are amped to get moving again on a more professional, educated level. Now, you are feeling some leverage and getting to know your "style".

This is a great time to...
-fire the bad employees
-business planning
-hiring new employees and rearranging the chess pieces to the right places
-plan for business development through strategic planning

NOT a good time to...
-become arrogant - arrogance is ignorance! (2 steps forward, 3 steps behind)
-lose your concentration and your focus

And as everything else in life, the cycle repeats itself. Be prepared for the worst and plan how your gonna deal with it. Once you've got your back-up plan (as long as it supports your goal) you'll keep going up that hill and eventually hit the summit!

-Drea Tosta
#entrepreneurial #make #puke #rollercoasters

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