That Time I Wanted to Quit

A few weeks ago, I was ready to quit.

Maybe I wouldn't have gone through with it -- I think I would have had more than a few people talk me out of it if I did -- but I certainly felt like shutting down my business, popping open a Grapefruit Spindrift, and saying, "that was a good run," as I kicked back on the beach.

😵‍💫 It was just one of those weeks.

I had a bunch of really rude, entitled people in my inbox demanding things they don't deserve (and would never demand from Target if they bought a blanket from them three years ago they've been using the entire time.)

Yet another anti-Semitic comment on Instagram telling me to kill myself, because the world would be better without the Jews. You want to live in a world without bagels and pastrami on rye?! Good luck!

I don't have these weeks often.

But I tell you about my big launches and fancy masterminds and cool behind-the-scenes conferences I get to go to...

And I'm not about to share the wins without sharing this side of owning your own business, too.

You know how people always say, "marriage is hard"?

I like to put it differently: there are parts of marriage -- and especially seasons -- that are hard.

In general, it's hard to cohabitate with someone. Merge lifestyles. Mutually agree on the "right" way to load a dishwasher.

Legally merging your lives together was basically guaranteed to feel hard sometimes.

I feel the same way about business.

It's not that "owning your own business is hard" -- that's a dangerous mindset to buy into because you'll see everything as hard instead of a challenge or opportunity worth tackling.

There are parts of owning your own business that are hard.

💸 Offering refunds to rude customers who don't deserve it (because it's just easier for you not to have to deal with them lol).

📈 Figuring out how the heck to calculate quarterly taxes when you don't know how much you're going to make.

🙏 Believing in yourself and what you're building... before you have the bank account or audience to back it up.

I'm not sharing any of this to discourage you -- right now you might just want another customer. You might not even care if they're rude, as long as they pay their bill 😆

I'm just here, one friend to another, saying this is normal.

Bad weeks feel like they're the end of the world... and then things even out.

You remember why you're doing this. You remember it's supposed to be hard (sometimes.)

If you've had one of those weeks lately, I'm cheering you on.

Let it be a bad week. Stop trying to make it a good one and just embrace it's one of those.

Talk to a friend (my inbox is always open). Take a walk. Do something offline. Try something you're bad at (like tennis!) and remember what it's like to be a beginner again. It's humbling.

It's funny to be writing this to you today, as I sit on my patio in Colorado Springs, CO overlooking these orange mountains, ready for Day 1 of one of the highlights of my business life right now: the mastermind I'm in.

It's full of the most of amazing people I'm lucky to call friends, but who feel like work family.

There's no guru leading it. No lectures. Just connection in nature and a lot of, "yeah, me too."

These are the weeks that restore me. I love my business, even if I don't love it all the time. I love the people I've met. The customers I've helped. The work I get to do. I am so full and so grateful. I can't believe I wanted to quit!

I'd love to hear from you, Reader. Hit "reply" and let me know how you liked this email.

🎤 PS. NEW EPISODE OF ON YOUR TERMS®️: If we don't spend more time offline, we're going to have more memories of other peoples' lives than our own. If you want to change that, listen on Apple or Spotify→

PPS. There's a reason I waited a few weeks to write this. One of the best content or writing tips I can give you is to process on your own first, then share (if at all). You would have gotten a much sassier, Philly-girl email a few weeks ago ;)

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