lately i’ve been feeling a little discouraged..

i keep telling myself when i’m putting in 70 hour work weeks that everything is going to pay off. lately, i’ve been so focused on numbers and getting down on myself if things don’t live up to my high expectations and goals. the shop is doing well, however lately i’ve been unintentionally comparing myself to other business owners. growing up i played basketball non-stop with the goal of earning a division one basketball scholarship, after winning a state championship and setting a state record- i was able to receive five years of college for free- something that i had been working towards since i was in elementary school. one of the main reasons why i was successful was because i continually made it a goal to work harder than those around me.

it’s always been easy for me to put in extra hours if i know it’s going to pay off, however lately i’ve been in a funk trying to compare myself to others. whether it’s sales, gfc followers, facebook fans, etc. i’ve been equating numbers to success and forgetting the reason why i started this blog. i’m working on getting back on track to share my passion for supporting other handmade business owners, sharing tutorials that everyone can do, and hopefully inspiring some of you to follow your heart. what makes a business successful? how do you keep your head up when things don’t go as you hoped?

i’ve been able to connect with a lot of other handmade business owners and consider a handful of them friends now. last week i got my first nasty blog comment and as much as i tried, i wasn’t able to not take it personally. i’m a pretty sensitive person and always try to please others. when i know someone doesn’t like me, i will go out of my way to try to please them and make a good impression. it’s been difficult for me to shake off someone not responding to an email or not being able to connect with someone.

moving forward i’m hoping to keep in mind all of the amazing people i’ve been able to form friendships with. i’m removing my gfc widget and focusing more about the goal of sharing my passion with others and not turning it into a competition. i’ll be trying to close the laptop or turn off the sewing machine earlier to spend time with my family and rejuvenate.

have you been in this funk? how did you crawl your way out of it?