Struggling Entrepreneurs, Do Not Give Up

09 October 2008 Written By: Jim KukralComments: Comments

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It’s rough out there right now, I know. You’re losing your cool in this tough economic market. You’re trying to make ends meet, while at the same time, you’re trying to push ahead and be successful as an entrepreneur. You’re working your a#* off and it’s getting you by, but not getting you ahead.

I know how you’re feeling.

I know what it’s like to be spending more than you make. I know what it’s like to have your wife give you that look when you tell her you need to spend another $1,000 or more to start a new project. I know how it feels to be so frustrated that you haven’t “made it” yet that you want to give up and go get that “real job” you said you would never take.

I know how you’re feeling.

I know what it’s like to see millionaire friends not worry about money. I know what it’s like to see your associates who have already “hit their home run” not worry about the economy because they’ve got money coming in consistently every month. I know what it’s like to wake up every day and wonder if today is going to be the big day you get an idea to turn it all around.

Welcome to being a struggling entrepreneur. It’s a rough life.

But there’s good news too.

If your struggling there is hope. There is a reason to carry on. You can make it work, if you carry on.

Remember that every single great success story started with one of the following…

1. I failed 1,000 times before I succeeded…
2. We had no money left in our bank account…
3. I was on the verge of giving up…

Sound familiar? Being an entrepreneur has its ups and downs. Yes, there is going to be struggle through the tough times, and yes, it could possibly drain your bank account and damage your marriage, and yes, it could drive you to want to give up.

But that’s when your passion comes through to save you. That’s when you stop pitying yourself and turn towards the sun and give it another go. That’s when you work even harder to get what you wanted.

Don’t give up. Keep taking your shots. Keep innovating. Keep pushing new ideas and supporting old ones. Keep on keeping on.

It will happen. You can succeed. You can hit that home run. You may look back at these days years from now and remember about how tough it was, but then be proud of yourself for persevering.

The entrepreneur inside you knows you can do it. Now, just do it.

Diggs are appreciated for this article.

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  • Thanks for the great post Jim. Especially here in Cleveland, as you know, times are getting tough. I'm sure that I'll take advantage of your free consulting by the stamp on Oct. 15th.

    -A fellow Clevelander
  • the entire article relates to life in general, not just entrepreneurs.

    in times that are tough you feel beat down and confidence seems like something only other people have. it's important to keep working through it even when you completely doubt yourself.

    great post jim.

    z
  • FeedTheBull
    Great article, something we all have to struggle with at one time or another. I needed that, thank you.
  • Great post Jim and I think you should do a text only at least once a week. But you are right on. People sometimes would rather stick their head in the sand and hope something just drops on them so they can be successful. If I had given up even once, I would not be where I am right now.

    It is way more fun to not give up and people need to remember that. Thanks for your post too!!!!
  • Jim, I've invested over 2 years in launching my own business, and yes, there were moments (esp 9-12 months in) when I REALLY wondered if this plane was going to get off the ground. But if you're smart, if you're adding value, if you have a decent business model, and if you have the support and cheerleading of others who believe in you (even when YOU start to doubt), you can succeed. I look forward, hopefully next June, to symbolically torching the last statement for my startup debt. That WILL be blogged!
  • Thanks for the inspiration!

    My excellent husband keeps telling me not to give up, but he doesn't do the family's bookkeeping--I do. It's hard to remain positive when you have to make choices about who gets paid each month. Also, it's hard to know who to trust, there are so many (entrepreneurs) out there who say they have "the answer" to help you make money online for $X.XX. What say you?
  • How do you know the difference between heartburn and fire in the belly?
    Heartburn goes away.

    Nice post Jim.
  • Great post Jim. I think that we all go through this at one point or another. And I think this is another reason why if you're going to get into something it needs to be something you actually enjoy. Otherwise that temptation to give up will be that much stronger.
  • Hi Jim,

    Great points you make here and I would like to throw in a piece of advice...

    If you are trying to carve out your piece of the pie online do something noteworthy. Pick a market and a niche that you love and dig into it with both heels and work your A#% off... I mean really work (very, very hard) to provide help and quality to others in your niche. You WILL build a following and that loyal following will support your lifestyle.

    Do something real, don't focus on the money, focus on the people that have the money by helping them... I mean really help them and the money will come. If any aspect of your business is not focused on the people that would support it (with money), you are in a short-term business and will have to rebuild, again and again ... Mark these words!

    Charles Heflin
    Twitter @CharlesHeflin
  • Here's one of the things that keep me motivated during tough times...

    As you work though a down turn:
    -You learn to do more with less, becoming more efficient with all your resources particularly your time and money.
    -Your weaker competitors get washed away / give up.

    So when you come out the other side of an economic downturn, you are stronger, smarter, have moved down the learning curve and will enjoy a much larger market share!!

    As an entrepreneur lifer - I love the challenges and rewards of market downturns!
  • Thanks everyone for the comments. Keep them coming!
  • Jim,

    I'm totally at the financial wall.

    We will run out of money in January 2009. The day job, broadcast television systems engineering and design, and senior technical project management roles have disappeared with the halting of capital expenditure-based projects. Even my friends at Google, Sony, and Ascent Media have stopped calling for my able assistance.

    I've only been at this blogging / PPC / SEO game sine July 2008, and all around me are examples of people who persevered, like Jonathan Volk at $270,000.00 per month and growing in Affiliate commissions!

    Yourself, Shoemoney, John Chow and Darren Rowse and Chris Brogan all experienced shifts in economic success at some time in your careers.

    Hewlett Packard, one of the most successful corporations in the USA started in a garage with an idea for an oscillator. The US Government needed an oscillator and they were launched!

    Thank you for your encouraging words. I'm attacking the income issue from all sides, by shooting digital video commercials for local businesses, blogging on nine monetized blogs with all kinds of techniques to drive traffic to them, and I will not quit until I have made it.

    Ryan Hupfer at HubPages.com has been helpful in focusing on what to write about, and
    I know something will break soon, I do not want to tell my wife that we have to declare bankruptcy, if my father were alive he would slap me and say "we lived through the depression, get over it..."

    I respect your professional approach and depth of knowledge expressed in your post. Let's all put away the crying towels and get busy!

    Respectfully, Nicholas Chase - 'the video guy' at BlogWorld Expo 2008
  • Amen, Brother Jim!

    Spreading the gospel of gainful unemployment is a mission without end. The doorway to the new economy begins with casting down the shackles in a leap of faith. That faith, and plenty of good old fashioned hard work, paves the metaphor twisting road to success.
  • To quote Barry White...."Quittin just ain't my stick"
  • Great post Jim!

    Failure is a state of Mind.
    as is Being Poor.

    I have enjoyed many reversals, but they have
    always propeled me Forward at more rapid rate.
    I think the Entrprenuerial Spirit and Mindset is Critical

    Here is an uplifitng Audio for your
    readers

    6 Steps from T&GR
  • This isn't the same thing as being in business, but as someone who has a incurable and very painful condition, I have learned these lessons too. I know that's off topic, but blogging has greatly helped me take my mind off my physical condition while learning a new set of skills along the way. I don't know that I will get rich, or make a living at it, but I will NEVER give up.
  • Some wise words in hard times! As I mentioned on your Digg post I'm in the situation where I've got to be realistic (especially with the slow months around Christmas time) and do some contract work in order to pay the bills - the dream never ends and we'll do what ever we need to do in order to succeed - even if there are a few diversions from the course along the way
  • I have really felt discouraged over the past few months, though I have tried to keep on a happy face, and your post really hit the spot. Thanks for the encouragement to continue to stride forward.
  • Great post, I think that sometimes we need to remember the big picture in these times. Success is not usually overnight and even if is you may need to try a few things before hitting your home run.
  • I feel like I need to give you a hug for writing this post.
  • Great article, thank you! I gave you a Digg. Actually just a day or two ago I posted something similar on Holly's blog - you might like to see it, it is at http://honestholly.com/a-message-to-everyone/

    This is very much in line with what you are saying!
  • Jim- I think your work at Blog World Expo told me lots about you. I think you're one of those best kept secrets, but hopefully the story will spread more this year. I'm glad that you're doing what you do.
  • Well said, Jim. It's scary to take a financial risk given the state of the economy. Most full-time Internet marketers have taken a big risk just by getting started in relatively new territory. However, as you said, you have to keep at it. It's stresful, at times, but I've never known a successful business person who didn't hit a few bumps in the road at one point. Great advice!
  • teresacaldwell
    Jim Than you so much for the encouraging words. I don't want to give up, I want to prove to my family that I am not crazy. To have your Dad tell you that you need to quit playing on the computer and get a real job can really knock you down a notch too. It is just that he is older and doesn't understand the power or the internet. His extent of the internet is receiving jokes through email and sharing the jokes at the local coffee shop.
    It is really tough when the economy gets bad, and your family demands change and your role in your in these change becomes more challenging. Such as a family illness, children in college and rising cost of tuition. It becomes really hard to even want to get out of bed in the mornings.
    All the encouragement we give each other helps each and every one of us.
    Thanks so much for the comment, as I haven't been able to make a post on my site for a couple of weeks because at the moment I am at my kids home at college, my daughter got sick and I came to help her catch up on things around here. My Mom is sick and she is aging and I feel like every moment with her is precious. I don't want to give up in these hard times, but I feel more challenged today than I have in a very, very, long time.
  • So many great comments, thanks again everyone. Keep them coming.
  • That was TOTALLY inspiring - wonderful post. In these economic times, life is hard enough. Then when you are trying to make money with your own business, whether online or off, you hold your breath hoping things go well. The point is, you must keep pushing and have faith in yourself.

    I absolutely loved this post. Thank you so much
  • Jim, Thank you for the heart felt comments! It is sometimes hard to keep grinding every day and stay motivated telling yourself the hard work will pay off! Keep up the good work!
  • Jeff Preston
    It seems as these times would present the worst opportunity for creating an online business, but I have a gut feeling, that soon the economy will be opening to a new horizen with unlimited possibilities. If we press on I believe the best is like the dawn where were awakening by fresh new ideas
  • Ups and downs... that's certainly a part of life. But if it doesn't kill us, it will make us stronger. I say remember we are only here once (imo) and we should learn, laugh, cry from every experience and let it make us better people. Any yes here in Oz, it looks like times are about to get a whole lot tougher as well... economic slow down, drought, bush fire season pending, but we have a wonderful one year son and life is great.
  • Having just seen my bank statement I needed that. Thanks!
  • Thanks for the reminder to never give up, Jim.
  • Thank you for this great post, Jim!
    It is right on. I know "that look." I get it a lot from my wife, who is not as much of a risk taker as me. And like yours, my small business is struggling, and has been since April. Some days are easier to deal with than others.
    By meeting and corresponding with positive folks like you, really helps me through the down days. I NEVER want to work for anyone besides me. Ever Again.
    Joel Libava
    Franchise Selection Specialists Inc.
    Cleveland.
  • Jim-
    This is exactly how I feel, an awesome perspective that really puts the optimism back in entrepreneurial. Tough times filter the good business people from the marginal business people, let the hunt begin!
  • Very true John. Let the hunt begin!!!
  • Dude.... just thanks.
  • You're welcome.
  • Seesmic video reply from Disqus.
  • I love this post! And I completely agree and it is also something we need to hear over and over. It is a lonely sitting in your underwear working at home to build an empire, but what i found is that that belief in myself and belief in the possibility of success in this business as well as the passion for it is what has kept me going through the toughest times.
    Thanks Jim,
    JR
  • when the going gets tough, I get tougher...more creativity on my store site -making more money
  • Jim,
    Some people struggle as entrepreneurs simply because they don't have what it takes to do it--either they lack the temperment, sales ability or the discipline to do the hard things or take the long view. Often they don't have the people skills to really build enough of the solid kinds of relationships that it takes to prosper in business on one's own, but are transactional with too many people--which I liken to providing a quick sugar rush rather than lasting nourishment. And to encourage these folks is, I'm afraid, not merely counterproductive, but sometimes doing them a terrible disservice. Through long experience I've come to believe that an awful lot of people really should be working for others. Each of us has to look deep within and be honest about whether they're such a person.
  • You're such a downer John. :) Seriously, I don't think I'm saying that everyone needs to go out and be me. I'm simply trying to motivate those that want the message. Those are the only ones who will hear it anyway. The rest will ignore it.
  • And one thing: if you find a working system that makes you even like 2$ per day then next thing you need to do is become expert in that system. Learn every aspect of this system and then MAXIMIZE it! Start building your own empire. $2 per day multiplied by 200 times will make you $400.00 per day/$12,000.00 per month. It's the only seriously taken way to get rich (building empires). And never let your emotions take over your decisions, your logic is what will always do good for you. That's the way it is.
  • It takes a lot of effort to get a business started online and I have also wondered many times if all the hard work for nothing was worth it.When I look where I am today, it was worth it.Just keep going, do something every day and you are one step closer to your goal.
  • This is a great motivational post. Thanks for it.
  • This is great post Jim.

    I am from Malaysia and just started to find way to improve my traffic, however first thing first in my mind now is to write more good articles and enjoy blogging. :)
  • kirill
    It is a really good write up/ I will save it for my personal encouragement
  • Great point. Someone told me.."maybe you need to readjust your attitude these days". Maybe that's right. Instead of getting frustrated, just be thankful for what I do have and go forward with gusto!
  • Great post also considering the fact that all entrepreneurs struggle from time to time and that you need to keep your heads up if you do come across this problem.

    http://www.spreadingyourcashflow.com
  • Jim, I scanned this post quickly, as I'm really supposed to be writing articles and finishing up some laundry - but, I did hit this last line:

    The entrepreneur inside you knows you can do it. Now, just do it.


    ...and it brought me to tears. I have to also admit that I haven't been coming by every day like I used to, and now I wish I was still visiting regularly - instead of in this hit or miss fashion. But you know, perhaps I was really ready to read it TODAY. You know?

    Anyway - thank you - thank you so much for writing this encouraging post. I'm gonna tweet it and your new biz and then get back to the stuff I'm supposed to be doing! And I promise to come back and read the whole article!!
  • Hi Lisa, I'm so glad I was able to inspire you to tears :) hehe, seriously. Thank you for commenting.
  • Very inspiring post Jim. You articulated many of the issues that as a young entrepreneur I face everyday. Putting in 60+ hour work weeks...working during the day to pay the bills and growing your start-up all hours of the night & on weekends can be very draining. However I stay extremely motivated by seeing our progress (which has been significant recently) and having the belief that someone will see our vision, and fund us so we can get to the next level and ultimately reach our full potential.

    Seeing people like you who have accomplished so much, but can still relate to the uphill journey a blooming entrepreneur faces is very inspiring.

    Good post!
  • Glad you found it inspiring David. That's what I was trying to do!
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