As part of this year’s launch for my Launch Your Business 8-Week Boot Camp, I am publishing a 5-day series called, “My Journey to Freedom: From $0 to 6-Figures…On My Own Terms.” Post any questions you have about launching your business this year in the comments!
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2011 was not a very good year for me.
I had just quit my job the year before and was riding high off my first year of self-employed success.
In 2010, I’d replaced my salary from my job.
But in 2011, I lost a third of my revenue. One of my consulting contracts did not get renewed and I couldn’t figure out how to quickly replace that income.
For the first time in years, I felt LOST in my career.
Without the structure of an organization giving me a steady direct deposit into my bank account, I didn’t know what my worth was anymore. I wasn’t sure what my true value was in the marketplace and that scared the hell out of me.
I wasn’t used to that feeling. I literally felt a knot in my stomach whenever I thought about where my next check was going to come from.
Me, the woman who usually had everything planned out in advance. I had always been a high performer and an overachiever. I was used to being successful at everything I did. I kept asking myself, why does this business thing seem so much harder for me? As a result of making the decision to quit my job, I felt like I had forfeited my identify in many aspects of my life.
Slowly, I began to fall into a depression over a period of several months.
I stopped going out as much as I used to. I wasn’t taking care of myself very well. There were weeks when I didn’t clean my apartment, when I just let the dishes pile up in the sink. I just didn’t have the energy to do much more than sit in my makeshift home office in the corner of my studio apartment in Washington, DC, scribbling in my journal trying to figure it all out. Trying to come up with ways to make money so I wouldn’t have to go back to a job.
During that time, I probably had some good days, but most of them were pretty rough. I felt unsure of myself all the time, which I did NOT like.
I felt like I was FAILING.
That year, I had to try really hard not to apply for full-time jobs. And believe me, I looked! I even received several solid job leads through my network. The fork in the road was clear; I knew could always go back to a 9 to 5.
But I had come too far JUST to come this far! I wanted to make my business work and I was determined to win. So, I promised myself that as long as I got enough clients to pay my basic bills, I would stay in business.
I decided to FIGHT for my freedom and focus solely on growing my business for the next year. During that time, I put my head down and learned even more about marketing and sales. I worked on my mindset. I created new offers and became more visible to my ideal client. Soon, I was clear on the steps I needed to take to bring in clients and customers on a consistent basis. (This process and the concepts that worked for me actually became the basis for my Launch Your Business Boot Camp that I still teach today!)
By the time 2012 rolled around, I had implemented a plan to make more money in my business. As a result, my income went back up again through multiple income streams: speaking, consulting, coaching, books/ebooks and online workshops.
Now that I can look back with some perspective, I know that I HAD to go through that year of feeling lost and being stuck to get to where I am now.
I had to go through the fire so that I would be able to support my clients with the same challenges. Not from “textbook theory,” but because I actually went through it myself.
For that reason alone, it was all worth it.
In my next post, I’ll explain how I became location-independent so that I could travel and run my business from anywhere in the world.
Homework time!
HOMEWORK FOR TODAY:
- Every business has ups and downs. My turning point came when I decided to make my business successful, no matter what challenges I faced. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being not committed at all and 10 being you’re ALL IN , no matter what), how committed are you to building a successful business this year?
- Going through my worst year in business forced me to create multiple streams of income. What can you do to make MORE money in your business this year?
Feel free to post your homework below!
Talk soon,
Rosetta
P.S. If you’re ready to launch or relaunch your business this year, then my 2019 Launch Your Business 8-Week Boot Camp will help you! Enrollment CLOSES soon and I’ll be guiding you step by step on how to go from IDEA to LAUNCH in just 8 weeks or less! Let this be the year that you finally get your business off the ground…or back on track.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE: https://happyblackwoman.com/launch
