Running a small business requires dedication, belief in one’s self, good luck, and super effort. Grinding it out day after day to pay the bills, meet payroll, feed the family. These are very real concerns. I want to let you know that you are not alone.

I can’t count the number of sleepless nights I have had to endure, and still experience to this day. The stress of being out on your own. At times isolated from the world while you try your best to build a stream of revenue. It takes it toll physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Why do we do it? Sometimes it is pursuing a dream, and dreams die hard. Sometimes it is an opportunity that we see. Sometimes it is because we have no other choices. Whatever the reason, here we are.

The stress can at times be palpable.

No one knows your state of being. No one. If you are not out and about, networking, making things happen, or at the very least just socializing, you will find yourself sucked up into a void, isolated from everyone. No reference points are available when you isolate yourself. I think the only legitimate small business that can operate as an island is a programming business where banging out code is a priority. Other than that, it is necessary to have some human fabric wrapped around and through your business. Whether it is human feedback of your products and services, opinions, support, or friendship. Do not isolate yourself.

I speak to a lot of bankers, business people, and media people. The stories I hear back from these people are remarkable. Time and time again, there is continuity in the stories. The same struggles, the same issues, the same failures.

The rewards of running a successful small business are great; good cash flow, pride, and freedom. We all get caught up in chasing the benefits.

But those are benefits that are at the end of the effort. They are the reward for the sleepless nights, the lost contact with society, the unreal stress pounding at your being day and night. Don’t sit there and hope or expect anyone in your life to understand these things, or to magically step up and make it better. It won’t happen. So do not resent anyone for not understanding what you go through. It will poison what relationships you have intact.

Rather, you should take solace in these words: you are not alone.

You are not the first small business owner, and you won’t be the last. What you are however, is part of the greatest group of business people ever assembled. You are not alone. Look on every street in America. There is a small business. And nearly everyone is struggling with something today. Whatever ails you, someone out there is feeling your pain too.

If running a small business was easy, then the 80% that fail in their first five years would not fail, and everyone would own one.

Success requires luck, focus, and scale. Forget the luck part, it is something you have no control over. Focus is easy. What business are you in? Join every group on LinkedIn.com that has anything to do with your industry. Make contacts. Make friends. Help others. Become part of the community and the go-to person. Be relentless in identifying your targets. Be precise in executing. Once you get some business, do not sit back and pat yourself on the back. This is the exact time you will fail. Having a customer and not scaling the customer is a big failure. Traction is what will make you successful. Did you finally get your product on a local Whole Foods shelf? What is your immediate plan to grow in store revenue, have the local buyer endorse your company, and expand to other regional and national stores? This needs to happen instep to launch the first store not months later as an after-thought.

If you feel lost, powerless, confused, or frustrated, contact us and let’s see what we can do to help you. You are not alone.