Emotional Cycle of an Entrepreneur 

Business, like life can be a rollercoaster. An emotional rollercoaster.

It is super important to  understand these different emotional cycles. It means it's easier to pull yourself out of a negative emotional place and back on track.  It makes it easier to redirect yourself back to a positive emotional place.

Because when you know, and you're more self aware, you have better control over what it is that you do.

Let's have a look at these emotional cycles of being an entrepreneur.

The Excitement Phase

So when we first start  business, there's lot's of excitement. There's lots and lots of hope. This is when we are full of energy,

We're motivated we've got big goals. We see that people are starting to believe in us. We are feeling the reward of actually starting out with excitement. As we continue, we stay excited when we start earning money.  When people start purchasing from and when we good feedback from others.

It's a great place to be- that starting phase.

The Frustration Phase

But once we hit excitement, we will move into the frustration phase. Frustration is usually bought on by challenges that we face. We may be feeling a little defeated or overwhelmed. Or you've got no leads, or you're trying to find new customers and you're not sure if you're doing the right thing.

You've had bookings and they've cancelled for your one on ones. You're not hitting those those goals.  Or those hitting those expectations that you thought that you would hit.

This is when frustration starts to move in.

The Doubt Phase

Then we move from frustration into doubt, The doubt phase.is where we now start to lose confidence. We start to blame people and things. We start to tell ourselves that we can't do it.

Frustration breeds doubt, we start to ask ourselves the question, "Why am I doing this?"

"Am I in the right field?"

"Is this what I should be doing?"

You're asking a lot of Why? Why me question. You're starting to look for excuses to blame the way these trial phases are going.

The Creative avoidance Phase

I love to be in this phase as I'm a designer.

When in creative avoidance,  we  look for other things to do. Things that will take us away from feeling doubt and frustration.

That could be things like cleaning out the pantry or doing the washing.  We forget what made us excited in the first place.

Once we're in creative avoidance, you can go one of two ways.

The first way and the way that I hope nobody chooses to go is we turn everything into an excuse. And we start to blame everything for us failing.  Rather than taking control of the situation rather than stepping up. Knowing you need to do something to change things. You decide to make excuses.

Or, you can go into the next phase....

The recommitment phase

This can come organically like something exciting might happen. Then it gets you to  jump back into excitement.

But it may not be the case.  You may not have that aha moment that  pulls you back into recommitment. You may experience some things that change in your life. You get a small victories that will be a catalyst to pull you back into recommitment.

But sometimes it takes sheer will power to choose to get excited and recommit yourself again. Start to look for small things. Rather than these big huge goals that we had in that initial excitement phase.

Start looking at the little wins that you have in your world. You may have a new client that has showing success using your product or service. Use that as a way to reinforce and remind yourself why it is that you are doing what you're doing.

 Find ways to pull yourself back into that excitement phase. When you're there, do you know what's going to happen? You'll get frustrated again. You'll go through doubt. You'll get to go through creative avoidance.

And Hey, you may start making excuses. But you want to  push yourself through to excitement. Because again, you know what's gonna happen you going to get frustrated and the cycle continues....

When first starting business, the excitement phase is THE phase as everyone loves starting up new things. All the stuff that happens in the middle. That's the hard work,

You've got to reach for little tiny goals to help pull you back into recommitment and excitement.

This is why I always talk about focusing on one bridge.

Because if you're building one bridge, it's easy to get to that goal. Rather than when you're building five bridges, it takes you a little longer to get to those little mini goals.

Now, this is  the total emotional cycle of sales, the longer you're in, business the stronger your mindset becomes. The less often you'll go through these cycles. The longer you'll be able to stay excited in the recommitment phases.

In the early days, you'll cycle through these, sometimes many times in a day. Especially when you're struggling with money woes. You're trying to pay for advertising. You're trying to get your business to that point that you know where that freedom number lies. When you  know where this freedom number lies, things will get easier.

But in the beginning, you're going for $20, $30 $40,000 a month. Whatever that freedom number is for you, you go through the cycle.

When you  get there it will to start to slow down. But when you're aware that these cycles are part of running your own business.  Part of being an entrepreneur.

I asked you a question right now.

"What area of this emotional cycle of being an entrepreneur are you in right now?"

Are you in the excited phase? Great. Congratulations, you're in the best phase?

Are you in frustration? Try to recognise what it is that is making you frustrated. And then start to focus on a solution. Rather than focusing on the problem. Are you in doubt? If you are in the doubt phase, try to find something that you were so excited to start in the first place.

Look at your customers around you what they're achieving, some of those mini goals. Were you able to buy a pair of shoes?  Pay for some kids sporting event?

If you are a creative avoidance, Hey, we all need to unwind.

When I'm unwinding, I'm in creative avoidance when I need to step away. I remove myself from my business. Okay? Sometimes my creative avoidance is designing for my business as I am a graphic designer. So I do a lot of the design inside my business.

But sometimes I have a doona day.  If that doona day turns into more than a day, recognise that you are now beginning to move into the excuses stage. Having some creative avoidance every now and then is okay.

But make sure you do recommit because a successful entrepreneur is the one who never gives up. Through the stages through the ways that we all go through. You know, we all go through things.