Having a slow revenue month? Don’t feel like a failure!
Bouncing back from a revenue dip is hard. The worst part is feeling like a failure. Too many entrepreneurs place their value in context of their success—a great month means you’re a success, and a bad month means you’re the worst. This is a very dangerous cycle that could ultimately sink you, heart and soul.
There will be highs and lows, and if you let these dictate your emotional state of mind, then you will experience a rollercoaster of emotions that will influence your ability to make decisions, act, and react.
You can manage through them; you’ve got to. If you want to succeed, be aware of your emotions when it comes to your finances. And when you have a bad month, or even string of bad months, fail fabulously—allow yourself to harness the mistakes instead of let them hinder you.
Don’t let a Low Sales Month Contribute to a Scarcity Mindset
Why is money such an emotionally loaded thing? It’s about survival, and that triggers strong primal emotions that rise to the surface. The world revolves around those who have and can do anything with money versus those who have not and struggle without money.
So, too often, fear drives a business owner to see low numbers as impending disaster, and the feelings of fear make it difficult to deal with the reality. To counteract the feelings, some will run away, make rash decisions, or ignore the problem which all result in mistakes that worsen instead of mitigating the situation.
Now as an entrepreneur, you don’t have the luxury to dwell in fear. You must face the numbers realistically. Financial problems are a symptom. They are not the status but rather an indicator of your business’s welfare. The sooner you can learn their messages and allow them to guide you, the sooner you can manage your interior design financial statements better.
Financial Setbacks can Cause Feelings Of Shame And Failure
When faced with low revenue numbers, or not hitting your monthly income goals, it's so easy to judge and get stuck feeling badly about your finances instead of fixing them. If you’re feeling badly, then you’re making a mistake that ties your self-worth to your business’s success. This is dangerous.
Your self-worth comes from a sum of previous experiences that led you to start an interior design business. You don’t define yourself by just one moment, so why let failure define you entirely?
Repairing your interior design financial statements takes patience, so you sort of have to sit with the failure for a while before you can see results of the changes you implement. This is hard!
Again, the key is to feel the emotion and move through it. Don’t squash or avoid it. Experience the emotion, fix the problems, then bless and release. Fail fabulously and then avoid more failure by coming up with a plan to make more money next month, and eventually get out of the “feast/famine” cycle of entrepreneurship.
Don’t Forget To Celebrate your Business Successes
Not all emotions related to finances are cause for concern. There’s one that you should feel every single day: Pride.
Every day, you are accomplishing your dream to start an interior design business. A well-run business will impact every facet of your life. You will feel the highs and lows, so celebrate the accomplishments. The fact is that for every dollar, it's affirmation that your dream job is happening and you're making it happen.
Don’t forget to celebrate, and then, get back to work!
I am happy to offer support to you along the way. Reach out and let us talk to you about The Designers’ Inner Circle.
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