Should I Give Up, Take A Break, Or Carry On? When Push Comes To Shove
Written by: Serena Scarlett, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Not everyone can handle bullying and heavy-handedness from others in business.
Inspired and excited, you join social media groups – Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, to name a few. You post about your business, your projects or offers. People Like your posts and comment – or not. You keep posting and promoting, listing the days when groups allow you to build up your visibility and getting a presence online.
Swimming along, starting some paid work, things go well. Or are they? Are you earning enough, can you really survive on what’s coming in? Taking stock, you discover a lot more work is required to break even and start making profits that could sustain you.
Building presence, you enthusiastically post in more places, only to be shot down in flames. Group admins and others write disheartening comments. You discover there is a culture you have to learn that’s tightly and firmly governed, sometimes by fierce and feisty types that you thought you had left behind in your 9 to 5 workplace.
Your post has been removed
Your comments go against group guidelines
No selling or self-promotion
You will be removed from this group if you promote
Give more than you take
In that culture, where the heck do you post so that you can be heard and seen by those you know need and want your services?
You need a mentor, someone who has done this before and paves the way for greater visibility and credibility. It's becoming more urgent now. Money is tight, bills are building. Encouraged by ideas of return on investment you pay a mentor and join with others to build and prosper.
You hone your focus and tailor your offers, post more and in different places where you hope your clients will find you and magically buy. Months go by, not much happens, more marketing is needed. Emboldened, you post more widely, finding more places.
But instead of welcome and encouragement, now there are trolls and even more heavy-handed admins who jump on you for not meeting the group’s exact guidelines. Even when you think you have. Sigh.
Posts are removed, you get kicked out for spamming, people on your email lists unsubscribe and it's becoming harder to get exposure in the places you need to be seen.
Disheartened, you review and reflect, pull back for a break, and start again. You realise all businesses need sales – call it marketing at times – but at the last moment if you don’t have a way to sell when someone expresses interest you will go broke.
Sales is hard. It takes a certain type of personality that can take many, many No’s before getting to a single Yes!
Free offers, to attract and give value, are what you try next. People join your groups, but quickly move on, not being keen to pay money yet – they are starting up too and don’t have a lot to spend. Times are tough.
Low-cost offers, to get known, work for a while. But you come back to the same need to upsell, provide value and be in a hot-selling topic or service to ensure ongoing custom.
You wonder how long it's all going to take – it's been over 12 months now and while there was a flurry of business in your first six months, now it's stopped. What to do? What’s gone wrong?
Visibility, presence, more and more getting known, being seen as the change-maker, a thought leader in your field. This is what’s still needed. It's hard to keep up a bright happy positive appearance when really you are struggling. You can't let anyone know – you must appear to be successful.
Are others really successful? Or are they simply giving that impression? How long does it all take? Joining webinars and online groups, your network builds and a few jobs trickle in. Finally, you work up the courage to ask others how long it took them to build up their business.
In a Zoom meeting, your question is ignored, passed over as too difficult. It’s hugely important to know now, savings are running out, income is vital. Complain to the organisers and, lo and behold, the question is given airtime! How long do I keep building my business before I will be sustainable?
Answers.
At least 2 years.
It took me 3-and-a-half years, to be honest.
I have other income.
It's really hard, most people are giving the impression they are successful, but they aren’t either. Like me, they have very little work.
I was successful years ago, then it all changed – people aren’t spending.
I gave up, there were too many heavy-handed people being hurtful and after one awful comment, I couldn’t take anymore.
I suffered the tall poppy syndrome. So many people wanted to cut me down.
Wow, this is not what I thought! My writing is a need, people must have clever and engaging marketing to sell. But... should I give up, take a break or carry on?
I gave up.
I ended my business after 18 months or so of effort.
Having other income still to work with, I pulled back from the online world, treating it now as a hobby business. A gently closed door. I still write and help others here and there. But it's no longer my shining goal, my dream job or retirement plan.
The mean comments, criticism of my personality, the heavy-handedness and unbending rules – that’s just not my scene.
That’s my story, and it’s not a happy ending. But I’m not here to shoot down your goals and dreams. I share my story as a hard lesson.
If you can find resilience and take the knock-backs and the criticism you could thrive. But it's not for everyone.
The end.
Serena Scarlett, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Serena ignites messages while maintaining the business owner’s feel and stamp. Wholistic copywriting with alternative approaches are central for supporting unique businesses. When Magic (and the opposite) happens, Serena provides Mentoring. She delivers creative problem solving, outside-the-box solutions, and stratagems. Whatever the role or project, Serena powers it up and packs a punch. This includes presenting to a SharkTank / Dragon’s Den-style panel and a public audience at the Sydney School of Entrepreneurship in 2019. Copywriting for web pages and marketing materials are her core functions, and being a Wholistic Mentor for Entrepreneurs. The nitty-gritty / hard yards achieved:
designed and ran spiritual groups, mindfulness, relaxation, and meditation classes taught conventional classes on marketing & small business management, financial (debt) management sessions,
therapeutic counseling and case management,
start-up and business mentoring
copywriting, making business presentations, entrepreneurial pitches.
International Business Mentor, with clients in the USA, Europe, and Australia.
Companies that worked for include International Legal firm VisAustralia, Counselling services Converge International, Belconnen Community Services Canberra, Mission Australia, and Anglicare Canberra covering South East and South West NSW, Australia. And currently an Entrepreneur Serena Scarlett as a Spiritual Wordsmith / Wholistic Copywriting & Mentoring. KEY QUALIFICATIONS (Quals) Copywriting Training & Internet Marketing by Hot Copy, Graduate units Sydney School of Entrepreneurship, Ideation & Structure for Success in 2019 fuelled this further. Formal Quals include:
B. App Sci Health (& Community) Education
Post Grad Community Counselling
Dip Financial Counselling.
Create Your Destiny graduate with William Whitecloud April 2021
Mind Soul Spirit workshops (30 + years)
The latter two being personal, spiritual, and psychic development.
