Ep 34 - Entrepreneurs: Avoid Business Resentment This Year with This Secret Weapon

(Note: This transcript was computer-generated.)

Ever feel a twinge of resentment towards your own business? If so, I want you to know you're not alone. In this episode, I'm gonna uncover the unspoken truth many entrepreneurs face, the moment when the dream becomes a struggle, but here's the silver lining, my friends. It's normal and it's a sign you're ready for change. Join me as I explore why business owners start resenting what they've built, common pitfalls, and most importantly, the path to transformation. If you've ever doubted your journey, then this episode is for you. It's time to turn frustration into growth and reclaim that joy that you used to have with your business. Are you ready? Let's dive in. Are you that driven entrepreneur who believes that working harder holds the key to your dreams? Are you drowning in the day to day task wishing you had more time to strategize and cast the vision for your business growth? Hi.

I'm Donna Dube, your guide on this entrepreneurial journey. I've walked in your worn out shoes, burning the midnight oil, convinced convinced that sheer hard work was the secret to success. Just one more email, one more task until I found myself on a one way track to burnout. But here's the twist in the scale. I discovered that success isn't just about working harder, it's about working smarter. It's about being intentional with our time. It's about steering our ship with focus, because no team, system, or automation can outperform a lack of direction. In this podcast, I'm sharing with you all the strategies for business growth that it took me years to learn.

If you're ready to step out of the daily overwhelm so you can amplify your profits, then I'm ready to teach you. I believe the only limit to your business growth is the one you set for yourself. Go grab a notebook, warm up that cup of tea, and let's do this. Entrepreneurship can often feel heavy. The heaviness of carrying around weights, the weight of uncertainty, the weight of late nights and early mornings, the weight of dreams that sometimes feel just out of reach. I know you felt it, the fear of not making it, the limiting belief that maybe, just maybe, you're not cut out for this entrepreneurial journey. It's okay to admit it. I've been there too.

I know the sleepless nights, questioning if all the effort is worth it, wondering if you're on the right path. But here's what I want you to know. You're not alone, and you don't have to carry that weight by yourself. The sustainable business blueprint isn't just about business strategies. It's about lifting that weight. It's about creating a space where your dreams can breathe and where your goals can flourish. I want you to imagine a future where fear and doubt are replaced with confidence and clarity. Clarity brings action.

Action brings transformation, and transformation brings success. A place where you're not just surviving, but thriving. That future is within reach, my friend. Join me from March 6th to 8th for a journey that goes beyond business tactics. It's about connecting you with your true potential. Don't let fear and limiting beliefs hold you back. You deserve more and it starts with taking that first step. Visit ceoamplify.ca/sustainable

and let's embark on this transformative journey together because your dreams are so worth it. (ceoamplify.ca/sustainable) Hello. Welcome back, CEOs. I hope you're having a great week. I'll be honest with you.

This past week has been testing me and trying me. If you've been listening to the podcast, you know that I'm a big, big fan of eating the frog first and setting up your week for success and not starting your days in your inbox. And I have to admit I've been pretty good at that habit lately, but these past few weeks definitely not and so I've had to really pull in the reins and really adjust myself so that I can start my day doing the things that matter to me and my business the most first, and then diving into that inbox and looking at everyone else's demands after I have a good hour or 2 hours to just focus on what's a real priority. So anyways just putting that out there in case you too have been struggling with your boundaries, Know that it's a journey and it's a process and, you know, sometimes we get 2 steps ahead and one step behind. Alrighty. I wanna dive into this episode today where really talking about resenting your business. And for those of you who have felt this before you know exactly what I'm talking about. If this is brand new for you and you're like resenting your business? What's she talking about? How can I resent my business? Then just stick with me and, you know, you're welcome to bookmark this episode because I can guarantee you at some point in your entrepreneurial journey, you are going to feel this way.

And so make sure you know where this episode is and when it's the time for you, come back and have another listen because it'll make much, much more sense to you at that point. But I'm remembering a client that I was working with last year. And for those who don't know, I work directly with CEOs and business leaders, 1 on 1. And so as director of ops and business growth strategist, part of my role is to really ensure that the leader is thriving and I like to help them leverage three things, their time, their talent, and their tactics. What I like to call the three t's and so part of doing that is to actually have a little little survey and a reflection for the business leader. I call it the ties method so that we can really tap into how they're doing as a leader. Are they surviving or are they thriving? And I did this with a recent client that I was working with last year. And the response back from her survey was shocking.

Very number numbers on her survey were very low and certainly something we had to talk about. So at our next meeting we dived in and she said to me this I'm afraid to say this but I'm really starting to resent my business. Maybe some days even getting to the point of hating my business, but the joy that was there, it's gone. And ouch. You know, it was really difficult for her to admit that and really difficult for all of us to admit that. After all, you know, we've put our heart, our soul, countless hours, no doubt countless hours into building our business. But sometimes it feels like a never ending struggle and we really wonder is it actually worth it to be self employed? And this is exactly where she was feeling like, you know, this wasn't worth it. I'm not enjoying this anymore.

I don't want to keep doing this. What's happening? And here's the thing I told her and what I want you to know too is that this is normal. This is a 100% completely normal and every entrepreneur is going to go through this at some point in their journey. And here's why it happens. You started your business to do what you love, right? However you work with clients, that's your passion, that's where your gifts are. But now you find you're dealing with marketing, you're dealing with tech, You're dealing with admin issues. You're dealing with all these things that quite frankly, if we tell the truth, you'd probably rather not be doing. Am I right? I know we can't see a show of hands over the podcast, but I can see you out there.

I got my hand raised nice and high. Maybe you started your business because you thought you'd have freedom from being self employed, But now you find you're working through meals, you're working late into the evening, working weekends, and while at first you enjoy doing those things, now it's taking away from time that you want with family and friends. And maybe you're in a spot where you know you need help but you struggle to delegate more because, well, for one thing, there's not enough time to figure it all out. Or there's not enough money to actually hire someone. And, you know, some of you have tried this before and it didn't really work out so you believe that you're not good at managing a team And I know it can feel really, really, really uncomfortable to admit these things and even worse to feel this way every day. And I want you to know if you're experiencing some or all of these feelings, know that you're not the only one. This is a rite of passage, my friends. Every entrepreneur goes through some version of this until they begin to leverage their business, until your business becomes more self sustaining and you as the owner can step back out of the day to day.

This is gonna happen and while I want to talk about it, I don't want to dwell on it, but it's really essential to recognize the cues that often serve to help us know there's something going on here. There's a shift that needs to happen. These plan be sometimes silent indicators if we don't pay attention. And this reminds me of back in my healthcare days when I was working as a cardiac ICU nurse. And, you know, we had the silent killer of a heart attack and the heart and stroke association and hospitals and doctors were doing a lot of work to educate the population on what signs and symptoms to look for in a heart attack because it's not always clear that you're having a heart attack, hence silent killer. And it's not always clear that you may be resenting your business. So look for those signs and symptoms that might be quiet, that might be lurking in the background. Pay attention to them and don't let this fester and get pushed under the rug.

You know, maybe you sit down to your work and instead of the usual excitement, there's a heavy sigh, right? A feeling of reluctance to even want to do the tasks that are on your list for today, and those are tasks that once brought you joy. Resentment can manifest in many, many ways and it's really crucial to acknowledge these signs early on. Maybe it's growing resistance to taking on a certain responsibility in your business. Right? And they might seem minor at the beginning, but they can build up over time and this can affect your overall satisfaction and really ultimately the success of your business and you. So I wanna pause for a moment and just reflect, ask yourself, have you ever experienced these subtle, quiet signs of resentment towards your business? And if you have, tell yourself it's okay. This is a place and a space for honest reflection because let's face it, my friends. Entrepreneurship is no doubt a complex journey and it comes with its own unique set of challenges and pressures. No amount of experience in corporate can set you up and ready for the challenges that you're going to experience as an entrepreneur, right? You pour your heart and soul into your business to sometimes find a never ending workload.

And I want you to know that these pressures and challenges can really create a sense of frustration and eventually resentment. And I don't want you to lose touch with that initial passion that you had, that fueled your entrepreneurial spirit in the first place, because I know the daily grind can sometimes overshadow that joy and, you know, I don't want you to stop pursuing your dreams because of this. So I've shown you a few examples of what this resentment might look like, but I really want you to reflect on your own journey. What are the challenges and pressures that are unique to your business that might be contributing to these feelings of resentment? And this has gotta be inward looking guys because the truth is how I'm feeling about my business and the challenges that I have in my business are going to be different from yours. And so you do have to look inward and look specifically at what's happening in your life and your business. You know, as entrepreneurs, we're often conditioned and taught and trained to believe that we just gotta push through and power through challenges. Right? But it's critical that we actually take the time to pause, reflect, and really acknowledge the emotional toll that our business can sometimes take on us. Right? I want you to know we're in this together and by really taking that pause and understanding the root cause, that's when we can begin the journey toward our more balanced and fulfilling relationship with our business.

And so that's exactly what I did when I was working with my client. We could tell right away that there was some resentment there. She was open and honest about admitting it. And then we had to go back to those three t's. How can we leverage the business owner's time, talent, and tactics? And it's not a one and done overnight solution, my friends. It's going to take some time but bit by bit, we chip away. We found operations. We set up systems, we delegated more and bit by bit, we were able to relieve some of those pressures and challenges as able to have her really leveraging the time she was spending in her business.

And with that brought the joy and the excitement again. So just know there is happiness on the other side. If you're feeling very stuck and very confused right now in what you're doing and what this journey looks like, like, but there's hope on the other side and there's a way to get through it. Right? Resentment isn't merely plan emotional continuously in my business and my family and friends were really questioning what I was doing and asking me, am I using my time wisely? And so I had to take a pause and review and reflect and really figure out how am I gonna grow this business without working 24/7. And in that period of time, I'll be honest with you. It was foggy. There was certainly not clarity and every day seemed to be a haze and a fog that I just was trying to scale, crawl through and figure my way out of. And certainly in that time of fog and haze, my ability to adapt and to innovate and to thrive went out the window.

And so we really do need to work through that. Get through that fog, see clarity on the other side so that we can grow and we can be happy again in the business that we have. I don't want you to underestimate the impact of your emotional state and the energy that you bring to your work. So I don't want to harp about it, but definitely take the time to sit and reflect and review and if you are finding you're in this state and what I'm saying to you resonates today, then reach out. Reach out for help. Be willing to be open and vulnerable and share because pushing things under the rug is not the answer. Alright. Let's flip the script now and let's talk about some encouragement.

So if we are feeling overwhelmed, if we are doubting the path we've chosen, I want you to know it doesn't have to be this way. These feelings are not a signal to give up. In fact, they're the exact opposite. They're a call to evolve, to change and to grow. Your current frustrations that you're feeling are the seeds of growth, the little seeds that we put in the ground and plant, the little seeds that are inviting you to find new ways to do your business. It's taking the time to reflect and change your course. Right? Like I was telling you in my example where I had to break through that fog and find the clarity. And changing your course a lot of times has to do with doing less but better.

Okay. You're gonna say Donna, how do we do that? Well, I got three things today that can help us get through that and approach our business from a different perspective. Number 1, again, seek the right support and the help you need to be able to leverage your business, leverage your time, leverage your talent and leverage your tactics, your strategies, so that you can make twice as much and actually work half the time. Number 2 is to delegate wherever and whenever you plan. And this delegation includes operations. So you can delegate to team members, but you can also delegate to a machine which is automating. And step 3, setting up processes and systems on the back end so you can remove yourself from the day to day operations of your business. That clears away the fog and brings you clarity.

And that's when everything starts to fall into place. So remember entrepreneurs that every successful business leader has faced these crossroads. You are not alone, but what sets successful ones apart is their ability to adapt, to learn, and to course correct. To do less, better. I believe you have the strength, the wisdom, and the passion to overcome these challenges. Keep climbing. The view from the top is worth every step. All right, my friends, I hope this was helpful for you.

And again, if you're feeling resentful, if you're feeling kind of angry, kind of hateful towards your business, please reach out and get help. Don't be stuck in this situation. Until next week, have a good week. Thank you for joining me on this episode of CEO Amplify. I appreciate you being part of our thriving community of ambitious business owners. If you enjoy today's episode, kindly ask you to share this podcast with a friend and take a hot minute to rate and leave a review. It would mean the world to me. Your feedback helps me reach more people and continue providing valuable content. Thanks so much for your support. Keep shining and we'll catch you on the next episode.