who's been there, and never left..

Mikey P

Administrator
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
112,308
Location
The High Chapperal
The unfortunate truth of owning and running a business.
Running a business is really hard.
What they don’t tell you is that it can cause severe stress and anxiety, and drains you mentally to the point of depression in even the most laid back people.
People will talk about you, compare you to others, use you, they will view you as a service and not a person anymore.
Friends and family will expect discounts and people will value you and your hard work less than a big chain store.
You have to worry about if you forget to email/message someone back, are they going to think it was on purpose? Did you disappoint them? Will they hold that against you? When in reality you just can’t get to everyone’s messages and emails.
Starting up and running a successful business puts incredible strain on personal lives and relationships, many of which fail because there is just often no work life balance. You need to be the director, the worker, the admin, the marketing team, the accountant, the cleaner..... All whilst being a parent, a husband or a wife, family support, friend... it’s one of the hardest things you will try and balance
There’s a reason you don’t see many people succeed in small businesses after 5 years. If they are successful they are overwhelmed. It takes a toll. It’s freaking exhausting. Especially the past couple of years when so much has been out of our control.
Here’s a small reminder that we are just normal people with hectic lives. Be kind, be patient, support small businesses…….and hopefully more of us will stick around!
I copied this from another small business owner that I support and they support us.
 

Shorty

RIP
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
5,111
Location
Cairns
Name
Shorty Glanville
I thoroughly agree with all that you say.

I'm ready to toss the towel in, 90%

Started in September, 1971 in janitorial cleaning & soon moved into carpet cleaning & most of what followed.

I'm lucky that I have a truly understanding wife, soul mate, bestest ever friend, & work partner for the last forty years.

I still love what I do, but now having some serious health problems is literally forcing me to sell up & carry on in a different work category.

Take care & stay safe everyone & remember, if you want to work for yourself, find something that you really enjoy doing, & treat it like a very well paid hobby. 😉

:yoda: :very_drunk:

😇
 

Jim Martin

Supportive Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
10,878
Location
Arizona
Name
Jim Martin
As with many types of industries out there.. carpet cleaning is no different... You could train a monkey to do this... You have your good monkeys and your not so good monkeys... But its not about what your skill or trade is.. .. It's about truly knowing how to run and manage a business.... And that is where a very large percentage will... And always will fail...
 

The Great Oz

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
5,265
Location
seattle
Name
bryan
Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.” ― M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

And remember, it could always be worse.
 

Kenny Hayes

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Messages
7,877
Location
Yukon, Oklahoma
Name
Kenny Hayes
Diana and I started our biz together out of desperation, but worked together every day learning every area together. I have so much respect for her and my girls for sticking it out through so many rough patches. My girls were
In the 6th and 8th grade when we started. They watched us suffer with long hrs. and missing a lot of activities. They watched us stress over money, working sick, broke equipment, broke down vehicles, whatever came along. I guess it was so ingrained
in them, they know what it takes to do it. They don’t have to work as hard as we did, so it’s rewarding now.
 

Jim Williams

Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2006
Messages
1,462
Location
Bynum N.C.
Name
Jim Williams
"What they don’t tell you is that it can cause severe stress and anxiety, and drains you mentally to the point of depression in even the most laid back people."

This is exactly why I left my job as a Pepsi service tech in 1997. Got tired of being cussed out in 5 different languages a week because the stupid fountain or vending machine was broken.

Sure, it's not always easy but I love running my own business. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I knew at an early age that I was going to drive a van around and make old ladies happy all day.
 

steve_64

Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2012
Messages
13,371
16 years here. Late start.
Fired from too many jobs and quit almost as many before this.
 

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