Keep Calm and Thrive!

Ask any entrepreneur what the most difficult part of running a business is and most and they’ll tell you it’s getting the business off the ground. The early stages of a business’ life seem like a never-ending cycle of planning, raising capital, implementing ideas, assessing those ideas, making corrections, etc. For many business-owners it feels like the work is never done. And that’s completely normal! Anyone who has ever created anything can tell you how hard it is to let your creation out into the world, whether it’s a director and their film or a parent and their child. There’s not a lot you can do about how the world reacts to your business but you can control your reaction.

Breathe. Relax and breath. You’ll never feel ready. The American dream doesn’t come easy. Know that you’re in for a lot of hard work and that all you can do is try your best. Accept this and you’ll have a much easier time facing whatever challenges come your way. Businesses fail for a number of reasons but one of the most common ones is caused by obdurate thinking. Some entrepreneurs get so locked into one plan of attack that the business will crash and burn before it’s ever been given a chance. Adaptability is key and keeping calm and collected is essential to thinking on your feet. You must be ready and willing to change if something isn’t working.

Stress is unnecessary at best and, at worst, harmful. While its true that some people do work better under pressure few successful entrepreneurs will say that their business succeeded because of a rash decision made in a moment of duress. Careful planning takes careful thinking and carefully thinking can rarely occur while under stress. Always remember to keep calm and make decisions carefully and rationally. Your business will be all the better for it.