The other day, I was talking to one of my clients about a struggle she’s currently having inside of her business with hiring staff members.

I told her that hiring is definitely one of the hardest things to do within a company. I’m still learning how to do it myself.

That lead us to chat about other struggles that business owners face and the real truth.

Even though we were talking about some of the more “dark” realities of business, she left our conversation feeling less alone and more in her power. She said she wished more people talked about their struggles in business instead of making everything seem so rosy all the time.

The frank truth is, lovely, it’s not easy. And anyone who tells you it is is lying.

I know, you don’t want to hear that, especially if you’re just starting out, but trust me, knowing the reality is actually a good thing.

I know from the outside looking in, things often seem perfect. Take me for example, one of my best online friends recently wrote an email about me and said:

“When I first saw her online I thought “oh gosh, she’s so PINK. Everything is so pink and perfect. Not my thing.”

Hah! (She said on the day she stumbled upon my work, she was wearing a Dracula t-shirt. She didn’t exactly think we were a match made in heaven.)

Then we spoke and have quickly become close and speak nearly every day.

So today, lovely, I want to share my “not so pink” reality four years into my business…

I still work full days and every once and awhile work 14 hour days.
I still don’t consider myself a good leader and most of the time have no clue how to lead my team.
We’re still testing our funnels and strategy with our evergreen funnels to increase conversions. (Can’t wait to share this info with you!)
I actually experienced burnout from too much travel last year and have wanted to stay put for most of this year. (I’m moving past that one!)
I still have a hard time speaking my truth and want people to like me.
Videos still don’t come naturally to me.
I’m still too attached to my client’s results.
I recently made a big breakthrough with self-love and have a whole new take on boundaries.
James and I are still trying to figure out how to work together.
But, lovely, I wouldn’t have it any other way because all of that means I’m growing. (If you’re not growing, you’re dying or standing still — ever think about that?)

I LOVE what I do and the good FAR outweighs the bad.

But I think what happens in this industry is that we have a tendency to sugarcoat things, because hey, we want people to start their own business because we know what’s possible, and we do have it pretty darn good.

The danger is though, when we portray things as rosy and perfect, when the reality doesn’t live up to the painted picture, those who are just starting out think they’re doing something wrong or they think they don’t have what it takes.

Or they set goals that are impossible to reach without a bit of time and experience under their belt. But the reality is that it just takes time and none of us are born knowing everything about running a business.

I believe that anything is possible, but I also believe in setting yourself up for success and creating achievable goals so that when you reach them, you feel proud and inspired to keep going.