What advice would you give to someone feeling discouraged or doubtful about their entrepreneurial journey?

Feeling discouraged is completely normal, especially in the early days when results don't match the effort. My advice is to focus on daily systems instead of big outcomes. Track your small wins, review your numbers weekly, and remember that every successful entrepreneur you admire has felt exactly what you're feeling right now. The difference is they kept showing up. Connect with other business owners who are a few steps ahead, they can remind you the doubt doesn't mean you're failing, it means you're growing.

I love the saying, being a business owner is not about winning, it is about being the last man standing. That sits with us daily. The days we feel like we are winning and the days we feel like we are losing. One task, one job, one email at a time. Endure.

Entrepreneurship comes with challenges, and feeling discouraged at times is part of the process. My advice is to stay focused on your long-term vision and remember why you started. Progress may not always be fast, but consistency builds result over time. It’s important to keep learning, adapt when necessary, and surround yourself with people who are growth focused. Every challenge is an opportunity to improve your systems, your skills, and your mindset. Most importantly, don’t quit during difficult moments. The same situations that feel like setbacks are often the ones that prepare you for the next level.

I like this one because I'm in the middle of it. Excited to get started but often discouraged about some of the funding process taking longer than I thought. Gotta stay the course and trust. 

The advice I give myself on the hard days: the doubt isn't a signal that you're failing — it's a signal that you're actually in the arena. W-2 employees rarely feel this kind of weight because they aren't carrying the whole thing. If you feel it, it means you're doing the real work.

A few things that have pulled me out of the ditch more than once:

- Shorten the time horizon. When the 5-year plan feels impossible, I zoom in to "what's the one move this week that makes next Monday easier than this Monday?" Then I do that. Momentum beats motivation.

- Separate the business problem from the identity problem. A slow month doesn't mean you're a bad owner. A lost bid doesn't mean you can't estimate. Name the actual problem on paper and it shrinks.

- Track wins, not just AR. I keep a running note of jobs closed, problems solved, customers who came back, and people I've trained up. On dark days I read it. The brain remembers the losses and forgets the wins unless you make it otherwise.

- Find one peer who gets it. Not your spouse (they love you and will worry), not your employees (they need you to be the rock). Another owner in the trades who will tell you the truth and also tell you to keep going. That relationship is worth more than any course.

- Remember who it's for. I started my company so my family could have more options and so my guys could have a better place to work than the ones that burned me out. On the worst days, that "why" is the only thing that gets the boots back on.

You're not behind. You're building. Keep going.

I know what you mean. It’s tough out there and you have to stay positive. There is help out there but it’s difficult to navigate and locate.  Best option is determining how you want to and be approached by your business endeavors. If you’re extroverted, talk to a bunch of new faces in new places.  If introverted, like me, find niches to substantiate and optimize. Stinks when spending power is tight and space is competitive.  Look for unexplored territory to capitalize on in an earnest integruous way.  Always treat people the way that you want to be treated.

Give yourself grace. Don't give up!

Keep going , everyday do something related to your passions and skills. learn something , read something. believe in you and don't give up on you!

Running a businesses is SO much, we all know this. I think time management has been my biggest friend. Honestly we have a million things to do but instead break it down into 2. Get 1 task completed short break and then 2. See how much time you have left in the day, maybe prep for making tomorrows 2 task a little easier. But we generally over worry and overwork ourselves. One thing at a time & if you get through 2. You did good!

**For the last 10yrs even while working at other companies I’ve made my own to do list as soon as I sit down in the morning, before I do anything else, we all generally have a good idea of all the things we need to get done. As I list them, (always better to physically write the list) put an asterisk, 1-3 (3 being a high importance, 1 being something that needs to get done but not dire type of task)…..Start with your 1’s & 2’s. By knocking those out you’ll build the momentum and focus & when you hit that first 3 task you’ll be up to speed, in the groove of things & then look back & realize you finished 4 things before doing that. Half your days entire list & see-able progress as you scratch it off your list is a good mental-morale boost) …..ONE thing at a time guys/gals!

I would tell them what nobody told me.

The doubt does not mean you are doing it wrong. It means you care. Every veteran I know who has tried to build something after service has hit that wall where the mission feels unclear, the resources feel thin, and the voice in your head asks whether any of it is worth it. That voice is lying.

I am a 100% service-disabled veteran building a landscaping business from the ground up with my wife and three kids at home, including a brand new baby. There is no playbook for this. There are days when the gap between where we are and where we are going feels enormous.

But I have learned that the people who make it are not the ones who never doubted. They are the ones who showed up anyway. You do not need to feel confident to take the next step. You just need to take it.

Start smaller than you think you should. Serve one person well. Build one thing you are proud of. Let your mission be bigger than your fear.

And find your community. The loneliest part of entrepreneurship is believing you are the only one struggling. You are not. We are all figuring it out one day at a time, and we are stronger when we do it together.

Keep going. The work you do matters.