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

Believe in God and have faith in Jesus Christ. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” is a Bible verse from Philippians 4:13. It is a common expression of faith and a reminder that people can overcome challenges with the strength and empowerment that comes from Jesus. In addition to that, believe in people who say they are not extraordinary and say that if they can do it, so can you!

Find a mentor.

Nothing will get you where you want to go faster and with less pain than following a mentor.

Nothing.

If someone is feeling discouraged or doubtful about their entrepreneurial journey, here are some pieces of advice that may help:

1. Reflect on Your Why: Take a step back and remind yourself of why you started this entrepreneurial journey in the first place. Reconnect with your passion, purpose, and goals. Understanding your motivation can reignite your drive and determination.

2. Focus on Progress, Not Perfection: Entrepreneurship is a journey filled with ups and downs. Celebrate small wins along the way and acknowledge the progress you've made, however incremental it may seem. Remember that setbacks are a natural part of growth.

3. Seek Support: Don't hesitate to reach out to mentors, fellow entrepreneurs, friends, or family members for support and encouragement. Surround yourself with positive influences who can offer guidance and perspective during tough times.

4. Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity: Failure is not the end but a stepping stone to success. Reframe setbacks as valuable learning experiences that can help you grow stronger and wiser in your entrepreneurial endeavors.

5. Take Care of Yourself: Entrepreneurship can be demanding, both mentally and physically. Make self-care a priority by ensuring you get enough rest, exercise, and relaxation. A healthy mind and body are essential for resilience and perseverance.

6. Adjust Your Mindset: Shift your perspective from seeing challenges as roadblocks to viewing them as opportunities for innovation and growth. Cultivate a positive mindset that embraces change and adapts to new circumstances.

7. Break Down Goals into Manageable Tasks: Feeling overwhelmed is common on the entrepreneurial journey. Break down your goals into smaller, manageable tasks to make progress more achievable and less daunting.

8. Stay Persistent: Remember that success rarely happens overnight. Stay committed to your vision, stay consistent in your efforts, and trust the process. Persistence is often the defining factor between those who give up and those who thrive.

9. Celebrate Your Resilience: Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. Acknowledge your resilience and courage for embarking on this challenging path. Believe in yourself and your ability to overcome obstacles.

10. Revisit Your Vision: Take time to revisit your long-term vision and remind yourself of the impact you aspire to make through your entrepreneurial journey. Let your passion and commitment reignite your sense of purpose and drive.

Remember, feeling discouraged or doubtful is a normal part of the entrepreneurial experience. It's how you respond to those feelings that will define your journey. Stay resilient, stay focused, and keep moving forward.

Feeling doubtful or discouraged? You're in the right place! Welcome to the club.

Surround yourself with a small network of like minded folks that have achieved where you'r trying to go. Hire a coach, join a mentoring group and hold one for the ride of your life.

Also read the E-myth!

Ask questions. Verify your source. So many opinions. Find a plan and stick to it until you decide a change is needed give it time though. Also when discouraged write out what you have done well

Welcome to entrepreneurship! The best response i've ever got for my discouragement from my mentor... "Have you ever thought thats what it's supposed to feel like?" 

I feel discouraged all the time. Success is 80% failure haha. Welcome to the club! I get pumped now because it's pushing through the discouragement that not many are willing to push through.
When you do things that most aren't willing to do you get results most people never will!  

Friction = Traction!

You certainly will get overwhelmed from time to time, We ALL DO......  The key to overcome this is to remember why you started this journey to begin with. Also keep in mind that NO MATTER what, THIS TO SHALL PASS........

I maybe too blunt and not fluffy enough.  A good reminder on why you started the business.  If the business owner is feeling discouraged or doubtful and they cannot change their mindset, they should become an employee. As leaders, we need to be comfortable putting ourselves into uncomfortable situations. Nothing wrong with doubting a decision but if it was made and it turns out wrong, you learn from it and move on.

Consistency over intensity, most people fail because they don't see immediate results from their efforts and just give up.

I found that goal setting and breaking down those goals into individual tasks made it easier to see the path to growth. If 5 big goals for the year have 10 tasks each to achieve them, that's enough for 1 task each week for the year. If you do all that work and still fail, you can honestly say that you did at least 50 things to make it work. That at least helps to address the operational needs of the company. 

In terms of your personal feelings as an entrepreneur, just know that you aren't alone. Everyone who has built a business from scratch have these problems. I'll bet cash is uncomfortably tight? You have a couple clients who are unreasonable but you can't afford to fire them? Your staff aren't nailing it? How about not having enough hours in the day? Beeeeeen there. We all have.

The burnout, the anxiety and the uncertainty will clear up if you're willing to keep pushing forward. That struggle you're going through today is extremely important, necessary even. When you overcome today's big nightmare, (and you will one way or another) you'll come out of it more trained and skillful for nightmares like that. Knock out enough nightmares and guess what, nothing is a nightmare anymore. You'll be less and less vulnerable, or maybe just vulnerable to tackle bigger and scarier issues. There's no pathway to entreprenuerial success that isn't paved with the hard won experience. 

Somewhere along the way, a friend or family member will point out how you kept your cool in a seriously tough situation, and you'll realize that it wasn't tough this time, and you'll remember when it was the toughest thing you could imagine. Riding out entrepreneurship will change who you are.