a pep talk if you need one

As every business owner knows, entrepreneurship has its good days and its bad. I know, as a Stella & Dot stylist and direct sales rep, that this business can be a strong, positive, and creative force in my life if I can approach it with the right mindset. It is what I make it.

I can choose positivity or I can choose negativity. Negativity gets me nothing but frustration and poor results. But positivity! Positivity brings me success.

There have been a few days lately where I've been experiencing some pretty poor feelings about my S&D business [you might have noticed, even this blog has been suffering]. I wasn’t seeing the results I was hoping for after what I felt was a fantastic trunk show and I started to get down on myself about not meeting my goal for the month. I needed a pep talk. I’ve found in the past that my sponsor has a great person to lean on for this - and yours probably is too. However, I was feeling particularly hermit-ish that day so I decided I’d try to deal with my attitude on my own. I started to write down some affirmations to help turn my attitude around.

Here are some of the things I scribbled down:

• As an S&D stylist, you have $1000's of free jewelry and accessories to give away. You have an amazing product to give and you should be excited to share it far and wide. 
• Other women want what YOU have: access to hundreds of stylish items for great discounts and some amazing perks to go along with it; flexible work hours; and a community of strong, supportive female entrepreneurs. 
• You have something to give - not just the S&D products, but YOU. Be yourself. They'll love you. You're awesome! 
• Don't be ashamed or embarrassed that you're doing this. You might feel nervous about putting yourself out there sometimes, but that's nothing to be ashamed of it's something to be proud of. You're an entrepreneur. You're bold and creative and innovative. You help women look and feel fabulous and you should only ever feel good about doing that. 
• You'll get No's and you'll get angry and complaining people. That's all part of the business. Every entrepreneur will face these struggles and it's okay. Learn to count the No's as one step closer to a Yes! 

Reminding myself of these things was an awesome boost. I was able to get back to a positive place, feeling encouraged and excited about my business and the possibilities it presents. Getting excited about my business motivated me to call (and I hate calling) some of my past customers to encourage them to take advantage of the Dot Dollars promotion. I have to say that I ROCKED my goal and I'm feeling great!

Maybe you could use a pep talk right now too. I hope that sharing some of the notes that helped me get through a rough patch will be helpful to you too. If nothing else, you might find it comforting to realize that you’re not alone in your struggles! Entrepreneurship can be a tough business. Don’t forget that you’re in this business for yourself, but you are not by yourself.


Tell me: Have you had rough days while building your business? What got you through? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.