People & Blogs
3 Ways I Pulled Myself Out Of An Entrepreneurial Slump
Jul
By Giovanna Silvestre
I started my active wear line six years ago. At that time I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to conquer the world with my crystal inspired leggings. I had drive, passion and infinite possibilities of grandeur ahead of me. Even though I’ve had my successes, my accomplishments were nowhere near the expectations I had for myself. I’m sure many of you go getters can relate.
After years of hustling and riding the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur, at my fifth year in business, things started to level out so I had more security but I found myself just going through the motions with little to no drive. I was burned-out, bored and bummed.
After a few months of not tending to my business, I realized that if I kept this current mood up, I was going to destroy everything I worked so hard to build. As my mom would say, “Giovanna, you need attitude an adjustment”. In this case, she would be right and this is how I pulled myself out of an entrepreneurial slump:
I grabbed a piece of paper and started to write down why I started my company in the first place. Why was I so passionate about making my line of active wear? What was my greater purpose behind all the work? Who was I doing this for? When I remembered that I started my company with a message of helping other women find their true nature, I got myself excited again. I looked back at the positive emails my customers had sent me. I went through instagram and looked at the thousands of women around the world, wearing my products as they did their yoga poses. This made me come alive again.
It’s easy for the message we started out with to get lost when we are trying to keep up with everything that goes into running a business. I promised myself that every month I was going to sit down for 30 minutes and take the time to revisit “why” I started my company and “who” I’m doing this for.
When I would wake up in the morning, I had this horrible habit of grabbing my phone and checking emails. If you want to create more anxiety in your life, this is a great way of doing that. I realized this habit was incredibly unhealthy and wasn’t serving my productivity. I decided to create an anxiety free morning. Now when I wakeup in the morning, I’ll sit up in my bed and meditate for 20 minutes. I give myself permission to just be with myself. Then I’ll make some coffee and peacefully walk over to the computer and check emails.
Think Outside The Box
When we are doing the same thing everyday for a few years, our vision can get stunted. I like to call this having tunnel vision. It’s great to be focused but we don’t want to block out infinite possibilities. Maybe there is something else we need to incorporate into the business? Maybe new collaborations need to be made? Maybe the universe is trying to guide us in a new direction? I decided that I was going to open myself up to inspiration and new opportunities coming into my life. I now follow this principle, “Life is a balance between making it happen and letting it happen.”
Conclusion
If you’re in a slump right now, try to perceive this as an opportunity to learn about yourself and your business. Even though it didn’t feel pleasant, this was a wonderful reflective time for myself. Use this as an opportunity to let go of what is not serving your greater purpose and dive into everything that does. Who knows what infinite possibilities lie ahead.
Bio
Giovanna Silvestre is the creator of the international yoga wear brand Confused Girl in the City and travel lifestyle influencer. Find me on Instagram @ConfusedGirlLA.
