There is a dark side to entrepreneurship. Not all successful businesses we see now had smooth journeys on their paths to success. At some point, the owners or founders of those enterprises have felt like giving up on the dreams they believed in.
Entrepreneurs are faced with a lot of negative issues in the course of building their businesses and one of these negative issues is depression.
If not well handled, depression is capable of derailing the dream that an entrepreneur has for his business, as well as deteriorate his/her personal health. Below, are some of the things that you can do, to overcome depression, as an entrepreneur:
Never stop believing in yourself
Look back at your previous achievements, whether big, or, small and celebrate yourself for the journey, thus, far. Believe in those achievements.
Think of why you started the journey and what your aim is at the end. When you get started by motivating yourself like this, as an entrepreneur, then, you are sure on your way to overcoming depression.
You are different
Stop comparing yourself with your friends or colleagues, especially, in terms of achievements. See yourself as a unique person, with your own unique path to success.
Your friends and colleagues might have attained a level of success that you have not achieved, but that does not mean that they are better than you. It does not also mean that you cannot achieve such successes too, with time.
You go on social media and you see posts about their successes and how they get celebrated on social media. This makes you feel intimated and might lead to stress and depression.
One thing you can do in this instance is to give yourself a break from social media, so that, you can stay focused on carrying out the steps that will lead to your own success too. Always remember that you are the best version of you.
Improve your skills
Look into your business and find areas where you have lagged behind. Carry out proper research on, how you can get better in your business.
It could be working on your marketing department, designing a better way of advertising your products and services, or, it could be an improvement on the approach that your customer service department personnel responds to inquiries, etc.
Be deliberate about getting better at what you do, on a daily basis.
Get yourself a mentor
Being an entrepreneur is a lot of work and all that it entails, cannot be handled alone, especially, as a Startup.
Getting a mentor, who has travelled this road before, will expose you to certain truths that you need to know about your business and it also helps you to avoid making very costly mistakes along the line.
Having a mentor enables you to discuss issues that you are not clear about and with directions on what to do, to arrive at the right results, based on their experience.
Network
Avoid limiting yourself. Meet with other entrepreneurs, especially, with those in your line of business and be willing to learn from their success and failure stories. Go for meetings that can build up your capacity.
Do not overstretch yourself
Avoid getting engaged in risks that you are not ready to bear, when things turn sour, especially, risks that involve a lot of money.
Do not engage in deals that will bounce back as debt, which you might prove difficult in paying back. It always leads to more stress, anxiety, and depression. Ensure that you work at your own pace.
Overcoming depression, as an entrepreneur, is a lot easier than you think and can also be avoided, if you are willing to commit yourself to take the necessary steps, as stated above. If followed strictly, you are likely to find yourself building a successful business without fear of failure.