Struggles and pressures in the small business / mental health community…

I LOVE having a small business and I love the mental health account I have created. Mindful Discoveries is like my baby. I have designed it completely on my own… the Instagram, the Facebook, the website, the resources, my children’s books and all of the posts and artwork. I spend so much time creating things for it and working on them. I love meeting new people through my account and I am beyond proud of everything I have done with Mindful Discoveries. I am also so excited for all the plans I have for it in the future.

However, this does not mean that it does not come with challenges and I feel like this is something that is not spoken about enough in this community. Recently, I have been feeling a large amount of pressure to make sure I have posted something, make sure I have spent time on my account, liking other people’s posts and interacting with more accounts like mine. I love doing all of this, but it started to feel a little like a chore, like something I HAD to be doing. After speaking with other accounts like mine and other small business owners, I realised that this is way more common than what some may think. Once you have started the commitment of a small business, it’s so easy to get caught up in the pressure of it instead of focusing on the fun, exciting things. Everyone shows the good stuff, the comments from others about how you have helped them, the nice reviews from customers, the friends you have made etc. Nobody seems to talk as much about the feeling you constantly have of needing to be do something for the business or account. I feel like my work is never done, I always feel like I need to be doing more. I need to post about my latest book, I need to write a new blog post, I need to make a new piece of art to upload to Instagram, I need to reply to this persons message and so on. It can be so overwhelming, and WHY? Nobody minds if I haven’t uploaded anything in a while, nobody moans that I haven’t blogged in months. These standards that I have set for myself (and I’m pretty sure many others have too) are unrealistic and shouldn’t be set standards in the first place. Especially if you add into the mix a social life, a 9-5 job, other hobbies etc. The reason people make accounts like mine or run a small business is because they enjoy it. We enjoy making our posts or our products and we want to share them with the world. It should be as simple as that. We really shouldn’t get caught up in the pressures of it. This is much easier said than done I know, but setting unrealistic standards for something that should be fun and enjoyable needs to be spoken about and understood more. People shouldn’t be afraid to talk about this side of the community.

Of course, when running a small business there are so many other factors that come into play. If someone has ordered something you do have an obligation to send that which can cause stress and pressure. However, I think it’s important to remember why you started and remember that this shouldn’t be causing you stress, it should be causing you enjoyment. Take a step back and enjoy the work. Try to enjoy posting on Instagram, it’s not a chore, do it because you love it and if there ever comes a time when you don’t, do something about it. Life is too short to be stressed and under pressure to post on Instagram or send out orders. I think so many people have been sold the dream of working for yourself, making things you love and having an account like mine. When in reality it isn’t always easy, it isn’t always smooth sailing there are so many bumps in the road you could come across. The most important thing I have learnt is to just try and enjoy the process, enjoy every journey and try not to set standards you can’t meet. Do it because you want to, because you can, because you enjoy it. Do it when you can and when you feel like it. Anything that comes from it as a result is just an added bonus… more sales, more followers, new friends etc. doing something you enjoy for you, that should be enough. Never forget it!