How Do You Approach Business Lows/Highs?

[PersianCub]

In poker, I remember learning how sometimes you can make the exact right move in a certain situation with the information you have, but you can still lose.

My business is just getting off the ground, and I'm preparing myself for all the highs/lows that are going to come, and have already started.

I wonder if it's possible to maintain a steady frame of mind to avoid being caught in the rollercoaster emotionally of what comes with this playing field.
The state of mind a high-level poker player could maintain.

Would love to hear what works for you.

 

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[RazorCut]

Hi @PersianCub

I think the most important thing to help prepare for the highs and lows is to realise this:



Once you realise that there will be failures along the way but they are part of the journey and an important aspect of learning then you find it much easier to accept the lows, and the highs become even more meaningful.

Just like poker, sometimes you get a bad beat but it's how you react to that situation and how strongly you bounce back that ultimately matters.

 

[Grinder20]

In poker, I remember learning how sometimes you can make the exact right move in a certain situation with the information you have, but you can still lose.

My business is just getting off the ground, and I'm preparing myself for all the highs/lows that are going to come, and have already started.

I wonder if it's possible to maintain a steady frame of mind to avoid being caught in the rollercoaster emotionally of what comes with this playing field.
The state of mind a high-level poker player could maintain.

Would love to hear what works for you.

Hi @PersianCub,

What @RazorCut said, the highs and lows are part of the journey of entrepreneurship. Let me also add...maintaining your health is what's going to allow you to bounce back and be resilient. The link between working out (and/or meditation) and mental clarity is unbelievable. That, along with of course proper sleep will give you the focus you need.

You will be making a lot of sacrifices in the beginning, make sure you make time for friends and family. It is one of the most overlooked part of your health and/or well being...being social (even the most introverted people need it) as entrepreneurship can be a lonely at times, but there's absolutely nothing like it.

Welcome to the free fall and best of luck to you!

 

[PersianCub]

@RazorCut @Grinder20 Appreciated guys that definitely makes sense. Will do, getting acclimated to a morning daily swim regimen now.

Maybe I should get back into poker as well?

 

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[Grinder20]

@RazorCut @Grinder20 Appreciated guys that definitely makes sense. Will do, getting acclimated to a morning daily swim regimen now.

Maybe I should get back into poker as well?

@PersianCub, you're welcome, you got this!

 

[Tiago]

As soon as you start doubting yourself or beating yourself up, say a big fat "NEXT!" and move on. Physically move your body and change your stance. Don't allow yourself to dwell one single second in it.

 

[PersianCub]

As soon as you start doubting yourself or beating yourself up, say a big fat "NEXT!" and move on. Physically move your body and change your stance. Don't allow yourself to dwell one single second in it.

F*ck yeah... keep the ship moving

 

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[MythOfSisyphus]

When things go wrong I always look for someone else to place the blame on (usually an employee). I find this works really well.

(kidding)

If I find myself in a panic over something I just remember all the other times that I felt like the latest disaster was going to cripple my business. Until it didn't and everything worked out fine in the end (Even if it cost a bit of money, or a customer or 2)

Just like in life, there's no way to eliminate the lows in business. You just get better perspective on them as you go.

 

[PersianCub]

When things go wrong I always look for someone else to place the blame on (usually an employee). I find this works really well.

(kidding)

If I find myself in a panic over something I just remember all the other times that I felt like the latest disaster was going to cripple my business. Until it didn't and everything worked out fine in the end. Even if it cost a bit of money, or a customer or 2.

hah.
Yeah good point. I think always remembering that someone's business is actually crumbling somewhere in the world always could help too lol.

 

[Rabby]

Be ready for mysterious ups and downs in cashflow. You may never figure some of them out, but all sorts of seemingly unrelated things can influence the number of customers you get, even in something fairly steady like B2B services. And that's totally Ok.

For example, my business sells a service to professionals, but is nonetheless affected by Mother's Day, the Daytona 500, the Olympics, and possibly fruit juice consumption. The things that affect your cashflow in the short term can be invisible, and/or have no logical relationship to your business or your actions.

It doesn't make sense to follow all the things that have up and down effects, except where you can react effectively (eg: schedule around Mother's Day). So look at your cashflow in terms of averages.

Don't get manic one month when you make $70,000 (or whatever your manic level is for a month). And don't fall into despair when the slow month comes along. Observe, spend based on your averages, not your highs. Panic based on your averages, not your lows... unless the lows are clearly out of bounds for a long enough period of time that it's really obvious something is wrong

 

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[NursingTn]

I find my business "lows" are when a business venture is my only current and future piggy bank.

In other words, the business venture is my money maker. It is soul crushing to work on something while you're struggling to live "just okay" because of a lack of income.

Knowing this, I have two side jobs that I usually can work for a couple hours weekly if I am in a pinched for money. However, last night, I asked myself "How much would my life change if I made 100 bucks a day every day with a total of 7 hours or less spent weekly?".

Now I am analyzing and performing case studies on different entrepreneurs that purportedly have created such side gigs to understand the madness to their method. Let's see what I can come up with later on.

You might find being strapped for cash to be one of your many low points, and honestly, only making cash that you can count on helping you when times get hard will help you remain sane.

 

[Mattie]

As soon as you start doubting yourself or beating yourself up, say a big fat "NEXT!" and move on. Physically move your body and change your stance. Don't allow yourself to dwell one single second in it.

Love this.

 

[Ninjakid]

Keep grinding.

When things are good, keep grinding.

When things are bad, keep grinding.

Keep yourself consistent, don’t be swayed by the highs and lows.

Keep grinding.

 

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[PersianCub]

Be ready for mysterious ups and downs in cashflow. You may never figure some of them out, but all sorts of seemingly unrelated things can influence the number of customers you get, even in something fairly steady like B2B services. And that's totally Ok.

For example, my business sells a service to professionals, but is nonetheless affected by Mother's Day, the Daytona 500, the Olympics, and possibly fruit juice consumption. The things that affect your cashflow in the short term can be invisible, and/or have no logical relationship to your business or your actions.

It doesn't make sense to follow all the things that have up and down effects, except where you can react effectively (eg: schedule around Mother's Day). So look at your cashflow in terms of averages.

Don't get manic one month when you make $70,000 (or whatever your manic level is for a month). And don't fall into despair when the slow month comes along. Observe, spend based on your averages, not your highs. Panic based on your averages, not your lows... unless the lows are clearly out of bounds for a long enough period of time that it's really obvious something is wrong

Absolutely makes sense. Will 100% apply this. Thank you

 

[PersianCub]

Keep grinding.

When things are good, keep grinding.

When things are bad, keep grinding.

Keep yourself consistent, don’t be swayed by the highs and lows.

Keep grinding.

truth. thank you

 

[ChrisV]

I think the biggest thing is to save money. Like, pathologically. Some people move in with their parents, some have toyed with the idea of moving into a van (lol, seriously).. but even if you're not gonna be that extreme, cut ALL non-essential costs. I shut off my cellphone and used Wi-Fi, ate very cheap food and just started saving money at a borderline nuts level. But it worked. You need that savings to get you through the low spots.

Then after you do all that you'll get to look forward to people saying "wow, you work whenever you want? you're so lucky"

 

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[Grinder20]

I think the biggest thing is to save money. Like, pathologically. Some people move in with their parents, some have toyed with the idea of moving into a van (lol, seriously).. but even if you're not gonna be that extreme, cut ALL non-essential costs. I shut off my cellphone and used Wi-Fi, ate very cheap food and just started saving money at a borderline nuts level. But it worked. You need that savings to get you through the low spots.

Then after you do all that you'll get to look forward to people saying "wow, you work whenever you want? you're so lucky"

Oh, I that's a big one...I second that! Speaking of cutting ties...if you're girlfriend gives you crap about this, she's not for you!

 

[Grinder20]

Oh, I that's a big one...I second that! Speaking of cutting ties...if you're girlfriend gives you crap about this, she's not for you!

Sorry for the grammar errors

 

[PersianCub]

I think the biggest thing is to save money. Like, pathologically. Some people move in with their parents, some have toyed with the idea of moving into a van (lol, seriously).. but even if you're not gonna be that extreme, cut ALL non-essential costs. I shut off my cellphone and used Wi-Fi, ate very cheap food and just started saving money at a borderline nuts level. But it worked. You need that savings to get you through the low spots.

Then after you do all that you'll get to look forward to people saying "wow, you work whenever you want? you're so lucky"

Damn. That will be the F*cking best LOL.
Yes, I live with family and decided to avoid women for the next few years until I get some strong momentum.

This is a great point. I'm going to go through bank transactions now and see what I can cut.

 

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