Warning – Beware Of Entrepreneurial Riptides!

Hey entrepreneurs, this is a call for self-care.

I’m putting out an official red flag Riptide warning to entrepreneurs right now.

You are stressed out (rightfully so!), and it’s important to recognize that we’re in a Riptide event at the moment.

Entrepreneurial Riptide

A Riptide in the ocean is a current that keeps sucking you out.

When you walk out with the waves, normally you can just walk right back in whenever you’re ready.

But when you’re in a Riptide and you’re out in the ocean, you actually can’t go back the way you came and there’s a steady current that is pulling you out.

You fight against the waves and the waves pull you back to where you are.

It’s super slow, exhausting progress to try to fight a Riptide and ashore.

Sometimes it is totally futile, and sometimes just an exhausting quagmire of a walk.

So if you’re caught in a Riptide in the ocean, what they say to do is to walk parallel to the shore to find a space where the current isn’t quite so strong.

You Can’t Go Back The Way You Came…

Now as entrepreneurs, what we’re used to doing is saying, “Hey, we’re in the ocean and it is always kind of turbulent out here anyways. I’m having a problem. I just need to put my head down, put in the work, grind my face off and get to my goal.”

USUALLY that works. When we need to recognize it’s not working though is if there is a Riptide happening.

How you know that is – “I’m doing all of the actions I know to do but the result isn’t actually changing. I’m fighting. I’m walking. I’m putting in the time and effort and energy, but I’m not getting any closer to shore. As a matter of fact, we’re getting pulled out more and more.”

This is really important because the number one reason I see a business fail is that the entrepreneur gets too exhausted to continue on to pivot to adapt to make those really important needed changes. And because of that, a Riptide is extremely dangerous.

Are We There Yet?

Entrepreneurs have weathered being business owners, which is exhausting in itself.

They’ve had COVID to manage which has been a big deal to try to navigate through.

They’ve dealt with an employee shortage and have been dealing with inflation.

And right now they’re dealing with concerns over the recession. Spending is really beginning to shrink and buyers are really doing a tournament of choices of “what am I going to spend my hard-earned money on? Has this earned the position or not?”

Right now is a time to recognize that as an entrepreneur, we need to be apex predators, a predator that slowly, calmly stalks the prey for the long haul.

This is NOT a time to sprint. It’s a time to stay in the game to play longer.

There are not a ton of opportunities for massive major growth right now. Just slow and steady is going to win the race.

So if you’re feeling like you’re in a Riptide and the harder you work, nothing is changing, give yourself some peace, a new pace, adjust your strategy and look to move up or downstream to a place for the Riptide isn’t quite as strong.

What got you to where you are isn’t the same path to get to the next step.

What Is Working And What Isn’t?

This is especially a cautionary tale for the Do-It-Yourself entrepreneurs, the people that have done their entire journey alone.

You get to this space where the Riptide has caught you and you’re not exactly sure how to get to that next step.

If you’ve done it yourself you’ve gotten to this particular place where you’ve put in a lot of room a lot of input to get there.

What that means is that it’s not always clear which of all the inputs you did lead to that result. It is not clear which of those you can stop so you’re putting in less energy, or which of those was really working to maximize it.

If you’re a Do-It-Yourself entrepreneur, I would say now’s the time to really double down, and get a closer network around you to have some trusted people that can give you some feedback and some guidance.

Remember, if you just are able to grind and make changes, you’re not in a Riptide. But if you’ve been pushing and you’re feeling that fatigue set in and you’re not feeling like the results are moving due to it, notice that you’re going through a Riptide.

Adjust your input for a long marathon and not a shorter sprint.

The Burden Of The Entrepreneur

The economy right now is going to be based on the back of entrepreneurs and how well they can weather this current storm that is coming our way.

If they fold and crack under this extreme pressure that they’ve been experiencing, everything can fall down.

If they’re able to move and push to the next level, possibly we can recover sooner rather than later.

Take Care Of Yourself – You Are THE Asset!

This is a plea.

Do your self-care. Take care of yourself.

Get your sleep, water, exercise, and friend time in.

Don’t let yourself get run ragged by your business. Don’t let it be a prison.

Recognize the Riptide for what it is.

Take care!!