We all start out with none.
Starting a business requires us to overcome many hurdles, especially our internal obstacles. One of these obstacles that many entrepreneurs struggle with is the feeling of inferiority when we don't get as many customers / clients / social media followers as we'd like.
This can happen at any phase of our business-building.
At the start of it, we might feel that growth isn't fast enough, reflecting our "bad / mistaken business idea." We may constantly question our own marketing abilities and content. We may even start to think that we don't have enough friends / family members who could bring over to us a starting base of people.
Down the road, we might start to encounter "competition," - other people or businesses who are aiming to achieve the same goals as we are. We may compare ourselves to what they present on their social medias or websites. We may then suddenly feel that we should be further along than we are. Or that we're not working hard enough.
And anywhere along the path, we may feel that we just aren't capable enough to attract in more people to our business. "Because if only we were cooler, prettier, more creative, more intelligent, more outgoing, more fun, we'd have many more people buying our products and services!"
WRONG!
Yes, it's only natural to think this way as human beings who tend towards self-doubt and imposter syndrome. But that's one beautiful part of being an entrepreneur - we get the opportunity to look at the parts of ourselves that we have criticized all of our lives, all now projected onto our business venture.
We get to face the parts of ourselves that we have deemed, likely since childhood, to be unattractive, full of flaws, embarrassing, gross, inferior, abnormal, and shameful.
We get to realize, after periods of lamenting over our lack of self-confidence, that we are SO AWESOME for having the guts to pursue entrepreneurship in the first place.
Let's be clear. This journey is easy for nobody. Though Doll & Dollhouse strives to make the entrepreneurship journey as seamless as possible, we are all faced with the heavy task of sustaining ourselves through uncertainty and immense pressure if we choose this route. Let's applaud ourselves for even daring to go down this path in the first place.
When we grow into our more confident selves, we realize that the word "should" starts to fade from our vocabulary. It doesn't matter if our "competition" (who are just those who have decided to fulfill the same mission as you, so all the more power to them) seem to be further along than we are. It really doesn't matter how "fast" or "slow" we are going.
We are all on our own winding, unique, circular paths. There is no ending. We keep bumping into the parts of ourselves that need some examining, before working them through them, and moving forward to the next part to examine and dissect again.
Another personal stylist that you see on Instagram may be thousands of followers ahead of you. But she may be attracting a niche that is a bit more superficial than the audience that you are aiming to (or meant to) attract. This audience is all about true empowerment and transformation. To attract this audience, you may be required to experience your own transformation, before you can give them what they need. These transformative experiences in your life take time.
So other stylists may be ahead of you in terms of superficial numbers. But just know that the pace that you are going at is exactly the pace meant for you and your business. Maybe at some point, you will receive an offer for a huge collaboration! Other stylists may then, at that time, be working on their internal obstacles.
You just never know what is to come or the bigger purposes behind what we see on the surface. Trust that you are here to fulfill a giant purpose in your career, the least of which is to inspire and serve others. This means that those who are meant to find you, connect to your unique energy, and connect to your unique business will find you someway, somehow.
Trust that nothing and no one can take away what is meant for you.
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