Your absolute rock bottom

[uppydown]

I want to ask about when you have been at absolute rock bottom professionally, whether you own your own business or not.

I own my own business and it's looking really bleak. My cortisol is spiking everything single day. But I can't just walk away as I have invested lots of personal money into it which I really need back. Plus we have taken on some debt that we need to pay back.

Everything feels really really really hard at the moment. Harder than Covid years and they were really tough for our industry.

Just looking for some stories where you hit the bottom and we're able to bounce back and get through the daily hell struggle. Really looking for some solidarity really. Thank you

Anyone?

I wouldn't say necessarily rock bottom, but I did realise that if I continued to pump money into my business, I could potentially lose everything. If I hadn't had kids, I'd probably have gone for it. However, I did, and one had complex medical needs. I decided, for my own sanity, to give up. I still feel sad about it years on, but I do feel it was the right decision. I'm not my own boss now, but in a managerial role within a successful company, and my life is certainly easier now than it was then. Possibly not quite what you wanted to hear, but giving my honest experience. To cut my losses, I was savvy about selling everything that my business owned at the correct market value, and lived very frugally for a good while.

I guess for your situation, perhaps you need to make a new business plan and work out your expected expenses for the next year. Can your business cover these costs? What do you need to do differently to achieve this? It's hard to advise without knowing what area of business you're in really.

I own my own business and we’re not at rock bottom only, but we have been in the past. Happy to have chat/commiserate/help if I can. What does your business do?

hello! Me. I’ve been between a rock and a hard place for a decade. I’m running an online business (light overheads) but never manage to get it all off the ground. It’s infuriating really. Took me a long time to realise that I always put the kids first and never manage to buckle down for long enough. I work fecking hard but mostly seem to be going down the wrong lane getting lost in the busywork of business rather than going for the things that could be game changers. Stamina problem I guess. I’m exhausted.

it sounds like your situation is slightly different as you’re going all in! Which is great in a way.

what are you struggling most with?

that sound like a lot of pressure OP. For me, the worst is the loneliness. I don’t have a team so need to bounce back from each setback on my own. And there’s tons of setbacks, it can really knock you for six. We grow a thick skin in the process right? It’s all down to us. We have to take extreme ownership. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. I had to do a lot of work on myself to be able to handle this lifestyle and it still gets hard. What exactly is this hell you’re having to get through every day?

Thanks everyone for your answers. It's really a huge help to know others may be in the same position although wish you weren't.

It's an online product business. I run with two others who don't live near me. I handle all the operations and I am beyond exhausted. I feel like I'm in freeze mode. Where actually I need to be in fight mode to get the business right sided.

The reason I set the business up was so I could be with kids, pick them up and drop them at school, go to all the plays and be there for sick days. But the cost for that is huge.

I'm off on a break this week for 5 days which I'm hoping may reduce some stress and my fight and inspiration may return.

I'm embarrassed to say that I've had to take some codeine in the past few weeks just to reduce this insane amount of stress I'm feeling.

The hell is battling the daily costs of the business. And paying debts and loans we took on over Covid to survive.

Sales feel like pulling teeth now where before the flow would be solid.

It all feels so hard but you're right if it was easy everyone would be doing it

Are you making full use of social media to market your online products? That would be my first thought in your situation, if sales aren't quite where you need them to be. Is it a fairly niche type of product or is it in a fairly saturated market? Do you have a good USP?

I run my own business and have done for 20 years, I've come close to shutting down 3 times. The panic is real.

Covid was just awful then we pulled through and to be honest the landscape is looking light on revenues fur the next 12+ months so I've had to cut staff and hunker down.

Do you reply 100% on the income from sales? Do you have other ways to make money if you did close the business. That level of stress with no way forward is so hard.

A good friend of mine liquidated and walked away from all debts, it's taken 12 months but she's in a great place now, working full time and said the stress she was under was killing her.

It's an option to walk away, not easy but you have options.

OP I mean this gently but it sounds like you need to have a very good hard look at the sustainability of the business. Do you have a realistic and sustainable plan to turn this around? If not, will debts continue to grow? and if they would it might be better to calling it a day sooner even if that means you lose money - better that than loosing even more.

also just bear in mind the opportunity cost - in doing this and not drawing much out of it you could potentially be earning more elsewhere without this terrible stress.

Thank you so much this really helps. I've said I'm going to give it one more year and really try and go all guns on it. Pay back my personal debt First as I think that is what's causing me the hugest strain.

As a women with children, running your own business around your family was the only way I could try and do it all. But my god it's so hard .