Comments on: Why Entrepreneurial Burnout is Like that Messy Breakup with your Ex

By: Jamie

Jamie — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:11:44 +0000

Great post…I am sending this to my tech entrepreneur husband.

Sounds like you are back on track to achieving balance. Your mantra is one that I think we can all apply to ourselves, whether we are in business or not.

Jamies last blog post..The Day A Donkey Nearly Ate My Purse

By: Burnout? Take a Break, and Don’t Apologize | Telecommuting Diva

Burnout? Take a Break, and Don’t Apologize | Telecommuting Diva — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:30:35 +0000

[...] Everyone’s entitled to a moment, and this was mine. Now that I’ve taken time to unwind and do absolutely nothing, I’m ready to get back to work. Ironically, I’m not the only entrepreneurial who needed to take a step back and recover from burnout. [...]

By: Liz Strauss

Liz Strauss — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:04:17 +0000

Right on and 100%. Sometimes we have to live it to figure it out. Can’t add a thing to what you said. Brilliant!

Glad you’re back again!

Liz Strausss last blog post..Seth, Scarcity, and How to Value Your Fans

By: Patty

Patty — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:34:49 +0000

Just noticed my post got messed up a little for some reason…

Pattys last blog post..That’s Bingzy, Author and Former Teachers Share Insight on Building Children’s Self Esteem

By: Patty

Patty — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:13:45 +0000

HI Wendy,

I have been following/admiring you and some of the other work at home moms on twitter for awhile. I appreciate your honesty and am surprised to hear you share some of the same struggles many of us who aspire to be where you are feel.

Best wishes,
Patty ?

I know that there are many days/times I ask myself what am I doing, how long should I give this, but something in me keeps pushing me forward.
With my husband having to change jobs due to company layoffs, I don’t have the funds to hire an assistant like you, but am really hoping to find someone part-time or hourly, or someone who can volunteer their time in exchange for advertising.
It has also been hard for me to market, etc because I am a mom before I am a wahm. I have two boys under five at home so they still require a lot of my attention. So like Easton, above, and others I am often burning the midnight oil into the wee morning hours trying to learn as much as I can and do as much as I can to market my sites.

Sometimes I wonder if all this time is for nothing, but it is something I enjoy at the same time and something keeps driving me to move forward. Also seeing other moms like you (Kelly McCausey for one) who have overcome these challenges and are successfully working at home.

By: Chief Family Officer

Chief Family Officer — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:36:09 +0000

Aw, Wendy! I did miss your posts so I am very glad that you’re okay. Thanks for sharing what’s been going on. I’m sorry things have been so rough, but I think probably everyone can relate. I admire you so much for finding your way out of that difficult situation and being so forthright about it. Now go do something for yourself!

Chief Family Officers last blog post..Big savings with Safeway’s Summer Savings Marathon

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:25:42 +0000

Wendy, you rock

Telling it like it is and admitting that building an internet based business has it’s own brand of blood, sweat and tears – is awesome.

Honored to be sweating it out with you.

Kellys last blog post..Momâ€™s Morning Show Back From Hiatus

By: Easton Ellsworth

Easton Ellsworth — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:20:48 +0000

Wendy, I hear ya. I’ve burnt so much midnight oil lately … that I don’t even have the mental energy to come up with a punchline.

But boy howdy, all this work will be worth it someday.

Thank you for reminding me that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed, and that it’s still possible to forge ahead and succeed.

Best wishes as you take Sparkplugging to the next level.

Easton Ellsworths last blog post..Interview: Jason Dowd at The Expressionist, New Blog Magazine

By: Karen Putz / DeafMom

Karen Putz / DeafMom — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:28:00 +0000

Hot damn, Wendy, this came just as I was having a major stumbling block last week and it took me a while to break through it and find the energy again.
I should have just drove over and cried on your shoulder.

Karen Putz / DeafMoms last blog post..Socialization for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Kids

By: A Cowboy's Wife

A Cowboy's Wife — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:02:25 +0000

Excellent post Wendy! I can so relate. While my situation was not as large as yours, I did have to sit down and realize that I am doing this for me. I made adjustments and have been much happier:) You must always take care of #1 first. You can't take care of anything else until you are healthy, mentally and physically:) A Cowboy's Wifes last blog post..A Country Galâ€™s Dream

By: Aruni

Aruni — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:55:46 +0000

Nice post Wendy. It is tough building a business. You might want to add ‘Give yourself permission to try something new.’

I had to do that recently and take a day job for a variety of reasons some of which I have blogged about and some of which I haven’t.

In some cases, it’s added complexity to my life but in many others it’s made things easier and less stressful. I continue to work on Babble Soft (www.babblesoft.com) when I can and the place I work at is very supportive of that.

Keep your eyes and heart open to new opportunities that might come your way.

Arunis last blog post..Life Always Gets Harder Near The Summit (a.k.a. Brandon and the Homeless Dude)

By: Lisa Lam

Lisa Lam — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:12:28 +0000

Thank for for your thoughtful, moving, and helpful post. You’ve just upped your professionalism and integrity by heaps and heaps

Step 6 particularly struck a chord with me, you are sooo right about doing things to please yourself first.

Lisa Lams last blog post..Choosing a name for your Craft Business

By: Not John Chow

Not John Chow — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:15:31 +0000

I am in the same place right now. The only difference is that my blog doesn’t make enough money to hire an assistant.

By: Susan Payton, The Marketing Eggspert

Susan Payton, The Marketing Eggspert — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:11:42 +0000

Wendy–
Great, great post. I love that you’re so honest with your readers. It makes us feel better when we (ahem) need a little motivation for our own blogs and businesses.

We all need a breather from whatever it is we do. We need to have that realization that we are not our companies. We enjoy running them, but when it stops being fun, we have to find new ways to keep loving it (much like my 3 year old. hmmm)

You rock. We here all love you, and you need to know that you have our support through whatever you go through.

By: Robert Hruzek

Robert Hruzek — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:15:59 +0000

Excellent advice, Wendy; especially step 2. The quality of the questions we ask ourselves will probably the the single biggest factor in whether or not we’ll be able to recover – or end up wallowing in self-made misery.

Great article!

Robert Hruzeks last blog post..Three Amazing Truths, Part 2

By: Cath Lawson

Cath Lawson — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:46:48 +0000

Hi Wendy – It sounds like you’re doing some positive things to get through this.

I’ve been in a similar situation in business before. I was owed around Â£250k ($500k) But instead of trying to get in the money owed, I concentrated on the work in progress. That was a bad move. Do everything you can to get that money in. It will make life a lot easier and having the cash will enable you to cope better with the work that is piling up.

Cath Lawsons last blog post..Is Your Soul Damaged?

By: April

April — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:52:04 +0000

I’m glad you took some time to refocus and reevaluate what you want to get out of it and what you are able and willing to put into it. I’d hate to see you burn out and be put in a position where you can no longer stand to do something you used to love.

And I’m glad you moved as quickly as you did on getting a VA once you started getting offers. I think that extra help is going to make HUGE difference and will lift a big weight off of your shoulders.

By: muvar

muvar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:29:46 +0000

Thanks for sharing with us! I hope the assistant works out.
rgds
muvar

By: Marla

Marla — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:17:27 +0000

Wendy,
You have such a refreshingly honest way of sharing of yourself, as well as the highs and lows of your journey and the amazing awareness’s that you receive from them. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to learn from your experiences and for being so brilliant with your metaphors – it gives us something that we can all identify with which makes our job of learning so much easier and more interesting! I just love this post!

By: Trisha

Trisha — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:27:59 +0000

I’m sorry to hear you have had a difficult time lately! But at least you have an assistant now to help out.

I’ve noticed that about the ‘course corrections’ too. I have an overall plan – but every few days it seems I need to create a sort of road map for the next few days and weeks.

Giving up isn’t an option for me either and maybe I’m not asking the right questions.

When I start to feel overwhelmed and not sure what the hell I’m doing (which happens every 2-3 days now I think) just getting away from it all for a little while helps. It seems to help with the priorities and just with seeing the road more clearly. And for me anyway, just taking a couple hours off and doing something completely different seems to help, as long as I haven’t let it get too far out of hand first.