I kept wondering why am I not moving forward in my business? Two side hustles, two different results. The common factor? Me. So, the difference must be me. Wrong.

side hustle one.

Side hustle one, my Etsy shop. An hour working on it flew by. I had a list of tasks, I’d tick them off, one at time. Go down a rabbit hole with SEO, tweak listings, create new ones, talk to customers, pack orders. There was always something to do. I was busy, productive busy. Working in my business busy. It felt good.

side hustle two.

So, I started side hustle two, my coaching business. It started well. I did my training, lots of practice clients, assignments, assessments, classes, reading. Then I qualified. I knew what to do next, I’d run my Etsy business, I knew the type of coach I wanted to be.

An hour working on this business looked very different. The hour would pass. Slowly. Nothing done. Eventually I realised I was doom scrolling, procrasti-learning and procrastinating. I wanted this. This was my career change. My opportunity to finally work for myself. And yet, nothing was happening.

the verdict.

I knew what I was doing. So, why wasn’t I doing it? I decided that it meant I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t capable of running my own business. I started to look at my shop through different eyes. It was successful because of COVID. Because it was an easier business. Any and all the excuses I could come up with.

But ultimately, I felt that it was more about me, who I was and who I wasn’t. I felt lost, questioning myself and my abilities. I almost gave up. But I wanted to be a coach. Really, really wanted to be a coach. I’d spent five years looking for the right opportunity, one that aligned with who and what I wanted to be. That’s a lot of searching to be wrong. I didn’t want to be wrong.

what I missed.

I wasn’t wrong. The businesses weren’t the same. One had structure, guidelines, obvious tasks. The other was building something from nothing. Both were being done on top of my full-time job. The second one was also being done on top of the first. They were different businesses in practical terms. But emotionally they were different too.

There was more riding on the second one. It held more opportunity. It was more wrapped up in who I wanted to be. I was more emotionally attached. My shop was a hobby. One I enjoyed. But it didn’t say who I was and I could ‘hide’ behind the products. Coaching is a people business, it’s about who I am, what I can do and how I personally work with people. That’s the person I want to be. And I am that person. I must be or I wouldn’t have a successful shop. I wouldn’t have a 20+ year marketing career.  But comparing a personal, new business with a transactional, established business was making me doubt myself.

what the evidence was telling me.

When you are inside a problem you clutch at reasons, create problems, rationalise, excuse. Anything you can find to make it make sense. To feel better. But usually, you are too close to the problem to see it clearly. You are looking for solutions in the wrong place, so the wrong cues present themselves and you grab hold of them as truths.

The fact was, I was a successful marketer who wanted a change. I started an Etsy shop knowing nothing and I learned as I went. I was successful but it didn’t give me what I wanted. I found coaching, did my training and started my business.

But I compared myself to my 20-year career and my years old Etsy business. I didn’t realise that both of them had started with no knowledge and no experience. I missed the differences and tried to make everything the same.

What are you using as evidence against yourself that might not be the whole picture?

If you’re too close to your own situation to see it clearly, that’s what I work on with you. Book a call.