I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
Community Is Everything
I'll be honest, I didn't know if I should write and send this email. I still don't.
But, I've been thinking about this all weekend and it's one of those things that we so rarely talk about openly.
So, let's get serious and talk about the epidemic that we're experiencing and not talking about—Loneliness.
At the beginning of 2021, Harvard University released a study saying that 36% of Americans are experiencing "serious loneliness." I would guess that number hasn't lessened since the study was conducted in November 2020.
Both the extent and depth of this issue are alarming.
And, it predates the present pandemic by several years. Loneliness was on a meteoric rise for at least a decade before 2020 rolled around.
So what happened this weekend?
I was scrolling on TikTok, as you do—getting my fill of adorable dog antics, delicious-looking recipes, and life-changing cleaning tips—when a teary-eyed woman appeared on my screen.
Recently, she said, she realized that she has no pod—that all her relationships are "2nd level." She doesn't know how this happened or what to do about it, and she is incredibly lonely.
The last time I looked, her post had almost 10,000 comments from a largely female audience, almost all echoing her sentiments and the refrain, "I'm so, so lonely."
I am absolutely floored by this person's courage and even more so by how utterly her experience resonates with people from all over the globe and every corner of our society.
Loneliness does not descriminate!
It's made me realize how privileged I am to have a close-knit family, to have great and good friends in my life, to have people, in other words, who consider me a member of their pod and vice versa.
But, here's the thing: Even with all of that I have skirted around the vortex of gripping loneliness over the years.
I often hear from entrepreneurs that they don't have support from friends or loved ones around their start-up journey or that running their own business has come with unexpected loneliness.
I can't remember when a successful entrepreneur ever talked about the terrible loneliness of their start-up days. It's so frequently glossed over or paid lip service, but it is real and can be crushing.
Working for yourself, having only yourself to rely on, making all the decisions, doing all the work, and doing all the worrying, too, is lonely business.
Operating without a net all the time every day is exhausting!
It's honestly one big reason why I started offering individual coaching sessions, which I call business therapy, in addition to a coaching program—because we all need someone else's help and support from time to time and to know that we're not alone and not completely on our own.
I don't know if you or someone else who's receiving this message needs to hear this, but...
What I want you to know is:
- You are not alone. (Whether that is of comfort or not, I'm not sure)
- I am here for you if you ever want to talk or just 'be' with another person.
- If you want to talk with a trained professional, but are stressed about the cost, there are low-cost options available like via the Open Path Collective, which offers access to therapists at affordable rates.
Above all else, I want you to know that I'm so very happy to be in your company and to have you in my community. You are important to me and one of the biggest reasons I feel less alone each and every day.
My heartfelt thanks for that!
P.S. If you missed last week's message, you can find it here.
Sharing is caring. Please pass this message on.
Your success is our strategy!
Easily Said & Done
I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
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