Why falling out of love with your business can be a good thing

Confession time: I’ve fallen out of love with Curlyworm Creative before, a couple of times actually. Never completely, more in the “I still love you, I just don’t like you right now” kind of way. Every time it’s been because I’ve given too much of myself to it. Pushing through and overstretching when I should be resting or giving myself some space. And each time I’ve fallen out of like with it, I’ve learnt something new.

Your hero is lying to you
Business influencers largely fall into two camps. On the one hand are those that would have you believe that running your own business is a dream-like existence of neutral tones that allows you to sip margs on the beach. Running the whole show from your laptop and an iPhone and working for the sum total of 2 hours every fortnight. The other side are all about the hustle, encouraging you to put in the work 24/7. Never letting up so you can build a multi-million dollar empire and have half the global population working as your minions.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but both of these things are not true. Running a business can be a total pain in the arse whether you’re doing it from the beach, a mansion, or a semi in London. Some days will be awesome, and you’ll wonder why everyone doesn’t do their own thing. But there will be others where you wonder why the hell you made this stupid decision and ruined your life. It simply isn’t as wonderful and life-affirming as these floaty strangers on the internet would have you believe.

Equally stupid is the idea that you should be hustling 24/7 and if you’re not, then, well, you’re just a total loser. When you first start out, hustling is a given. It’s how you get your name out there and land your first clients. But doing it non-stop is a one-way ticket to burnoutville. And that is a place no business owner wants to be.

Falling out of like is normal
At some point, you’ll find yourself questioning every decision that led you to this point. And that’s when you’ll fall out of like with your business. For a few hours, days, or weeks it’ll stop being this awesome thing that gives you everything you ever wanted. Instead, it becomes this heavy thing dragging you down that you can’t cut loose. AND THAT IS PERFECTLY NORMAL. Running a business is hard work, it’s not all going to be sunshine and rainbows.

Despite what their perfectly-curated feed would have you believe, even influencers hate their businesses sometimes. It’s a normal part of being a business owner. And falling out of love can help you figure out what you need to tweak for better balance.

Why don’t you love me anymore?
There’s always a reason why you’ve fallen out of love with your business, and that reason can help you make sure it never happens again. Are you like me and have a tendency to give too much? Set boundaries and schedule time for rest. Working on projects you don’t like? Turn them down in future so you can focus on ones you love. Working all the hours but not earning enough? Time to increase your prices. Getting bogged down in admin? Outsource to a VA. Finding social media a total drag? Work with a social media manager (ahem book a call). Whatever it is, there’s a solution waiting to be found.

Unless your gut is truly telling you to pack it all in, don’t let falling out of like be the end of your business. Instead, use it as a way to build a business you love even more.

If social media is standing between you and loving your business again, we can help.

We share tons of tips on our Instagram – head on over for more on slow-living social media.

Thanks to Shaira Dela Peña for the photo.