Feeling Stuck in Your Business? Here’s What 155 Days of Going Solo Taught Me
For the last 155 days, I’ve been working for myself. It’s been a whirlwind of highs and lows, excitement and self-doubt, and a whole lot of learning.
I’m still very much in the thick of it, and I don’t have it all figured out — far from it, actually. But I want to share what these first few months have really been like for me, because I know I’m not alone in this.
Before I started, I thought I had it all sorted. I’d studied Business and Management, spent hours crafting a detailed business plan—mapping out my goals, strategies, and how I was going to get there. I thought I’d covered every angle and anticipated all the challenges.
But here’s what I’ve learned:
Having a plan is one thing, but executing it in real life is a completely different ballgame. A business plan is great for making you think through your ideas and take calculated risks, but it doesn’t prepare you for the reality of being in it every single day. It can’t prepare you for the ups and downs, the uncertainty, or the sheer mental strain that comes with running your own business.
I thought I’d built a solid foundation, but it turns out, there are some things you just can’t foresee until you’re in the the thick of it.
Trying Everything and Getting Nowhere
When I first started, things were exciting. I had a few projects lined up from my network, and the momentum kept me fuelled and busy. It felt great to see my efforts turn into something real. I thought, “This is it. This is how it’s going to be.”
I felt confident, almost cocky, thinking it would continue to be this easy.
But then, those initial projects came to an end and suddenly, the reality hit me. What do I do now? I didn’t have a plan for this part—the in-between stage where things go quiet. There’s no section in a business plan for handling the silence, the self-doubt, or the feeling that maybe you’ve just made the biggest mistake of your life.
So, I started doing everything, all at once.
I’d be working on this thing one day, then switching to that thing the next—jumping from one idea to another, desperately trying to make something happen. I was doing the very things I help my clients with—the things I’m really good at, the strategies that have brought them success. But for some reason, they weren’t working for me.
What’s going on? Am I doing something wrong? That’s when the self-doubt really started to kick in.
How can I claim to help other businesses generate leads and sales when I can’t even do it for myself? Am I an imposter? Am I actually any good at this?
It was confusing and frustrating. I was getting good results for my clients, but I couldn’t replicate that success for myself. I started to think, Maybe I’m not cut out for this. Maybe I’ve made a huge mistake.
The Fear of Failing
The fear of failing completely took over. I didn’t want to let down the people who believed in me. I didn’t want to have to go back to building someone else’s dream just because I couldn’t figure out how to build my own.
It wasn’t just about business—it started affecting my entire life. Every waking hour became dedicated to work, even when I wasn’t being productive. I felt guilty if I wasn’t doing something every single minute. If I took a break, I’d beat myself up for not working hard enough.
I couldn’t switch off. I’d be at dinner with family or friends, but mentally, I was somewhere else, stressing about the business, worrying if I was doing enough. I couldn’t sleep at night. I’d lie awake, going over all the things I should be doing, all the things I might be missing. My mind was constantly racing, and it left me exhausted.
My anxiety was through the roof. I felt trapped in my own thoughts. Some days, I’d feel a brief sense of relief, like maybe I was making progress. But it wouldn’t last. The doubt and fear would creep back in, and I’d go back to the same cycle of thinking I wasn’t good enough, that maybe I wasn’t cut out for this.
The Moment of Realisation
Then one day, I went to the gym for a standard workout, and my cousin, who owns the place, was there. I asked him what I thought was a straightforward question:
“What’s the best exercise for growing my back?”
I expected a detailed response—a list of exercises, a perfect routine maybe. But his answer was simple and direct:
“Don’t overthink it. Pick a few core exercises, a weight that challenges you, and just keep doing the reps. Do them over and over, week after week, until it gets easier. Then, add more weight and keep going.”
That’s when it clicked. This wasn’t about workouts—it was about consistency. I needed to stop jumping from one strategy to another and instead focus on doing the basics well. I needed to show up and do the work, day after day, and trust that the results would follow.
But that was only half of it. It made me reflect on why the strategies that worked for my clients weren’t working for me. That’s when I realised: my clients are established businesses with years of experience, credibility, and solid foundations. Their challenges are completely different from mine.
When I work with them, I’m helping them maximise what they already have. I’m helping them refine, streamline, and optimise. But I don’t even have the core foundations yet. That’s why these same strategies weren’t getting me the results I expected.
I was trying to scale a business that didn’t have its foundations in place. I was trying to do everything I could think of to get results immediately—when what I really needed was to build from the ground up.
Building My Own Baseline – The Three Fundamentals
With that in mind, I sat down and looked at my business with fresh eyes. I needed to focus on the basics before I worried about efficiency and streamlining. I broke it down into three fundamental areas that I had to work on consistently:
Visibility – Be Seen
Create content, show up, and make sure people know I exist. I needed to build awareness around who I am and what I do. Without visibility, no one even knows I’m here.
Trust – Prove My Value
Start building trust by providing value, reaching out to others, and offering support without expecting anything in return. Focusing on creating real connections and showing people that I genuinely want to help.
Results – Make a Difference
I needed to deliver results—no matter how small. It wasn’t about grand achievements. It was about following through on what I said I’d do, delivering for my clients, and helping them grow. This is where I could start to see tangible evidence of my impact.
These three things are now my sole focus. Every day, I’ll make sure that I do one action toward each of these three fundamentals. It’s not about being ‘busy’ for the sake of it or chasing quick wins. It’a about building a strong baseline, one step at a time.
The Hard Part
The hardest part is sticking to this without seeing results right away. It’s easy to start doubting yourself when the outcomes don’t show up as quickly as you want them to. It’s tempting to change things up or try something new just for the sake of feeling like you’re doing something different.
But this is where I remind myself that success takes time. Growth doesn’t happen overnight, and it definitely doesn’t happen through burnout. It takes consistency, patience, and trust in the process.
I wrote these three fundamentals on my whiteboard so I see them every day. They’re my reminder to stay focused on what really matters and not get distracted by the noise. When the self-doubt starts creeping in, and those old feelings of guilt resurface, I tell myself: Just show up and do the work.
If You’re in the Same Place, Here’s What I Want You to Know
If you can relate to this—constantly doubting yourself, chasing the next tactic, feeling overwhelmed—remember this:
You’re not failing. You’re learning. No one has it all figured out. It’s okay to feel unsure. Take a step back, focus on a few key things, and keep showing up. The goal isn’t to find a magic solution or to have all the answers.
The truth is, success takes time. It might take months or even years. But that’s okay. Growth doesn’t happen overnight, and it definitely doesn’t happen through burnout.
The goal isn’t to ‘win’ today or tomorrow—it’s to build something sustainable, day by day, by focusing on what really matters.
Trust the process. Do the work. And give yourself the time and space to grow.
One rep at a time.🏋🏻♂️