Ever wondered what the road less Instagrammed looks like for entrepreneurs? I'm Chris Anderson, and in the newest episode of the Elevate Media Podcast, I'm tearing down the façade of effortless success to share the gritty, sleep-deprived reality of building a multi six-figure agency. Get ready for a raw account of the personal sacrifices and financial strains that accompany the pursuit of a dream. You'll hear firsthand about the less glamorous trade-offs, like missing out on family time and social events, and the immense pressure that can push you to the brink.
This conversation isn't just about the struggles; it's about growth, resilience, and the transformative power of setbacks. We'll explore how entrepreneurs like myself have faced failures and uncertainties, only to emerge wiser and more determined. By embracing these challenges as opportunities to learn, we're able to push forward and realize our visions. Whether you're a seasoned business owner or a hopeful starter, this episode promises a dose of inspiration and practical wisdom to fuel your entrepreneurial spirit. Join me as we confront the unspoken trials of the startup journey and discover that the true price of success is well worth paying.
Our mission here at Elevate Media is to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs elevate their brands and make an impact through the power of video podcasting.
Disclaimer: Please see the link for our disclaimer policy for all our episodes or videos on the Elevate Media and Elevate Media Podcast YouTube channels. https://elevatemediastudios.com/disclaimer
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Elevate Media Podcast with your host, Chris Anderson. In this show, Chris and his guests will share their knowledge and experience on how to go from zero to successful entrepreneur. They have built their businesses from scratch and are now ready to give back to those who are just starting. Let's get ready to learn, grow and elevate our businesses. And now your host, Chris Anderson.
Speaker 2:
Welcome back to another recording of the Elevate Media Podcast. I'm Chris Anderson. Today we're going to dive into the price of success, what it takes in the world of entrepreneurship to succeed. I'm going to get real. You're going to see the less glamorous side of entrepreneurship, but you're going to get transparent. So you're going to get realism and we're going to dive into it. So let's get started.
Speaker 2:
I say it a lot we often see only the highlight reels on social media the fancy offices, luxurious vacations, fancy cars and all those quote unquote overnight success stories. But what about the sacrifices, setbacks and the personal toll that often accompanies the entrepreneurial journey? Do they want to peel back that curtain? And I want to start a candid conversation about the true cost of success. So, starting this episode off, I want to discuss the sacrifices entrepreneurs have to make on that journey to success. This is hard, this is hard for people to understand, this is hard for people to believe because everything we see and hear out there. But whether it's sacrificing time with loved ones, financial stability or even personal well-being sometimes, the path to building a successful business is rarely easy. Things have to be sacrificed for that ultimate goal.
Speaker 2:
Personally, I've had to make tough decisions along the way I have tried to prioritize family about all of it, because family matters. You don't get time with everyone forever. But, man, we poured a lot of money into this business. I've invested back in the business, so we run on tight, tight profit margins to be able to invest. I've personally not even taken a share sometimes, because I put what we've made into the business. I've sacrificed countless hours of sleep to the point where I made myself sick because I wasn't sleeping enough. And I'm not saying that you should do that. I'm not saying that that's the extreme you should take, cutting your savings down to barely anything. I'm super grateful to have the support of family and wife, who is with me on this journey and understands what it takes, despite the anxiety, the stress and the frustration sometimes, and so I'm grateful for that. But, yeah, sacrifices have been made. I don't always go and hang out with friends. I don't really play video games or watch movies much. I don't spend that time going out and getting drinks with buddies or going hanging out a lot because you have to make those sacrifices. In the end, those sacrifices have been worth it because they found me, built a multi six-figure agency since it's begin and it's brought me closer to the goals I'm trying to achieve.
Speaker 2:
But along that path, with even with sacrificing, we, even with working hard and doing the right things, set max. They happen, they're part of the journey. A lot of time we don't talk about them. No, from failed ventures, financial hardships, these things that test your resiliency aren't spoken of. So how do we handle setbacks when they rise?
Speaker 2:
We've had setbacks, so many setbacks and LV along the way. Let's be real candid. You know we've had moments where I didn't know if we were, if we're gonna keep running, especially when it was just me. You know I didn't have the time to keep up with everything. I was losing sleep, I was like I said I was getting sick, physically sick, because of the workouts putting into it. Like and I mentioned earlier to, our profit margins have been super slim, sometimes to the point of, like, you know we're gonna make payroll, are we gonna be able to do this and that?
Speaker 2:
Because you know there's ups and downs in everything. There's lean years, there's lean months, you know. And so with these setbacks, you lose clients unexpectedly. And you know what I've learned is to embrace these moments. Embrace these as learning opportunities. Are not failures, learning opportunities. Every setback has taught me something valuable and pushed me to become better. In my mind, setbacks are just setting you up for comebacks, and that comeback that you're being set up for is going to bring you and elevate you to the next level. But you've got to go through the fire to be refined. You've got to go through the hammering to become a diamond. So my advice to anyone who's facing their own struggles right now in business is to keep pushing forward.
Speaker 2:
Success is not about avoiding setbacks. It's about how you bounce back from them, and on this journey it can take a personal toll on you. There's pressure to succeed, from yourself, from others. There's that constant quote-unquote hustle. Because you are, you feel like you're working 24, seven sometimes, and then you have the never-ending to-do list that, if you're not careful, can lean to burn out anxiety and even depression, especially when you're in the early stages, trying to get it off the ground, doing it yourself and wondering if it's gonna work.
Speaker 2:
So how do you prioritize self-care amidst the demand of building a business? It's not easy, but it's essential and it comes down to this you have to choose. You have to make it a priority. You know it was really hard for me to make it a priority. There for a while, like I said, I was making myself sick. I literally wore myself down so much that I was just getting sick like once a month. It was bad, and so I had to realize that, because I was going, that was my journey at the time. Because of that, when I would get sick, it would set me back even more because I could barely do anything, you know, as whatever it was vomiting, it was just super drained, whatever it is. So it actually caused bigger setbacks because I was going 24 seven and I wasn't a chair myself. I wasn't prioritizing my health until those setbacks.
Speaker 2:
I'm like, my goodness, like that's even worse than just taking an hour each day to work out or, you know 30 minutes to just sit in silence and refresh. We're actually getting enough sleep. It's not easy because we think if I take, you know, one day off, if I take three hours off this week, it's all going to crumble, it's all going to fail. It's not true. It's not true Now. It's not easy, but it's essential to realize that you can prioritize time to take care of yourself, because you're the captain of your ship. If you go down, the whole thing is going to sink.
Speaker 2:
So I make time for the things that bring me joy and recharge my batteries, and that's spending time with my family, that's exercising man. I can burn off some steam while working out, which helps, but for me, really being outside, taking a moment to just breathe and be in nature and among our animals, and that helps me recharge. And then when things get really tough, I mean I go to God. I lean even more into Him in prayer and asking for help and guidance and direction. And, to be truthful, I need to do even more in the good times as well to be thankful and go to Him and just share that and praise Him for that. But when things are rough, I'm not afraid to go to Him. And if you don't know Jesus, if you don't have a relationship with Him, I'm here to talk about that. I'd love to share and guide how I can't pastor, but just what he's changed in my life.
Speaker 2:
But when things are really hard, I go to prayer and also Him, not to egotistical task for help from other people and I have mentors, I have people in my life I can say I need help. How do you do this? What's blocking me here? Or my parents are amazing Because some days I just need the boys to be watched by them so I can be fully into the task I need to get done, and so they have helped tremendously in that regard in so many other ways. But being open to watching the boys and maybe we have to go travel production or I'm in an event or things like that so remember you have people on your team, you have people on your side, people willing to help and remember your mental and emotional well-being. They're just as important as your business success and they really are tied to it.
Speaker 2:
Because of your emotional and mental well-being crumbles, even if your physical being crumbles, your business is not going to do well, but especially your mental and emotional state. You have to make decisions. You have to make tough, hard decisions. You have to go through a lot of you know hard things that if you can't balance and manage your stress and anxiety properly, it's going to be hard, even harder, and you probably won't succeed. So there's just some you know a few things to try to peel back. You know the current a little bit, with the price of success and entrepreneurship.
Speaker 2:
You know we could dive. I could talk about this for hours and hours and if you have any questions, if you have, if you're going through something you know it's your journey, please reach out. You know I'm sure I've been through it or something close to it. Send me a message at christandersonnet on Instagram. Yeah, I just want to help. I just want to help you elevate what you're doing, and so please reach out. But remember, behind every success story lies a journey filled with sacrifices, with setbacks and with challenges. That's how we navigate these obstacles that ultimately determine our success. So don't give up, don't give in. Keep moving forward and until next time, keep elevating your life, elevating your brand. We'll talk to you soon.