My struggle with patience in the beginning


When I first came up with the idea and started Success from Sawdust I had a really positive and optimistic mindset, however it started to change very quickly the first weeks I started.  I built a couple of small wooden projects, one being a mirror for my wife, another a towel rack, and an entry key holder.  I listed 2 of the 3 on Facebook marketplace and another app called offer up.  I started getting quite a few views through Facebook marketplace but didn’t really seem to spark anyone’s attention enough to make a sale.  So, one thing that happens once you have gone a certain amount of time without making any kind of headway is that you start to doubt yourself.  You start to have a conversation with yourself and the conversations are negative, “maybe I’m not supposed to be doing this”, “maybe the projects aren’t good enough”, “what do people think that this is stupid”, “what if I am driving people crazy on Facebook with all of the posts.  These are the kind of things that you start to say to yourself that create doubt.

I say all of this to offer this advice, if you are in the early stages of starting your business, no matter what kind of business you are starting, be patient, give yourself the benefit of the doubt.  What is it hurting everyone for your posts and listings to stay on marketplace?  You also shouldn’t care what people think, which, if I am being completely honest, is something I struggle with.  You should ultimately do what is best for your business.  It takes views to get business, so guess what, you may have to be a little annoying using social media to get traffic. 

So, I struggled but was patient for a couple of weeks, then guess what?  All of a sudden, I sold the towel rack for $40!  This sale did wonders for my mindset, it was a small victory!  I have a little bit of faith in what I am doing.  The person who purchased the towel rack was extremely happy, which in turn gave me a huge boost of confidence towards the workmanship and effort I put towards the project.  So, I took a minute and thought to myself, what if I can sell only one of these each week for a month?  I would make an extra $160…  If I can sell 2 a week for a month, I can make an extra $320 a month… so on and so forth, and this is only with one style of project.  Now, I have a little bit of confidence and motivation to move forward with my business, let’s see where it takes me.






Twitter:  https://twitter.com/SFSWoodworks

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