Is the Hustle Worth It?
While browsing my blog archives recently, I found the following post from 2017, when I was still a web designer but had also launched my first online courses. I realized just how much hustle culture was already having an impact even back then.
I was in the second year of building my business and wrote about the very moment that I realized that hustle culture was not for me and not the way I wanted to run my business. I wanted to share this post again for those of you still building your business and to tell you that it does get better, and there is another way. By the way, I had my first six-figure year in 2018, a year after I wrote this post, and that’s where my business has been ever since.
Now let’s look back at this truly pivotal moment…
Yesterday, I left a snarky comment on someone’s Facebook post. It was a random post that popped into my feed and talked about how to become a coach and make seven-figures within 12 months. I noticed the same grammar error in her post and testimonials, which made me think she probably wrote them herself. It irked me and triggered the mean girl in me, the one that feels all self-righteous but also completely disheartened by the constant barrage of the follow-my-easy-top-secret-steps-to-a-seven-figure-income messages. A.k.a., the pyramid scheme of the gold rush entrepreneur. Blergh. My husband pointed out that my comment was perhaps a little petty and not befitting someone who runs a professional business. He was right, of course. I deleted my comment.
And then I cried.
Because I am overworked, exhausted, and a little disillusioned. Growing an online business from scratch is not easy, and I hate all those marketers for making it sound like it should be because that makes me feel like I am failing somehow, which does my business a grave disservice because it’s actually doing really well. I am not making six figures, but I draw a good income from my business, which allows me to work for myself rather than being employed. For which I'm grateful, especially as I genuinely love what I do. Nonetheless, ever since I got into the e-course side of things have I felt like I jumped into a stormy overcrowded ocean and I am struggling to stay afloat. It’s not the e-courses themselves, I love teaching and sharing my knowledge and experience, and engaging with and helping my students, this is what lights me up and feeds my soul!
What I don’t love is the hustle.
My 1:1 web design business has been ticking along nicely since I launched it almost three years ago. I have never done any advertising and clients keep coming to me, either through word of mouth or Google. In fact, I am booked out until the end of this year, which feels amazing.
On the other hand, getting the word out about my online courses and growing my online audience is an entirely different beast. One that requires social media strategies, high engagement, networking, and a level of self-promotion that feels quite overwhelming and a little soul-destroying. I am just not that kind of hustler, and I shy away from the shouty, in-your-face marketing that seems all over the internet these days. My approach is more gentle and personable, but that doesn't seem to do much to alert the masses to my online courses! Sigh. So, this is something that I am still figuring out.
All I know is that I want to stay true to myself and keep the hustle as heart-centered as possible. Staying within those parameters is the only acceptable path for me.
