You don't have to be crazy, but it helps

You Aren't Crazy, You're Just an Entrepreneur You aren’t crazy—there are good reasons why starting a business feels hard. Like any big change in life like getting married or having a baby, entrepreneurship has its ups and downs.

Once you get over the initial rush of your launch, certain that everything is going to go according to plan, you run into some snags. Your website developer disappears with your site half done. A sure-thing client cancels his project. Your Mom wants her dining room back and you have to start to pay for office space.

Martha Beck, O Magazine columnist and author of Finding Your Own North Star, has a very useful framework for describing the cycle of change experienced by new entrepreneurs. I explain it at least once a week to reassure my clients that “nothing is going right and it feels like the universe is conspiring against you, but you are not insane for thinking of starting a business, and once you get through this rough patch, things really will get better.” See if you can identify which square of change you are currently in according to Beck’s framework. (Photo by N1NJ4)

Comment -- The square of changes listed in this post are Death and Rebirth, Dreaming and Scheming, The Hero’s Saga, and The Promised Land. Beyond that, the post is a good reminder that even good events, like starting a successful small business, are stressful. Take time to take care of your mental and fiscal health. Michael Rogers