The Emotional Whiplash of Being a Small Business Owner
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8/26/25
Geez Talk Tuesday:
The Emotional Whiplash of Being a Small Business Owner
From “I’m a creative genius” to “Should I just delete everything?” in record time.
Welcome to the real entrepreneur experience—where your mood swings faster than your Shopify analytics.
Running a small biz is wild because your feelings are constantly riding shotgun—and half the time, they’ve hijacked the GPS.
🚀 Morning: “I’m absolutely crushing this.”
You woke up to a new order. Someone left a glowing review. Your post got shared 12 times and Brenda even commented, “This is SO cute!!”
You’re on cloud nine. The dopamine is flowing. You’ve got new ideas, your to-do list looks conquerable, and your Canva file actually saved correctly.
You’re unstoppable. Beyoncé-level unstoppable.
😵💫 Afternoon: “Why do I even bother?”
One refund request.
One ignored post.
One message that reads, “How much?” even though the price is literally right there.
Suddenly, you’re spiraling.
“Is my stuff even good?”
“Why is no one engaging?”
“Am I annoying people by posting too much?”
“Should I just stop?”
The high is gone and now you’re questioning your entire life path because Facebook hid your post and someone ghosted your invoice.
🧠 And Then Comes the Overthinking
Oh no. Now you’re re-reading old captions to see if your tone was off.
You’re convinced your drop flopped because the graphic wasn’t cute enough.
You’re wondering if you should just burn it all down and rebrand as a llama farm.
💡 The Truth?
You’re not crazy. You’re a small business owner.
And that emotional ping-pong? It’s normal.
Because this business is yours. You built it. You care. So yeah, when things hit—they hit deep.
It’s not just “oh well, back to work.”
It’s “oh no, this is a reflection of my worth as a person and now I will rethink everything while pretending I’m totally fine.”
But Let’s Reframe a Few Things:
🌀 Low engagement doesn’t mean low value.
The algorithm is a troll. Your work still matters.
🙋 A refund isn’t rejection.
People back out of Amazon carts daily. It’s not personal. It’s probably vibes, timing, or their bank account.
💬 Silence doesn’t mean failure.
Sometimes people are just watching. Quietly. Until they’re ready.
Strategies for Surviving the Whiplash:
🧘 Have a Grounding Ritual:
Before you spiral, breathe. Step away. Light a candle. Open the Freebie Vault and look at what you’ve already done.
📝 Create a “You’re Doing Great” Folder:
Save screenshots of kind messages, good reviews, fire drops, and small wins. Open it when your brain gets loud.
📉 Detach Metrics From Your Mood:
Views are data. Likes are data. Not value judgments. You are not a post performance report.
👯 Find Your Biz Besties (aka Safe Spaces):
Vent. Laugh. Send unhinged voice notes. Other biz owners get it—and having that circle can literally save your mindset.
Final Thoughts
Being a small biz owner is a full-contact sport.
You’re juggling creativity, customer service, tech support, marketing, and all your own emotions—sometimes before breakfast.
So when you’re riding the rollercoaster and feel like it’s too much?
Pause. Breathe. Remember: you’re not alone.
You're not dramatic. You're not failing. You're just emotionally invested in something that matters to you.
And honestly? That’s kind of beautiful.