Episode 11: When in doubt, ask your friends

Running a business can be a lonely business, especially when bad, scary or difficult things happen. The thing is, you’re a smart person, but when it comes to your business, it’s hard not to take things personally. That’s kind of what I’m talking about in this episode. Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.It never gets easierI’ve been running a business since 2012 and even after all this time, bad feedback can knock me sideways. That’s exactly what happened recently, when I got less than ideal feedback from a client I’d thought I’d done a really good job for. Without going into too much detail, my initial reaction was “I need to do something about this, I need to fix this.” My gut reaction was to jump into my emails and get in touch to figure out how I could make this better.Thankfully, I took a second to think and, instead of emailing the client, I sent a message to my business bestie, Carla Watkins. And I’m really glad I did. She talked me off the ledge and helped me to see the feedback wasn’t a direct critique on my work, but rather on their experiences of the process, something no one else had ever had an issue with before (after many years of dealing with this type of offer in the same way every time). Without reaching out to my friend, I dread to think what I would have done that day. The funny thing is… I know all the stuff my business friends advise me. It’s just so much easier to hear it from someone else than to try and tell it to yourself. Right? If you’re nodding along to that, then you definitely need some business friends in your pocket. Keep listening for tips on how to widen your business friends circle. Links: 👉🏻 The Creative Reboot Podcast👉🏻 Carla’s website👉🏻 And if you’d like one of those “Little Chats” with me, drop me an email and I’ll send you the link!You can learn more about me, Sarah Wayte, on my website. Thanks so much for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sarahwayte.substack.com