Niche Site Roller Coaster

Working for yourself seems like it will be perfect. No one to answer to but yourself and you can make your own schedule.

Perfect, right? What could go wrong…

If you want to take a two hour lunch, no problem!

Want to go for a hike in the middle of the day, great!

Want to sleep in, you can do it…

But it can get weird. Dark.

It can feel something like:

Thanks, Derek Halpern of SocialTriggers.com. Image used with permission.

Today’s post is a really deep one and a lot of people will be able to relate. I want to thank Jim for sharing some deep emotions.

PLEASE comment below if you have any thoughts on this important topic.

For some background, Jim is building a new site and he got started a couple months ago.

He’s been sharing his case study as he goes. (See examples of Amazon Affiliate Sites & get 15,000 keywords there, too.)

The thing is that Jim is doing really well so far, but even then working alone takes its toll. Jim isn’t alone…

A few months ago Huffington Post published Congratulations, You’re Not Crazy, You’re an Entrepreneur! by Katyan Roach. She said this:

And, there’s even a book about it called The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster: Why Now Is the Time to #Join the Ride.

So, I’ll quit ramblin’ on and just let Jim tell you that sometimes there are…

The Bad Days

On the surface this line of work sounds like the dream.  Work where and when you want to, make decent money on a part time schedule, and on and on. You know the drill.  

But there’s something you don’t see on the “Let Me Tell You How Great Niche Marketing Is!” websites, the bad days.  

They are there, lurking right behind a good day and sometimes they hang on more tenaciously than a streak of good days.  

Just sitting there in your lap, staring you in the face.

I call it the Shit Zone.

This is the cancer of following your dreams in this line of work.  Just this morning I was in such a dark mood and a negative head space that I looked at job listings.  JOB LISTINGS!

I cannot and will not forfeit my hard work.  But bootstrapping out of an existential funk is no easy task.  

Just this morning I was in such a dark mood and a negative head space that I looked at job listings.  JOB LISTINGS!

I tried and tried for about a week to get my head right, I just couldn’t seem to get any better.  In fact it was getting worse. And I, my friends, can get very dark.

I was working at home just trying to crank out work.  Write, blog comment, GP outreach, and on and on except that it was getting harder and harder to keep going.  

The motivation leaves, the feeling of accomplishment leaves, the feeling of working towards something awesome leaves, it just sucks.  

Period.

Let me say that again, you cannot give up.  

Now who knows, maybe it was the cloudy spring weather we’ve got here in Montana or maybe it was the day in the middle of my existential crisis where 1 person came to the site, 1.  I don’t know.  

But what I do know is that you cannot give up.

Let me say that again, you cannot give up.  There’s a quote out there by I person I can’t remember about something rather profound.  “If you quit someone else gets your prize.”

It’s my fucking prize and no one else gets it!

Then the doubt creeps in… “Is this worth it?”, “What am I doing?”  I can be my own worst enemy.

Believe me, it would be super easy to shut the computer and quit.  It’s also easy to get fat, it’s easy to be late, easy to be motivated to do anything other than grind.  

But the repercussions of this kind of action is far worse than keeping your mind right and grinding.

My girlfriend is working her ass off to make this work.  She’s tired, I’m tired, and we’d bump heads.  Then the doubt creeps in… “Is this worth it?”, “What am I doing?”  I can be my own worst enemy. No lie, I can be the worst thing for myself and that sucks when the only person who can get you out is you.

YOU CANNOT GIVE UP!

Having worked through a couple of these streaks now I’ve come up with some things that might help if you find yourself in the SZ.

Tip 1:  Change your atmosphere

Get out of your house.  Go work in the coffee shop, hit the library up, hell find a bar with wi-fi and do something there.  Just keep working, don’t give up.  Seeing a pattern here?

Tip 2:  Take a Breather

Okay, here’s the exception to the “Just Keep Grinding” rule.  Shut the computer down.  Find a buddy and play racquetball, take the dog on a long walk, do yoga, whatever.  Take your time when you need it, just hit it hard when you get back.  You’ll feel rejuvenated and your creativity will return.

Tip 3:  Communicate

I could be working a job I hate, buried in debt to my ears, with no way out.

Once I finally got out of the SZ the first thing I did was text my girlfriend and apologize and tell her why I was the way I was for the last week.  

It helps to bring clarity to the situation and at the end of the day it was just a bad day.  

It’s all relative.  

I could be working a job I hate, buried in debt to my ears, with no way out.  But I’m not.

It will refocus your effort and remind you why you’re doing it.

I WILL NOT GIVE UP!  Talk with someone, anyone about what you’re doing, about what you’re going through and why your doing it.  

It will refocus your effort and remind you why you’re doing it.  

Talk about it, write about it, hell, cry about it.  

Just get it out so you can find your passion again.  

I sincerely hope you don’t fall in this trap of self-doubt and deprecation.  

But should you find yourself in the SZ remember, there’s always sunshine behind the clouds a bright day is one change away. See all the posts in the series – here.