Weekly Update May 9th

😖 How My CPG Business Gave me a Panic Attack...

May 09, 2022

Hey , 

Happy Monday and Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Would love your help supporting these founders by purchasing one of our

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Today I want to talk about the mental health and stress of running a business.

PS. If you were forwarded this newsletter, please 

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Founder Mental Health

In November of 2019 I experienced the first panic attack of my life at 31. I found myself sitting on my kitchen floor hyperventilating into a paper bag as my mind was spinning. It was all because of my business TeaSquares.

You see, business was going well, but not great and we were in the middle of a brand redesign. Three years into the business we found that the product was doing fine, but we had to overcome many hurdles from manufacturing to customer education... really, all the things CPG founders go through. Going through the redesign process caused some disagreements between the founders, and at one point it came to a huge argument.

I won't go through the details, but in that moment it felt like everything was falling apart. I poured my heart and soul into this business, yet it felt like it was ripping away.

I've never shared this story with anyone, but feel it's important to do now as every week I talk with a founder who's incredibly stressed but trying to put up a happy facade. 

As founders, we don't talk about the mental stress of running a business. That panic attack was a defining moment in my business life and from there I changed everything. Here's are a few things I learned along the way:

Build a Business that Supports Your Why

When everything feels like it's starting to fall apart, the only thing that will keep you going is falling back on is "Why" you started the business in the first place. Your WHY is your North Star. As you build your company, you’ll constantly have outside forces distracting you from living that value. Always keep your WHY at the front of your mind and use it to make decisions on how you will run and grow your business.

 

Build a Business that is Financially Secure

We've been fooled to believe that businesses have to lose money for 5 years before turning any profit. That's simply not true. Most founders should be building with a profit-first mindset. Meaning, what's the best strategy to create a financially secure business in the least amount of time possible? Most of the stress from running a business is knowing that you're running out of money and that your company is on the verge of collapsing.

Confide in Other Founders

Entrepreneurship is a lonely journey. Find another founder or a group of founders who you can be incredibly honest with and share your biggest fears. At the same time, be there for someone else. As founders, all day long we're usually telling the world how great things are going, knowing that we're 2 months away from imminent demise. Holding that is a huge burden to hold on your own.

Founding a company is an incredible adventure, but one fraught with challenges. Take care of your mental health to insure long-term success. As always, please share any stories about your own journey or feel free to e-mail me to vent.

Jordan Buckner

Foodbevy

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With your help we're building an amazing community of Food and Bev entrepreneurs helping each other!

Jordan

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