Some People Will Never Applaud Your Progress, and Here's Why...
Some People Will Never Applaud Your Progress, and Here's Why...
How often have you tried to figure out what you're doing wrong and why, despite your best efforts, you're not getting the support and applause you feel matches the level of effort you're expending to launch and promote your brand/business?
If you're like most people, you're probably a new entrepreneur, banking on the fact that your day one supporter will be your family and your friends. You think they're going to care about your back story and how you sacrificed days and nights, invested money you didn't have to build your dream. You're even going to assume they're going to be proud of you and be the 1st to drop those credit card digits to support you.
But, after weeks of posting, promoting, hoping, and wishing and giving away freebies to spark interest -- you noticed that a number of your family and friends aren't budging. First, you'll have a friend or two that genuinely wants to support and does -- it's in their DNA to uplift others. Second, you'll also have those family members and friends who will like your posts but will not spend a dime supporting your business. They won't even share your posts, which is free. And last, you'll have family and friends who will scroll right by your posts and give them the side-eye and will “like” and purchase the identical product from somewhere else -- they just won't buy it from you.
Does this sound familiar? If so, you are not alone! This is one of many hurdles that new entrepreneurs have to get over.
Here are some of the reasons why your family or friends aren't chomping at the bit to support you:
Resentment that you dared to pursue your dreams.
Disappointment in themselves for not pursuing their goals and dreams makes them unhappy and renders them unable to be happy for you.
Thinking you're undeserving of the success.
Upset that your dreams became a reality before theirs.
Someone they look up to in their circle has not supported you, so they won't make a move until someone they follow does.
Envy - hoping that their lack of support will lead to your failure.
They can't reconcile that you may have started on the same path as them but view you as "different" since pursuing your goals. (ex. you both started out working at the same company, and years later, because of your tenacity and hard work, you advanced to President of the company while they are still in the same position since high school.)
Too preoccupied with your success/wins instead of learning from you so you can be a blessing to them and their dreams.
I've got news for you. There's not a damn thing you can do about how other people react and respond to your success and the grit and courage you had to pursue your dreams. Nothing, but let them stew in it.
But here's what you better NOT do:
Dim your light to appease your non-supporters
Quit your business because of a lack of support from friends and family
Beg for support from non-supporters
Think there's something wrong with you or your business products
Become bitter (although you will get frustrated, that's normal)
Let them see you down - this feeds their ego and their energy of trying to dismantle what you have built to bring you back to a level that's comfortable for them to accept you.
Desire the attachment of a non-supporter over pursuing your right to pursue your talents, dreams and leave a true legacy.
Some people don't possess vision, focus, motivation, dedication, patience, and the tenacity to do what it takes to reach their goals and dreams. But you're reading this article because hopefully, you do.
I remember sharing the news with an associate that I was accepted into Forbes for the Culture. Their immediate response was, "How did they pick you?" I could tell by the tone of this person's voice that they were not happy for me and learned during the conversation that they too had applied and had not been selected. However, this person also felt they were more qualified than me to be part of such an elite membership due to their education and career choice. You never know what other facts came into play when select organizations like this are looking to build their memberships. It could have been that FlightsInStilettos is entirely creative and in a unique niche, which is a sign of ingenuity. That said, I learned at that moment that your good news is NOT good news to everyone else. Your success is not something to be revered and praised by others.
So, what do you do?
Once you recognize that what you're experiencing is real, accept it. The sooner you accept it other than pining away and wishing it weren't true, the faster you can get back to building your empire.
Invest in building your brand and business, creating a space for yourself in your industry, and making yourself stand out by creating marketing and promotion strategies.
Join groups of like-minded individuals /entrepreneurs on the same mission as you -- everyone could use support now and then. Facebook and Clubhouse have lots of these kinds of groups.
Be consistent and get better (take online classes to stay ahead of industry trends and standards).
Believe in yourself -- you've got this. Remember you learned to stand, walk and run on your own with a bit of help from your caregiver!
Embrace the strangers that will support you and ride for you all day. They have no emotional connection to your success -- they see your product or service as a solution to their problem. Deliver on that.
Continue to grow and enhance your product line -- people love to see new stuff from you!
Keep posting every day about your business or brand. Even if you don't get any likes -- they saw it.
By engaging with your posts, you'll notice who's interested in your progress or who's interested in what makes you seem more like them -- i.e., they only like your family pics vs. your pics and posts about your business.
Stay focused; you didn't come this far only to get this far. Go all the way!
Don't give up! For everyone rooting for you to fail, there's an army of people who want nothing more than for you to win.
Eliminate a "lack" mindset, replace it with a prosperity and abundance mindset, and visualize your success!
Kinyatta E. Gray is a published author, noted beach towel designer, and CEO of FlightsInStilettos, LLC. In 2021 Kinyatta launched a suite of inclusive writing products such as diaries, journals, and fashionable writing notepads. In addition, Gray merged her love of fashion and writing and launched the Stylish Writing Center on Etsy. See - that's that creativity and ingenuity!
Website: KinyattaGray.com
Etsy Store: The Stylish Writing Center
