Three Common Reasons We Wake & Tips to Help You Sleep

When I talk with Entrepreneurs I find that 100% of them have had one or more of those sleepless nights, or early morning wakes due to something in their business. You know the kind I’m talking about. You wake at 3:30am and no matter how relaxed you are your brain will not shut off again. Here are some things I have heard people, including myself describe as reasons they could not sleep, plus a couple of simple tools that can help.

Not Good Enough

Have you ever spent time worrying that you don’t have the credentials to do what you are doing? That maybe someone is going to find you out, that your expertise and experience is not enough to give you the title you have assigned yourself. This is common. Entrepreneurs are often looking for more experience, certification, and training to add credibility and expertise to their repertoire.

What can you do?

Write down all your accomplishments from the time you can remember. Write down everything you have been able to achieve in your life and take inventory of what you are already capable of doing. Often our best skills are not learned in a classroom. The better you feel about yourself the easier your mind will be with your ability to fulfill your commitments. Then look at the needs of the company. If a certified X is required, then get the training that is needed when you have the time and dollars to do so.

Can’t Pay the Bills

Where’s the money going to come from? Why did they not buy from me? What am I doing wrong? Maybe I should go get a job. I’m letting my family down. I can’t afford to pay myself and support my family.

There are lots of things we think when we are financially stressed. Starting and maintaining a business takes constant evaluation of the company, tweaking of the marketing, sales effort & more. It can be a daunting and thankless job, especially if you are not getting paid.

What action can you take?

If you need money right now then go and get your part time job. This may be hard for some. I look for writing contracts that will help pay the bills while I implement new programs. Do something you are good at that you can pick up quickly. If you stay in your expertise you can add that as testimonials to your business. Subcontracting is often a good way to find additional work when times are tight.

The second thing is ‘market your A** off’. Marketing is the only way you can grow your business and get more clients. Since you don’t currently have money for traditional marketing then look at doing more networking and get that word-of-mouth working for you.

Building New Ideas

Entrepreneurs are infamous for having ideas. The problem is the ideas don’t stop coming when we are asleep. I work on program and article wording, product development, talk ideas, etc. I love to think in my sleep and then wake with a great idea at 2 am and think about it some more until its morning. Not good for the health.

What do I do?

I keep a notepad beside my bed. I do this so I can capture ideas. Once they are down I don’t have to worry I will forget them and my mind will drift back into sleep. If the idea is intricate I may have to get up and go for my idea book to capture the entire concept. But once it is down, my mind can stop thinking about it.

What keeps your up at night? Share your sleepless adventures so that other entrepreneurs can know they are not an anomaly.