'Finding Your Tribe' as an Entrepreneur, Freelancer or Creative
One of the biggest challenges to being self-employed is the feeling that you’re on your own…
Whether you’re a solopreneur, have a small team or have grown to a larger scale… responsibility ultimately sits with you. It follows, therefore, that one of the best things you can do for your wellbeing is to find your tribe. This is the group of people who really GET what you’re going through and are there to cheer you on in your business endeavours.
Your tribe may consist of friends and family, but I’d really encourage you to find fellow small business owners who have first-hand experience of what you’ve taken on. These first five sections will explore some of the benefits of finding this group, as well as lots of advice as to how you can.
Emotional and practical support
As a small business owner, you have to make A LOT of decisions every day – some of them small, some of them life changing. That’s a lot for one person to sit with and can lead to something called ‘decision fatigue.’ (Mathieu Le Moal et al., 2024) At its worst, this is when you get to the point where you feel unable to make any decisions at all. It’s a common sign of burnout but can also happen on a smaller scale before we get there.
I know myself, that I can go from making big decisions about who I’m going to hire… to being unable to send an email because I just can’t decide how to word it (or even what I’m going to have for dinner that night!) This has become far less frequent, as I’ve taken those steps necessary to manage how many decisions I’m making and have people I can run ideas by.
Having a tribe of small business owners support you practically is important (more on this later) but don’t underestimate how important emotional support is. Having someone you know you can turn to and say… “today kinda sucked”… or “I don’t feel like I made the right choice about X…” can make all the difference in how you feel about the day to day running of your business.
At the network I run, I occasionally come across people who have very strict parameters about what they’re looking for. Either, “I sell X and therefore only want to talk to people who need X” or, “I want to buy Y – where are you?” Now, whilst I’d always encourage anyone to go to a networking event with clear goals – this is too specific and it can be limiting.
Someone may have a totally different business from you. A business that really doesn’t allow for you to collaborate or buy from one another… but you may connect as people. That’s golden! You’re not competing, you can see outside their business because you don’t have the expertise that would bog you down in the details and you can show up as individual, rather than a brand.
Sometimes those very people we have least connection with from a business perspective, can be the most valuable people in our tribe. If you connect as humans, pure and simple, then keep them close. Whether that’s grabbing a coffee once a quarter, doing an end of the week check in on LinkedIn or a monthly phone call. Talk honestly about how things are going for you: the good, the bad and the mundane nitty gritty that makes up so much of business life.
So, how do you find your tribe?
I’m a big believer in the value of ‘in person’ connection – perhaps not surprisingly when I run a community events business. I really do believe that tapping into your local network can create beautiful partnerships and support systems. Some areas of the country are better served than others in this regard and I appreciate this may be something that you may need to travel for. A bold suggestion but if there really is nothing around you, then could you set up a small business network of your own?
Networking isn’t the only way to find your tribe though! Social media can be a wonderful tool (when used with boundaries) to help you connect with people all over the world. Try typing ‘small business owner’ into LinkedIn and then setting the location to your area… have a scroll through and see what (or who!) jumps out at you.
There’s also lots of Facebook groups to connect small business owners. Again, try a variety of searches depending on what works best for you. Popping in the word ‘business’ and then the name of where you live, and selecting ‘groups’ can be a good way to start.
Perhaps most importantly, don’t overlook those that you already know! Is there anyone in your life already who is a small business owner or is thinking of setting up a business? What about your hairdresser? That friend from school who posted about their start up on Facebook? Didn’t your mum say your second cousin had set up on their own?
Pause now to make a note of anyone you know who you think it may be worth reaching out to. If you don’t feel like you have anyone at the moment, then please don’t panic. This is an exciting clean slate that you have. Instead of writing out a list, head to Facebook, LinkedIn or search google for a local network near you. This is your chance to find your tribe and create the support network necessary for you and your business to thrive.
Throughout this blog, I’m going to encourage you to TAKE ACTION, but please do so in whatever way works best for you! I’m a note taker. If this was me, I’d probably read the whole book, make notes and then set aside time to action things later. I’m absolutely not saying that’s the best way though! In fact, I’d quite like to be the kind of person who could pause at the end of each chapter, complete the suggested actions and then carry on. There’s no right or wrong to do it… as long as you do it!
To help you with this, the last blog will be a compilation of all the things I’ve suggested you do. Some may not feel right for you, but you have that space at the back to work through everything at the pace that feels right for you. So, if we part ways here – then happy hunting for your tribe! Otherwise, see you in the next blog about how we can hold each other to account…
MY ACTION PLAN:
- Make a quick list of any entrepreneurs already in your life who you’d like to reach out to.
- Send them a message saying that you’d love to support each other… do it NOW!
- This is a suggestion for a message but please do edit it or send something entirely of your own…
Hey, hope you’re doing well! I’ve been reading a blog about self-care as a small business owner and it was saying how important it was to have a tribe of support. I’d love us to support one another more going forwards… I know how challenging running a business can be and it would be great to have check ins so we can share the ups and downs. How would you feel about getting together once a month, grabbing a coffee and chatting about our businesses?
- Head to LinkedIn, type in ‘small business’ to the search bar, on the locations tab – set it to where you’re based, click people and scroll through… sending an invite to anyone you think you may connect with.
- Head to Facebook, type in ‘business’ followed by the name of where you’re based, select groups and then join any that feel right for you.
- Head to Google, and search for ‘networking events’ along with the name of where’re you’re based.
