Overnight Success
As I entered 2023, I knew it would be a strange and difficult year. It began with the announcement to our teenage boys that my husband and I intended to divorce. They were not shocked by the news. The recent years had been filled with disagreements, sleeping separately, and constant strife.
I expected that my business – coaching non-fiction authors to make more money with their expertise – would take a hit, just at the time that I needed to make more money.
What I didn’t expect was that my younger son, who had always been a struggle in the morning, would almost entirely stop going to school. It didn’t come out of the blue; attendance was inconsistent for the first half of the academic year. But as we entered the spring, it was as though the whole world fell upon our boy and we could not shield the blow.
Entering puberty is enough to make anyone a little bit nuts, as I am reminded, at fifty-one, by my own hormone changes. The Vo-Tech denied his application, mostly due to poor attendance. Earlier ADHD and anxiety diagnoses were expanded to include autism spectrum disorder – finally recognized at fourteen years old. And the completion of eighth grade caused the necessary matriculation to high school: a moment of trepidation for any young man.
Amidst all of this, our son battled criticism from a father who struggled to show love in any way other than attempting to ‘fix’ the situation. By the end of February, my boy would not speak to or allow himself to be in the same room as his father. The divorce was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
As I type this, preparing for the last few weeks of the year, I’m in awe that I still have a business. Virtually all my emotional energy this year went to supporting my children and keeping myself in the frame of mind to do so. The tension in my body from carrying stress was so intense this summer that my regular massage therapist told me he was worried about me.
Somehow, I muddled through the worst of it and kept up with the clients I already had, or those referred to me. Mid-year, a miracle happened. I attribute it to years of networking. One introduction by a networking friend led me to ongoing per diem work that created a major positive shift in my income.
Despite having no idea each day whether my son will go to school late, need to come home early, or will need me to feed him meals while home during the day, I can serve the steady stream of clients arriving each week through this newly formed partnership. It’s the “overnight success” I’ve been hoping for throughout my thirteen years of entrepreneurship.
And it came through networking.
As you might imagine, if this were all I received for my networking commitment, it would be enough. But the even bigger gift has come in the form of other women sharing their own struggles with their children not attending school.
Shame and embarrassment wrap themselves around the parents of those who can’t, or won’t, move through the days alongside friends’ and neighbors’ children. Knowing I’m not alone in this experience buoys my resilience to it.
Hearing the stories of mothers whose children are several years older and thriving is a lifeline. Understanding that life’s different paths exist for a reason and that my child doesn’t have to take the prescriptive route to success allows me to accept each moment for what it is: a moment in time that does not indicate anything beyond this moment.
So why is this message important? What can you glean from it?
If you are a business owner, don’t ever stop networking. You never know who will provide the referral of a lifetime, and it could be just when you need it.
If you are not a business owner, find the tribe that supports you in whatever you do, and those who understand your situation, regardless of how alone you feel in it. What they provide to you, or you provide to them may be priceless to each of you.
Suzanne Tregenza Moore helps non-fiction authors focus on revenue and thought leadership status. Since leaving her six-figure job, Suzanne has employed her MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship and personal experience from living in the weeds of her business to support clients with strategy, marketing, technology, delegation, and mindset. Clients describe her as “Invaluable” and a “gentle butt-kicker”. She is the best-selling author of Hang on Tight! Learn to Love the Roller Coaster of Entrepreneurship and the host of the podcast All Things Authorpreneur™. She lives with her two sons and labradoodle daughter on the South Shore of Massachusetts.
Links for bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannetregenzamoore/
https://www.amazon.com/Hang-Tight-Roller-Coaster-Entrepreneurship/dp/1735933392