There are people out there that believe you are 100% responsible for your own success, and to a degree that’s true. Ultimately, no matter how much support you get from others, if you don’t put in the time and hard work success will always be just beyond your reach. However , I truly believe that having a tribe of likeminded individuals, women who respect you, believe in you and are genuinely happy to see you accomplish your goals and be rewarded for your hard work…that kind of support system can sometimes be the difference between your failure and your success.

In a perfect world we’d never get tired, there would be enough hours in a day to accomplish everything that needs to be done, we’d reap the benefits of our hard work immediately, there would be nothing but positivity surrounding us and obstacles would be nonexistent.

We don’t live in a perfect world.

There are days when I sit at the computer 10 to 12 hours and feel like I didn’t accomplish anywhere close to the amount I wanted to. I’m tired, drained, frustrated. Some days I’m on Cloud 9 because everything I’m working hard to accomplish seems to be falling into place, other days I want to throw my laptop out the window and head to the employment agency to apply for a ‘regular job’ because running my own business is such hard work. It’s times like these that, without my support system, I might honestly consider giving up but I’ve been blessed with a great tribe of women and a few men, each of them successful in their own right and ALL of them supportive and encouraging to me and each other.

At times it’s just grabbing a cup of coffee, glass of wine or a bite to eat because I need a break, other times it’s an invite to come over so we can sit down and go over what’s frustrating me and help me find a solution. Sometimes it’s walking me through a process over and over and over again until it finally “clicks,” then there are times when I get a simple text that says “I’m thinking about you. I believe in you. You got this!” and other times it’s a phone call or a doorstep visit with one of my tribe saying…”Quit stressing out! Quit discouraging yourself. Snap the hell out if it and get your butt in gear!!” like a proverbial slap to the face of someone on the verge of hysterics.

I don’t care who you are or what kind of business you run, being an entrepreneur has never been, and will never be, easy every step of the way (this lesson can be applied to life in general, not just entrepreneurship, obviously☺) but by surrounding yourself with a tribe of successful people who have your back and help keep you in check when you start to falter you can definitely make the journey a little easier on yourself.

Find your tribe. Empower one another. Ask for encouragement and give encouragement. Revel in each others’ successes!