Speaker 1: 0:00

Yo yo yo. Welcome back to the further your lifestyle podcast conversations on lifestyle passions and hassles. My name's Chris, i am your host and I'm super excited to be back here having the conversation with you. Episode 118 today, and I'm actually diving into a question that I was recently asked on one of my live streams on YouTube. Each week, usually around 8.30 on a Wednesday evening, i do live streams for the broader parts of my YouTube channel and you know we open up Pokemon cards, we talk about, answer any questions that people might have around the business that I run my reselling business or we do a whole bunch of different things.

Speaker 1: 0:38

At the moment, we're currently raising money for charity and one of the questions that I had a couple of weeks back, which I actually said I actually want to make a podcast out of it because it's actually quite a deep question. It came from one of my viewers, it came from Emma, and I really wanted to spend the time and actually elaborate it on a little bit more, considering it was quite a deep question. So that's what we'll be getting into today. I'm going to dive into that question in a moment. So, if you are new here, thanks for being here. I do these podcasts every single week. I've actually been getting quite a few more listeners and subscribers coming in just from the podcast side of things, and I really appreciate you being here. Whether you're here watching on the YouTube, or if you're listening via Spotify or, you know, apple Podcast or wherever you can find a podcast, that means the absolute world to me. I really apologise. I am recording this in the evening so you can probably hear the choir of crickets and frogs in the background. If you can hear it, well, you get to enjoy it just as much as me. As some background ambient noise. Let's get into it.

Speaker 1: 1:41

So the question that came in from Emma, aka the Pirates Lute I'm going to read it out to you and I'll chuck it up on screen as well. Could you please elaborate on the emotional aspect of being a business owner? Have you ever struggled with work-life balance or feeling like you're not doing enough? Have you ever dealt with burnout or thinking about giving up and going back to the nine to five? If so, how have you dealt with these challenges? So essentially, there's about six different questions here and basically what I want to do is I want to answer these quite raw, quite live, you know, breaking down the different areas and I will provide any additional context or maybe some additional little things that I will dive into a little bit more. But really I wanted to answer these. You know I haven't gone in here and written a script. Usually each week I write a script for the podcast and, you know, on the different things that I really want to cover and talk about. So I wanted to kind of answer them off the cuff, on the fly, because I feel like that's where I'm going to be able to give you my best answer. So we're going to dive into that. Some context that I will set in advance is for those that don't know if you are joining this podcast for the first time.

Speaker 1: 2:48

So about two and a half years ago at the start of 2021, i stepped away from the nine to five. I took a chance on myself to essentially see what I could do in terms of turning in, making my dream lifestyle a reality. Now I'd been working at a professional services company for the prior eight years before doing this and I was a middle manager level on a nice salary, really nice salary. And, look, it was in the middle of COVID that I kind of got to the point where I was double guessing why am I doing this and what was the purpose of doing this? And I knew there was some you know big, ambitious goals in you know that career. I thought I was going to be a life working there And during COVID it kind of hit me that I had all these other goals that you know I wanted to do.

Speaker 1: 3:38

I wanted to eventually work for myself, i wanted to be able to try and create a podcast, i wanted to be able to do all these different things. But I knew there's no way that I'm going to be able to do that if I continue to do what I was doing, which was working like 60 hours a week for that company. That was at my own choice, of course. I knew that if I was going to only spend one hour or two hours a weekend trying to you know with what energy, whatever energy I had left to basically create something, it was never going to happen. It was never going to happen. So I had to either rip the bandaid off and make the tough decision and do it myself, or get fired. And I wasn't going to get fired because I was a high performer and I'm not saying that to my own horn. That was the reality of it And I had to make that tough decision. So I did, and at the start of 2021, i took the dive into taking a chance for myself starting my own business, which is a reselling business selling on eBay, not expecting and knowing what that was going to look like, but I knew that I needed to make an income while I was going to be building out this podcast, and that essentially sets the context for these questions.

Speaker 1: 4:40

So, two and a half years later, almost three years later, here we are And I've been traveling along, sharing and documenting my journey on YouTube. I talk about it in the podcast. I've also talked about it. You know, i document my reselling business here on YouTube as well, also my running and things like that. So it's been a big journey to get here.

Speaker 1: 4:58

But the first I guess the first question that's coming out of this broader, bigger question is can I elaborate on the emotional aspect of being a business owner? Now, yes, it is very. It's an emotional rollercoaster, and I'm actually talking about this in a video. Actually, by the time you're hearing this, it would have already come out about the emotional rollercoaster of reselling online, but I think it's the same with any business, as we create something from scratch. It's not like a set income, right? If you're an entrepreneur, if you're running your own business, if it's small business or if you're doing a side hustle, it is a rollercoaster ride Because one month you're going to hit your best month ever.

Speaker 1: 5:39

The next month it's not going to be that. Then you might have back to back months where it's your best months ever. Then you're going to have back to back months where things aren't going well. And that's because there's so many elements of the picture that we do not control as an owner. There's so many things that we can control, so many things that we can control Ensure quality is delivered and that our customers are satisfied. But you know, getting those customers there, are they able to spend? can they afford it? It's all based on our own perceived value of what we think something is worth. We're taking a risk or a bit of a gamble, as we continue to learn and research and understand what products are we going to sell. But you know we can't assume that everyone's going to want to come in and buy those items and buy our items.

Speaker 1: 6:19

So it does drive me insane, don't me get me wrong, as much as that makes me also feel like I'm on the king of the world. I'll go from having weeks where I've hit my best week and I feel like I've got it all figured out and sometimes, look, i have to pull myself up because am I taking it for granted, whereas then other times it can be stressful And I'm thinking, you know, i'll make the joke. I've made the joke before to Carla and, you know, to my parents, for those that I know Carla's my partner and I've, you know, made the joke that, oh, maybe I'm gonna be on the doll or maybe I need to get a job at Mac is or something, just because you know I'm not hitting the numbers that I would like to be hitting. But at the end of the day, the whole result has been very rewarding and what we put in is what we'll get out. So, look, if you're wanting to start your own business If I'm not just talking about reselling if you're wanting to do anything by yourself and take charge and take accountability and take responsibility, you're gonna have to build some resilience. You're gonna have to learn to to ride the ups and downs of it and it's like it's like surfing, because you know The surfers ride the wave because they get the high, but then you're gonna come down and you're gonna have to go all the way back out there and then climb your way back up On top of that wave and then ride it back in and that that is essentially the roller coaster all the waves We will have to ride as a business owner and you're gonna have to get comfortable with that. So That's the reality of it. I struggle with it all the time But actually, if you want to go check out this video, i'll chuck it up as a as a link in The video or I'll put a link in the descriptions. You can actually go check out that video about how I manage. You know, the roller coaster ride or the emotional roller coaster of running a business.

Speaker 1: 7:56

The next question, or the sub question from this broader question, was Have you ever struggled with work life balance? now, i really struggled with it back when I was working in the nine to five in a corporate gig. I was doing 60 hour weeks, especially during COVID, you know. Look it was. The struggle was real. The struggle was really, really real because I was. I Didn't have anything else to do and I was just putting all my time and effort into that And there was times there where I probably did put too much into it because, look, at the end of the day, i'm a loyalist. I like to be able to give my 110%, i like to see things few bit of a micromanager as well. So I was always on the ball and I was also second in charge to In terms of the finances and the project management team. I came under the, i guess, the program delivery lead and I was doing all the financials for that. I was doing the governance, the risk management. I was a project manager, so there was a lot that I had to do, which I was in the room with a lot more senior people, which required more of me. Well, i thought it did, or, in order for me to be at that level, i had to put in more effort And there was times where you know that line was blow big time because you know I was working weekends to prepare for a meeting on a Monday and things like that. So I've struggled with it big time.

Speaker 1: 9:14

Now, working for myself, i'm gonna say no, but it's different, because everything that I do now is for a purpose and everything that I do now is What I want to do and I get to choose that. So, between running, between doing the resale business, between building this podcast, between doing my YouTube and also, you know, living my life. You know I talk about my reselling business when I do those videos. I say building a business that suits my lifestyle, all of this is on my own terms. All of this I get to choose when and how and what.

Speaker 1: 9:44

Now I am a I am a very Persistent worker. I like to be doing. I don't like having downtime, unless it's planned for and that's look, i struggle with that. But I also like to be able to learn. I like to be able to be analytical and be on top of things and Covered the the details that are required in order for me to execute. I'm I'm a routine junkie and I love to be able to Tick things off and see progress. So I guess, look, there are days when I do way too much work. There are days when I don't switch off. I mean, i'm filming this, it's 10, 30 minutes. I'm filming this it's 10, 39 pm On a Sunday evening. Usually I'd do this in the morning, but I had a half marathon this morning And I was just too tired to get it done and I moved it around, i shuffled it. So here I am doing a recording For my podcast.

Speaker 1: 10:35

Now the podcast. No one else is telling me to do the podcast. I'm doing this because I want to create it, and I want to create it for you, because my long-term goal is to build a brand and a business around helping people further their lifestyle. If I want that, i have to create that, so I have to be willing to invest the time to be able to create that. And it's not always like this. Some days I'll do three episodes back to back. Sometimes I'm doing them on a different day, but most of the time I'm doing them on Sunday.

Speaker 1: 11:01

So, yeah, look, i guess if someone looking in they that would say I work too much. You know, i'll be doing some running some numbers with my business, doing some planning. I'll be doing it on a Monday evening at 10 o'clock and I'll lean over to Carla and say, hey, you know, i just want to run some numbers by and she's like babe, it's 10 o'clock, i just want to chill and I'm like, yeah, sorry about that. So you know, some, it doesn't impact me in that sense, like I am enjoying it. I, that's what I want to do, but sometimes I get that that line a little bloat.

Speaker 1: 11:33

And then the next question question number three of this, you know broader question is do you ever feel like you're not doing enough? I think the short answer to this is yep. All the time I feel like I'm not doing enough And sometimes, look, i even. Sometimes this is a real bad habit that I have or of doing less beneficial work to help me feel like I am being productive, and it's those times that I need I've been learning to try and do something that I enjoy doing, like play a video game or watch a YouTube video or go out and do something, because I'm better off doing that resting time than just doing senseless work. So that's been a lesson. I've always done that, being being a, you know, a routine junkie, which then leads into a bit of a workflow junkie or into a workaholic, i like to be just doing things. So it's more about making sure that I'm doing things that are relevant and productive and, you know, important for what I'm trying to achieve Now.

Speaker 1: 12:26

At the same time, you know there is also the component of this where I'm trying to build something that I'm satisfied with, and each year I continue to set bigger and more audacious goals, and I have long term goals of five, 10 years as well. So do I know how to create those goals, like I mean? so do I know how to turn those goals into reality? Do I know how to create them into reality? No, because I've never achieved those results. If I want to do $250,000 in revenue in my business why I mean, that's a whole different conversation, but let's say that's what it is. If I want to do that, i don't know how to do that because I've never done it before, so I have to figure out how to do it. Therefore, in order to get to that point, the only way to get there is for me to work in doing it.

Speaker 1: 13:12

The more you put in effort and the more experience you have, the sooner you realize that you need to spend your time wisely in order to get the results that you want. So the first year of me doing my business, i was kind of like I figure it all out, i've got it all, it's all going to be easy going, things are working, things are happening, but I was expecting things to just pick up and things to be doing better. It doesn't work that way. If you've done the work, that will guarantee you $1,000 a month, you can't expect to do exactly the same the next month and to get $2,000. It doesn't work that way. You have to be selling better products, you have to be selling more products. You have to be sourcing differently, you have to be sourcing better. You have to be operating at a whole different level. It's the same if you want to do 10X that. It's the same if you want to do 30X, that, 50x, that. So with that means you have to spend more time. There comes a period where you're giving more time to be able to get the results you want And then, once you get comfortable with that, you know that becomes easier. So therefore, the time you're spending isn't as much and you're getting a higher result. But there's a period where you have to give more to get more, whereas then eventually it just becomes norm to get norm and that then you're setting a higher goal. I hope that makes sense. So, yeah, that's that's a funny way of answering that, but that's that's honestly how I'm answering it.

Speaker 1: 14:31

The next part of this sub, or sub, the next sub question of this was how have you ever dealt with burnout? Look, never to the point currently in my business, never to the point where I've had to step away and it's not working for me. There's been times where I've worked a lot and I've had to take, you know, just take some time down and just because I've been doing too much, or, you know, short deadlines when I had to move into my storage unit and things like that. But I think in the previous nine to five, 100% those times where I was burnt out really bad. But now I think, since that, i have a better lifestyle and a better routine of the things doing the things. That suits my lifestyle. That's, that's what I'm super proud of.

Speaker 1: 15:12

Like you know, i do have people ask me how do I do so much stuff? Sometimes I question how do I do so much stuff? But you know, i'm doing my YouTube, i'm doing my podcast, i'm doing my running, i'm training for my 50k. At the moment, i volunteer weekly, i'm putting out four videos a week and I'm doing a live stream. I'm managing my business which is, you know, on track to do $147,000 at the time of this video for this calendar year.

Speaker 1: 15:42

Look, there's a lot of different things that I'm doing. There is a lot that I am doing, and then I'm obviously I've got family, i've got friends, i've got Carla, my partner, and I've got all my other little side hobbies that I like to do as well, and you know, things that I don't even talk about or share about, necessarily, because I have all these different avenues of focus areas, all these different avenues of where I'm doing stuff. I'm able to jump between them to help me stay sane and to help clean or clear out my mind and give my mindset a fresh perspective, coming from another area of where I'm able to put time and effort. So I do manage the burnout, i'm more understanding of it and I can see the triggers a lot easier now, compared to, you know, three, four years ago when I was working for someone else. The beauty is no one else is telling me what to do. I am telling me what I want to do and I can say you need to call it and the same thing. I know that I have to have a podcast ready for next week because I haven't done it and that's on me. I'm responsible for that. So if I want to grow this podcast, if I want to be consistent, if I want to have the podcast episode ready for next week. I need to do it between some time today and next Saturday. I still have to edit it, do all those things, so I need to do that. So the best time to do this is at this time of night. So it's not about that I'm working crazy hours. It's about, no, this is what I want to achieve. Therefore, i want to do this. Therefore, i'm going to do it and I'm happy to do it. There's no question about it.

Speaker 1: 17:11

The next part of this was have you ever thought about giving up and going back to the nine to five job? No, no, no way, no. Look, i've been offered three jobs since I've left working the nine to five one by a previous client, one by someone else who I'm now doing a. You know, they're doing a partnership with me in my business. And then there was there was someone else as well. Actually, it was through the volunteering organization, the charity organization. So I've been offered three jobs, and some of them haven't been anything to do with money. Some of them have been really good money, but actually one of them was probably better money than what I was doing previously. It was a contract work, but I had to. I had to really dig deep and I had to say no, because if I went and did that, i knew that I would be going against what I'm trying to achieve here And I probably would not even consider working for someone else until I've done seven years or eight years of doing this, because that is my comparison that I have.

Speaker 1: 18:17

I worked eight years at that other you know organization doing what I did very successful, paid really well and that took me eight years. So I want to give this eight years to see where I can take it. Can I top that? Can I be doing better And can I have a better result? If not, well then I need to consider is that what I want to continue doing? Is there something else out there? And who knows our plans and purpose change? but no, i have not even thought about it.

Speaker 1: 18:43

You know, there's always been in the back of my mind knowing that worst case, i can get another job. That's the beauty of taking this risk. I also had savings and I did that risk analysis of how am I going to do this. But I've always known that worst case, if I fail, if I flop, if I can't do what I'm doing, i can always get another job. So that's been in the back of my mind anyway. But I'm motivated not to be there because I do not want to have to work for someone else again And I want to be able to create what I want to create and I want to bring my dreams of a, you know, ideal reality into being. And, again, the only person that can do that is myself and the help of people that work with me and things like that. But I'm driving my own ship. I don't want to be, you know, under another captain. I want to be taking that ship to where I want to take it. So that's, that's complete honesty.

Speaker 1: 19:32

I have turned down three jobs And when you realize what you want and you realize the sacrifices And you're happy with that, then you will be content with doing what you have to do. I've had to make sacrifices, meaning, you know there's certain things I cannot do Bank won't touch me, which you know delays other plans that I have with Carla and things like that. But there's small sacrifices in a broader scheme of things that I've had to, you know, put on hold and That that does frustrate me a lot. But at the same time, you can't have your cake in it too. If you know, if I want to create this, i can't expect to have exactly the same lifestyle that I had when I was working for someone else, having a salary six figure coming in And be comfortable each month and have a disposable income that you can kind of just throw around, because I was working and getting paid really, really well. But I didn't want that. I didn't want that. So that's the choice I got to make, and now I get to create the lifestyle that I want, and I know that it's going to take time. So that's that's. That's yeah, that's the answer to that one.

Speaker 1: 20:46

The next thing is how do I deal with all these challenges now? How do I deal with all these challenges? I mean, i've kind of elaborated on those already, but I guess, when I think about this, there's three things that come to mind, and first one is conviction, and I kind of just already answered this is I know what I want and I know it's going to take a lot of hard work and no one else is going to do it for me. Thus, i need to do all that is in my power to make that happen, which leads me to point number two, which is purpose. It gives me a sense of purpose, i know what I want and it gives me a reason to focus on. You know, working for someone else, you have a purpose within a company, you have a role, but I always knew I wanted to work for myself. I wanted to build something beyond myself. I wanted to have a bigger impact beyond myself. Yeah, working for clients, implementing systems, whatever you do, you have an impact and you can be proud of those things. But I wanted to be bigger and broader than that and I wanted to be able to make my dint and my difference in creating something that can impact others And that gave me a sense of purpose. Again, i'm the only one that can do that like create what I want.

Speaker 1: 22:00

And then the third thing that comes to mind about managing these challenges is expectation management mindset, and This is actually mostly. Actually, this is probably the most important, because going into creating all this and doing all this and we can and we can. You know, i'm on like week one hundred and twenty six of reselling online Or building my business, and it meant that I had to go into this understanding that there are going to be risks, that there's going to be, there's going to be some tough odds or you know, i'm taking a huge chance on expecting things to work, that There's going to be a lot of work ahead of me, that there's going to be challenges that will come, that there's going to be potential rewards as well, and it's only by what I do that will come. So I've gone into creating this life with a mentality of knowing the pros and cons and knowing the ups and downs will come. Obviously, when you live through and experience downs, it's it's a lot harder to go through because You know like you don't know what you don't know. And I tell you, like I've had really good weeks, in week five and week ten of doing my business and I feel like I've got this figured out. And literally this week, week one hundred and twenty six I think it was a week hundred and twenty five, whatever I just said like this week has been a struggle Mentally because I just haven't seen the results that I wanted.

Speaker 1: 23:28

I haven't seen the results I'm expecting, and some of that is out of my control. But at the same time, if I zoom out, it's not actually that bad, like I'm above average, above average for this year But I don't want just to be average. I want to be better than average. So if I want that, i have to change something. And if I want to change something, it means I have to do do the change myself right. So I know what that means. It means that I have to get more uncomfortable. It means I have to challenge the norm of what I'm doing. So that's how I'm managing it, because I know that with that it means okay, what am I going to give up? what am I going to adjust to? how can I sacrifice here, or is there things that I can stop doing? is other things that I can delegate, other things that I can? you know, do I need to start doing things differently? so I hope that answers the question.

Speaker 1: 24:21

But I manage it through keeping my head space fit, and the best way to keep my head space fit is do my running. That has really enabled me. But I also have the different avenues, as I said before, which means I can jump between different things to keep me happy. I also one thing that I you know, one thing I should say is you know, having people in your life that can help you know, spur you on and keep you honest and keep you motivated, is really important, and obviously Carla does that for me. You know it helps me bounce ideas, she keeps me honest, she keeps you sane And you know she supports me along the way as well, and I do the same for her, but that that makes a huge difference as well.

Speaker 1: 25:00

Now, the other factor to all this is, though, you know, with all this challenges and all the things of you know managing these challenges, there's a lot that I also need to ensure that I keep happening like this. There's a level of consistency that needs to stay consistent around creating, building and chasing what I want, and the way I do that is I need to keep myself honest, i need to keep myself, i guess, managed, and, as I said, i need to stay mentally fit, and the way I do this is I bring in different elements and different tools and things to ensure that I can do this most easily possible. So that's bringing in routines, bringing in having goals or having a structure, setting baselines and understanding what my baselines are, having these side hobbies or side projects, being able to ground myself, have a place where I can fall back to, having people around me to root for me, having the downtime resting, understanding what I need to be able to operate at my full efficiency. So that's really, i think, answers all those questions. There's a lot there. There's a lot to take in.

Speaker 1: 26:07

I do like these kind of episodes because they're personable And at the end of the day I'm very proud of what I've achieved. But I know I'm really just still so far from where I want to be, and it's not that like I'm disappointed where I'm not. Like you know, should I've been here now, who knows? But I know that there's so much more that I can be doing. And getting to that point it takes time.

Speaker 1: 26:35

Like I can't just wake up tomorrow and just work, you know, 26 hours in a 24 hour day. It doesn't work that way. I have to spend the time, the same time, preferably on working better and working smarter and making better decisions and doing things that's going to enable me to get to the next level. And that's hard, but I love it And it's what I want, because I want to know that in five years time or in 10 years time, i'm being able to enjoy and reap and benefit from doing that work, you know, enjoy the rewards and be able to have that lifestyle that I want to create with Carla, and obviously, carla and I we chat about that, you know, having that understanding of where we want to be, what we want to be doing and what does that look like and all the different things. But again, you can't create that if you're not working towards that. And I can't expect to just wake up tomorrow and have my 10 year goal or you know, something that's going to take 10 years worth of work to get to to be happening, right, you know? and if I waste the next 10 years and I don't do diddly squat, that 10 year goal or where I expect my life to be in 10 years won't even come into life, right? So I have to do the work. Yeah, that's that's, that's, that's that's our conversation for today.

Speaker 1: 27:52

If you have any questions about this, or you know you want to share a bit about your story, or if you've got other questions that you would like to ask and you know we do this kind of episode again ask the question. You can also, you can also jump over to speakpipecom, slash further your lifestyle and ask a question. More than happy to answer it. I'm very grateful for this question. So thank you, emma, for asking it Deep stuff. But you know, i'm I'm motivated, i know what I want And you know doing these kind of episodes helps me grounded even more and get it really, really right of what I want, and it helps me know that you know it's keeping me on it.

Speaker 1: 28:31

So thank you, thank you for asking it, appreciate you all being here, thank you all for listening And, wherever you are, what have you doing, make sure you do have a wonderful day. And, of course, if you do have any questions, comments, check on down below. And one more thing I will say if you enjoy this, if you think someone else will resonate from this episode or some of the other episodes of the further your lifestyle podcast, please share it, give it a like, give it a subscribe, follow it wherever you are, however you listen, but if you can share it, that that's what really makes a huge difference with the podcast and being able to help grow it. So if you can do that, i appreciate it in advance Again. Otherwise, you have a wonderful day, cheers.