Between online shopping, content streaming, and so many more options we now have at our finger tips, it seems like almost everything gives us instant gratification. Unfortunately, (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) business is not like that. Sure, you always hear that there is that one in a million success story where business blows up overnight, but more often than not you see business owners putting in the work now to reap the benefits later. As an entrepreneur, I can attest to this, and it couldn’t be more important and truthful that nothing happens overnight.
With social media promoting all of these success stories where someone becomes famous or builds a business that explodes overnight, it can be easy to get discouraged, however it’s important to look at the people that are extremely successful, and built their business and brand over a long span of time.
Take Emily Schuman, one of my personal businesswoman/blogger inspirations. She started Cupcakes and Cashmere, which has over 335k Instagram followers, and almost 480k likes on Facebook. When asked about how she started and when she started seeing success, she comments, “It was pretty slow and steady. It’s funny, I receive a lot of emails from girls starting blogs wanting to turn them into a success story overnight. I don’t think most people realize just how much time and effort it takes to make things look…well, effortless!”
She’s a great role model for young women because not only did she start her own successful business, but she hasn’t sugar coated the process of how it got started. She often talks about how putting in the work now to reap the benefits later is a crucial part of building a business, and is essential in life.
Often we assume everything will be instantaneous, but think about how many things take time to see the progress made. This is true with fitness, weight loss, business, relationships, and even cooking. You can’t put a cake in the oven and expect it to cook in 5 minutes. You need to put in the work, and watch the progress being made.
I thought it was really interesting because I saw someone post on Facebook the other day that they reached 10k followers on Instagram in 4 months. That is pretty insane, so I decided to check out his Instagram feed to see what all the buzz was about. Well, it turns out he did indeed have 10k followers, but really low engagement. No comments, likes or interest was shown by the massive amount of followers he accumulated. It got me thinking: 4 months to gain 10k followers is fast, but is it worth it? I’d rather be putting in the work now to reap the benefits later and cultivate a following that actually cares about what I’m writing and the content that I’m creating. Remember, slow and steady always wins the race, and it is the hard work and time devoted which always shows through and portrays the passion for what you’re doing.