First, know that you aren’t alone. We all have seasons where inquiries are dry, launches hear only crickets, and you question everything… Am I doing this right? Learning how to not give up is one of the most valuable skills for anyone pursuing entrepreneurship.
Business isn’t always linear or inspiring—sometimes it’s survival mode. It doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It doesn’t mean business will always be like this. It’s just a sucky season.
This episode is about how to not give up when you feel stuck, discouraged, or just straight up over it.
Why Every Business (and Life) Has Sucky Seasons
Seasons in business are like seasons of the year—winter isn’t bad, it’s restorative. This sucky business season isn’t bad—it’s a chance to grow and learn. Maybe you need this season to become a better business owner in the future.
Every business cycle has ebbs and flows — busy launch seasons, quiet regrouping periods, creative ruts, etc. We need these periods, or else we are on a straight path to burnout, feeling unmotivated and exhausted.
Kids have growth spurts, and so do we. They just come with less sleep and more self-doubt.
“Sometimes your business is blooming, sometimes it’s hibernating — and both seasons are valid.”
Let’s bring in a little motivation here. Because everyone…. Literally everyone experiences this.
Even the most successful business owners you can think of have gone through sucky seasons. Don’t believe us?
1. Sara Blakely (Founder of Spanx): She spent two years hearing “no” from manufacturers before one finally agreed to make her first prototype. She sold Spanx door-to-door and kept her day job while building her empire — now she’s a billionaire. She didn’t wait for a perfect moment or a big break — she kept showing up, even when no one believed in her idea.
2. Walt Disney: He was fired from a newspaper for ‘lacking imagination.’ His first animation studio went bankrupt. He was rejected over 300 times before finding financing for Disneyland. Can you imagine if he’d stopped at the first ‘no’?
3. J.K. Rowling: She wrote Harry Potter while broke, divorced, and raising a child alone. After 12 rejections from publishers, one took a chance on her manuscript.
4. Oprah Winfrey: Oprah was fired from her first TV job and told she wasn’t fit for television. Look at her now.
5. Howard Schultz (former CEO of Starbucks): He was rejected 242 times by investors before someone believed in his vision for Starbucks as a coffeehouse experience.
6. Vera Wang: She didn’t design her first dress until she was 40, after getting rejected from the U.S. Olympic figure skating team and leaving Vogue when she wasn’t promoted to editor-in-chief.
And, of course, there’s always Thomas Edison’s famous line… “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
The most successful people we know didn’t skip the sucky seasons — they learned how to not give up and stayed through them.
The Real Reasons It Feels So Hard Right Now
We know how much it sucks to be in this place in your business. We’ve been there ourselves a few times.
Do any of these sound familiar?
- Burned out because you’ve been doing too much, but you can’t take a break either because you need sales and new clients.
- Disconnected from your ‘why.’
- Comparing yourselves to others’ highlight reels.
- Trying to do business like everyone else instead of trusting your own rhythm.
- Forgetting to rest.
Ask yourself this… What’s really draining me right now: my work, my expectations, or my energy?
It’s not too late to make a change in your systems, client load, goals, expectations, or anything else that’s draining your energy.
How To Not Give Up (Even When You Want To)
Maybe you feel like you’re on the edge of throwing your business off a cliff and quitting forever. We know it’s tempting, but you would never be satisfied knowing that you gave up. So here’s how to NOT give up, even when you want to.
1. Rest Without Quitting
Resting is not the same as giving up. Give yourself permission to pause, take a breath, or step away for a bit.
“You can’t create when you’re constantly in survival mode.”
Sometimes our best ideas come when we aren’t working. We begin to feel that excitement come back, and we can’t wait to make those creative ideas happen.
2. Find One Thing That Feels Light
Pick one thing that brings joy or ease in business — creating, writing, designing, or connecting. Focus on that for a week instead of trying to fix everything.
For us, we love our Duo Working Days. We spend time ONLY working together on OUR business. We don’t read emails or do any client work—just focusing on the business that started it all.
3. Reconnect With Your ‘Why’
Pull out your old goals or vision board. Ask: “Why did I start this? Who am I doing this for?”— Is this still aligned?
If not, that’s probably why you’re feeling a little burned out. You don’t see the point in hustling when it’s not working toward your vision.
Often, clarity reignites motivation.
4. Lean Into Your Community
First, if you don’t have a community… find one. We have each other and our team, but we also have a lot of other business besties outside of Duo who can offer clarity and encouragement in a sucky season.
Text your business bestie, your mastermind, or your fellow mompreneur crew. We’re all here to support each other!
5. Celebrate Tiny Wins (Even If They Feel Silly)
Even a small win is a win. If you checked something off your to-do list, celebrate. If you posted on Instagram today, that’s a win.
Reframe your progress: You showed up today. You sent one email. You made one decision. That counts.
6. Let Something Go
Our motto in sucky seasons: We ain’t saving lives.
Not everything deserves your energy right now. When things start to feel heavy, we have to prioritize what matters most. And usually, that means things get dropped — Instagram content, new offers, or even personal expectations.
7. Stop Consuming Content
This is the perfect disaster for imposter syndrome. Seriously, stop… we love that you are here listening to this podcast, but maybe come back and binge later. Delete Instagram, TikTok… just step away from it all.
Reconnect with the things in life that bring you joy — hobbies, family, friends, the outdoors… anything to bring back the real YOU.
What Helped Us in Our Own Sucky Seasons
Our sucky seasons look like slow client work, tough mom moments, and creative blocks.
What helped us was realizing slow seasons tend to be trends. We almost always have a slower client load in October. Now, we can plan for that to be the month that we get stuff done for Duo because we have the time to step into our CEO roles. Look at your financial reports for trends.
It also helps us to talk with other business owners. Again, everyone has experienced a sucky season. You can gain a lot of wisdom from others to learn how to not give up and move past this season faster.
One of our favorite ways to get a little motivation boost is to quiz our audience. You are all so nice to us! It reinforces why we do what we do.
We are big fans of therapy and self-care. We prioritize this to keep our mental health strong so we can keep showing up for ourselves, our clients, and you.
Are You In a Sucky Season?
A sucky season doesn’t mean you’re not meant for this — it means you’re human. The most successful entrepreneurs we know didn’t avoid the hard seasons — they just kept showing up through them. You got this ❤️
FAQs About How to Not Give Up
Maybe the goals you set for yourself are unclear or unrealistic. Does the finish line feel undefined or too big? Do you have a fear of failure or judgment? Quitting feels safer than risking and not succeeding. Are you relying only on motivation? Motivation comes and goes — leaning on your why helps you continue to move forward.
Most often, it’s overwhelm. Something feels too big, complicated, urgent, or scary, and the brain triggers avoidance rather than action. Simplify the next step, set realistic expectations, reduce distractions, and reconnect with why the goal matters to you.
Challenge the thought, not yourself. Replace “I can’t do this” with “I’m learning this,” and lean on your support system.
Listen to Our Encouragement For Your Business
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Abbey Oslin and Courtney Petersen are Minnesota-based marketing experts with over 20+ years of combined experience working with big brands. They are educators and co-founders of Duo Collective; a boutique organic marketing agency specializing in SEO, branding, and custom websites for women-led small businesses and creative entrepreneurs.
Ready to grow your visibility and become unforgettable?
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