The journey of the online business owner is very similar, yet very different. Simply because each business owner has their own unique personality, strengths, and values.

According to Harvard Business Review, there are five stages of small business development, whether you’re online or brick and mortar. The stages are Existence, Survival, Success, Take-Off, and Maturity.

In the existence stage, you’re figuring out what your niche is, your offer, how to get in front of them, and what your core message is. You may be making a little money.

In the survival stage, you have a few customers, have had some success, however you seem to be stuck in feast or famine income mode and are striving to get to what you consider to be the success stage.

Where are you in your journey as an online business owner?

Perhaps you are waiting for your first client, or for your first 10K month, or to have 5,000 people on your list.   All of these are fine goals and aspirations, however, I find that many heart-based entrepreneurs have missed the mark. They don’t understand the journey of an online business owner and are waiting for something BIG to happen before they begin enjoying their journey.

What are you putting off as you are waiting for something to happen in your business?

Perhaps you are putting off enjoying time off, going on vacation, having a girl’s night out, or dating.

Didn’t you start your business to have more freedom? 

To do what you wanted to do?

"Don't put it off. Do things now and enjoy the journey of an online business owner." ~ CindyJ Holbrook Share on X

Consider the poem below. It’s one of my favorites, and I find that so many entrepreneurs have their own list of things they are waiting for before they begin enjoying their journey.

The Station by Robert Hastings

TUCKED AWAY in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision in which we see ourselves on a long
journey that spans an entire continent. We’re traveling by train and, from the windows, we drink in the passing scenes of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at crossings, of cattle grazing in distant pastures, of smoke pouring from power plants, of row upon row upon row of cotton and corn and wheat, of  flat-lands and valleys, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our conscious minds is our final destination–for at a certain hour and on a given day, our train will finally pull into the Station with bells ringing, flags waving, and bands playing. And once that day comes, so many wonderful dreams will come true. So restlessly, we pace the aisles and count the miles, peering ahead, waiting, waiting, waiting for the Station.

“Yes, when we reach the Station that will be it!” we promise ourselves. “When we’re eighteen . . . win that promotion . . . put the last kid through college . . . buy that 450SL Mercedes-Benz . . . have a nest egg for retirement!”

From that day on we will all live happily ever after.

Sooner or later, however, we must realize there is no Station in this life, no one earthly place to arrive at once and for all. The journey is the joy. The Station is an illusion–it constantly outdistances us. Yesterday’s a memory, tomorrow’s a dream. Yesterday belongs to history, tomorrow belongs to God. Yesterday’s a fading sunset, tomorrow’s a faint sunrise. Only today is there light enough to love and live.

So, gently close the door on yesterday and throw the key away. It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad, but rather regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.

Regret and fear are twin thieves who would rob us of today.

“Relish the moment” is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, swim more rivers, climb more mountains, kiss more babies, count more stars. Laugh more and cry less. Go barefoot more often. Eat more ice cream. Ride more merry-go-rounds. Watch more sunsets. Life must be lived as we go along. The Station will come soon enough.

It’s time to start enjoying the journey of your business now!

Right now, get out a piece of paper and start listing ALL of the ways that you can begin enjoying the journey of your online business.

List proof you’re on the right track. List all of your successes. List what you are grateful for today in your business and your life.

Enjoy the journey of an online business owner while you are building your heart-centered business. This is what will make your business FUN, PROFITABLE, and REWARDING!