Seen

A challenge I didn’t anticipate before I started on this small business adventure is the struggle with feeling “seen.” I think this is made more difficult being female (a characteristic of feminine energy is wanting to be seen) and my personality type (Enneagram “Achiever”).

I feel pretty whiny talking about it, but I want these posts to accurately reflect the journey, and maybe right now it’s just a big whiny journey.

I didn’t have this “being seen” dilemma at previous jobs, probably because plenty of people around me shared similar problems. There was also a much narrower scope of issues to do deal with.

The scope of issues as a small business owner feels not only much wider, but in many ways more personal.

But, I am working on accepting that those around you don’t have to be able to relate to the things that you feel best define you. There are also plenty of things they experience that I can’t relate to, and that’s okay.

The other day, as I was reading about product ownership, I made a list of the various roles I’ve taken on as a small business owner:

• Co-owner

• CEO

• COO

• CTO

• Salesperson

• Product Owner

• Project Manager

• Lead Developer

• Programmer

• Lead Designer

• Designer

• Marketing Director

• Social Media Strategist

• Nutrition Coach

I had coffee today with a friend - a woman who also does weightlifting and is learning how to code. She asked how Adaptive Nutrition was going, and I told her excitedly about our current projects - the mobile app, the online course, the new web app features, the new lessons content and format.

When she responded with genuine excitement, it was incredibly meaningful for me. I saw the awe in her eyes as she herself arrived at the realization of the scalability of our solution and our ultimate vision.

Feedback like this is few and far between. It was one of the few times since starting that I’ve felt seen.