I didn’t expect to learn anything about business that day.
I was just going to pick up a friend to go shopping and go for a walk in our local park.
But then her door opened, and three wasps flew in, and suddenly we were both standing there trying very hard to look calm while absolutely not feeling calm.
Now, since moving to rural North Florida, my husband and I have gotten to know several beekeepers in our community. And one of the things we’ve learned is that you don’t want to aggravate the bees. Or the wasps.
An unbothered wasp is manageable. An angry wasp is a completely different situation.
So, we did not panic. We did not start swatting wildly.
We grabbed a fly swatter and, very calmly and carefully, started guiding them toward the door.
And by “we” I mean my friend. SHE very calmly grabbed the fly swatter and gently guided them out.
I prayed they’d leave.
Which brings me to the catch-22.
To guide them out, we had to keep the door open. And keeping the door open meant others could fly back in.
So, every time we made a little progress, we had a new problem. One would leave, and another would come in right behind it.
Sound familiar?
Because honestly, that is what running a small business can feel like sometimes.
The distractions, the interruptions, the unexpected things that land in your lap on an otherwise normal Tuesday. You handle one thing, and before you can catch your breath, something else has already flown in through the open door.
And here’s the part that gets most business owners in trouble.
When we panic and wildly swat at everything, we make it worse.
The key is to stay calm, be strategic, and handle things one at a time without aggravating the situation.
But here’s the other thing I noticed that day.
I wasn’t alone.
My friend and I figured it out together. One of us watched the door, one of us guided them out.
We talked each other through it. And what could have turned into a full-blown chaotic situation ended up being kind of funny in hindsight.
That’s what good support does in your business.
It doesn’t eliminate every distraction or prevent every interruption. But it means you’re not standing there alone, holding a fly swatter, trying to figure out which wasp to deal with first.
Having someone alongside you, even just for a few hours a week, can be the difference between managing the chaos calmly and letting it run the whole day.
If your business has been feeling like a car full of wasps lately, please know you don’t have to handle it alone.
Hit reply and let’s talk about it. I’d love to help.
