How To Navigate The Ebbs And Flows Of Entrepreneurship Without Freaking Out

The ebbs and flows of entrepreneurship aren’t always easy but more women are becoming entrepreneurs than ever before.

However, no one really prepares you for the emotional whiplash of inconsistent income, client dry spells, or the way the outside market can shake your sense of stability. I’ve been there more times than I can count, riding high one month with back-to-back projects and glowing feedback, then staring down an eerily empty calendar the next. It’s enough to make even the most grounded among us question every life choice we’ve made.

But over the years, I’ve learned to ride the waves without letting them drown me. I no longer see uncertainty as a threat because it’s simply part of the landscape. And with the right mindset and tools, you can move through the highs and lows with far more ease, clarity, and grace.

Here are a few tips for dealing with the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship (without freaking out):

One of the biggest emotional traps I used to fall into was making a slow season mean something about me. I’d spiral into thoughts like, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this” or “Everyone else has it figured out.” But over time, I began to notice the patterns. Business ebbs and flows. Clients pause, budgets shift, the market contracts; and none of it has to mean you’re failing.

As mindset coach Jess Lively puts it, “The universe works in seasons. Trust the pauses.”

That shift, seeing pauses as part of the process instead of a personal failure, changed everything for me. When I stopped resisting the lull, I could start using that time to rest, recalibrate, and reconnect with my vision.

When everything feels shaky on the outside, I return to the few things that help me feel steady on the inside. For me, that’s journaling, long walks, and reminding myself that it’s always worked out before. These small rituals help me regulate my nervous system and shift out of scarcity mode.

According to somatic therapist and author Resmaa Menakem in a post about trauma, grounding the body is key when facing stress.

“When the body’s trauma response is calmed, the mind becomes more spacious and clear,” Resmaa wrote.

You don’t need to meditate for an hour, just getting outside, moving your body, or writing down what you’re grateful for can be enough to shift your state.

When things get rough, I give myself permission to pause. Not quit, just pause. Then, when I feel ready, I reach out. I put myself back in motion: send the emails, post the offer, follow up with old clients. And then, I surrender. That last part is the hardest, but also the most powerful.

This little three-step process—rest, reach out, release—has become my personal bounce-back toolkit. It helps me recover from setbacks without pushing myself into burnout or panic mode. It’s not about forcing things to happen, but staying in right relationship with possibility.

As yoga entrepreneur Brett Larkin says: “Got a delayed flight? Cool: use the time to rest or reflect. Lost a client? Maybe space just opened for something better. Trusting the process helps you lead with calm, clarity, and resilience.”

Burnout doesn’t just come from overwork. It can come from emotional whiplash, from constantly attaching our worth to our wins, according to Dr. Emily Nagoski and Dr. Amelia Nagoski, authors of t: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. But success in entrepreneurship isn’t about always being “on” or constantly scaling. Both Dr. Nagoskis go on to say it’s about building the stamina to stay in the game long enough to see it through.

Emotional resilience is like a muscle. The more you move through the ebbs and flows of entrepreneurship with self-compassion and grounded tools, the stronger you become. So the next time things get wobbly, don’t freak out. Reach into your toolkit. Remind yourself you’ve done this before and you’ll do it again. As Brené Brown puts it in her book Daring Greatly, “You can’t get to courage without walking through vulnerability.” Resilience isn’t about being unaffected—it’s about showing up anyway, with your full heart and a steady breath.