I can’t sleep cuz I’m worried sick about the business

When it comes to YouTube and making videos for social media, I've always promised myself that I would be authentic and real and show exactly what's happening in my life and not show just one side of it. Not just because I want people to learn or be educated or see the full story, but also because I feel it's the way to have longevity when it comes to producing content. I feel like a lot of times people burn out or they stop making videos mostly because they're only showing one part of their life, not they're not truly being authentic and showing everything. And if they did, they would feel more relaxed in the fact that they're not having to put on something for the camera versus what is in real life. And so for that reason, I'm making this video today, which just kind of shows the human side of Mike Andes. And so many of you watch these videos only, whether it be on YouTube or Facebook or Instagram or whatever it might be, and very easily on social media. It can become an idolization of someone's skill set and their life. So you see myself having multiple businesses, real estate, almost a hundred locations at Augusta Lawn Care that are franchised, and it's very easy to say, oh well, he has it all together, he knows all the answers and he's somehow, you know, perfect. And that is by no means the case. And the reason I make this video also is for especially the younger entrepreneurs, whether in lawn care and landscaping or any home improvement service business, my, my passion and my heart is for small business owners. That's really what it comes down to. I know there's more opportunities in terms of money for, in software and dealing with B2B companies and larger software companies, but I'm, I'm just not interested in that. I really do like to see the impact. I love to see 18, 19, 20 year old young men really hone their skills and their craft and become something awesome, change their livelihood, change what has been generational poverty in their families and really work on themselves and just put in the hard work and change their lives. I love to see that. And so I make this video in part also for them to realize that when you're watching people on social media and most of them do not show the part I'm talking about today. And so I hope that my very, very, very small audience that I reach every day becomes very keenly aware that the people they watch every single day have their own issues, their own struggles, their own problems, and that when they lay their head on the pillow each night, that they're going through their own issues. And so for me, my kryptonite really. And when I really start to struggle is when I cannot fall asleep and I'm just laying in bed for a long period of time. And typically this never happens. I'm usually very, very tired. When I go to bed, within one to two minutes, I'm asleep. But occasionally I get worried and I start worrying and it starts compounding. And when you have as many businesses I have, employ as many people as I have, and there's so many owners now that I feel responsible for, there is never a lack of things to be worried about, whether it be financial, whether it be people that are going through relationship issues, owners that are having struggles in their business, they're having hiring issues, they're having trouble selling jobs, and literally, there's an unending amount of stress and situations that could potentially go wrong at any given point in time and are going wrong at any given point in time. And so I'll sometimes lay in bed for hours. And it's not fun. It's not something that I enjoy. And I think the part that I. How I kind of reconcile it and I get worried. It's hardly ever about myself, honestly. I get very concerned about other business owners, especially our franchisees at Augusta Nation. I get concerned with my performance and making sure I produce for them. I. I'm affected when other owners are struggling financially because I know what that stress is like, and I know how much pressure that puts on them, and I don't like that. And so when. When you go into the same thing in your business and you have customers or employees that are going through struggles or customers that are leaving bad reviews, 1 star reviews, and they're complaining. When that's happening, you have to step back for one second and just realize that the. The reason you're stressed and the reason you might be lying in bed at night awake is because you care. And this is what I kind of constantly step back to when I'm really, really concerned and getting worried and my head starts spinning and I just feel like, like, like my heart starts. I'm pretty aware of my body mostly because when I went to kinesiology and pre medical sciences, I did a lot of the physical body. So, like, I know when my heart rate is going up, I know when my blood pressure is higher. I know all of these things. And so it's almost annoying to know it because you can actually feel like, okay, I'm not gonna be asleep, because this is what's happening. My body and Right now my cortisol is pumping and this is what, like it's a little bit annoying. That happens. And for anyone that says it doesn't happen, or said that they somehow have never struck out, or that they never worry or that they are somehow perfect, it's just an absolute lie. And obviously people are more optimistic. There are people that are more positive. And I would consider myself one of those. And the way that I can reconcile those moments is the only reason that I'm so worried, the only reason that I am feeling so down and it affects me so much emotionally is because I care. And when you have those negative reviews, when you have customers that are mad, you have employees that are going through a rough time and you're. Your brain just is firing all cylinders when you're trying to go sleep or you just can't relax or you start to get sick. I've been sick this week. It's been brutal when that's happening. The only reason I can reconcile is I step back and I realize the only reason I'm so concerned and worried and stressed about them is because I care. And I really, really do want to see them succeed. Whether it be the franchisees, whether it be my employees, whether it be people that I know that are struggling with certain things in their family life, in their personal relationships, in their business. And the only reason that you care so much about when a customer's mad at you, when they leave a one star review, when, when they say that you did a bad job is because you actually care. Because if you didn't care, you just brush them off. Like, who cares about you and your job and you thinking I'm wrong. And that kind of mentality would be someone that can live a very carefree life. Cause they, in their mind, never let someone down. They never did not meet someone's expectations. They always were perfect. And that's a very unhealthy lifestyle to live, in my opinion. It's very selfish lifestyle to live in that you constantly are living for yourself and thinking that you're right instead of wanting to sacrifice for other people and see them succeed and see them do well. And you don't want to disappoint them. That is a healthy thing as a business owner, to not want to disappoint your employees, do not want to disappoint your customers. It's very healthy. And that's the only way I can reconcile it. But I made this video mostly just to say that if you go through the same thing, if you're stressed, if you're worried if you're stressed about the financial side of the business, if there's employees that are leaving, saying negative things, or customers that you'd feel like you're disappointing and you know you're disappointing and you can't, you can't fulfill the promises that you made to them. And they're, they're complaining and you know it's your fault. The only reason that that's happening is because you're human and because you're dealing with humans. And humans have emotions and they have ups and downs, they have bad days and they have good days, whether it be employees or customers. And just part of business. And it's part of the thing that honestly I again, I step back and realize that what keeps me up at night is because I care so much. And I'm glad that I do something in my business and in my life that is actually worth staying up before. Some people always like, oh, he's relax more and take a vacation. And like, I make the decision. I make the decision to work hard. I make the decision to work to the point where sometimes I do get sick. I make that decision consciously. I make the decision consciously to quote, unquote, give up, which I don't feel is giving up. I make a decision to, not to forego certain pleasures in life or family and friends and relationship because there's something that I want to do and that is build a gustination, that is to allow others the opportunity that I've had to take lawn care and landscaping and, and make a career out of that and make really good money and be able to give back to the community and create jobs. And I'm very passionate about that and I'm willing. I have made the decision to forego certain things in order to have that not for material possessions. I could care less. I'm sitting in like a one bedroom apartment right now. I don't care about that stuff. I care more about what I'm doing than the occasional time when I stay up all night and work hard or I stay up for hours laying in bed worrying and concerned about other owners, other business owners, other employees, customers, their situations. And honestly, I think it's worth the risk. So that's just my story. If you want to know more about me and kind of, you know how I got here, where I'm at today, check this video out here. Kind of walks you through the process of how I grew my businesses and went from 11 years old pushing a mower to now having a national brand that is ranked in the franchise.500. So thanks so much, everyone. Take care. Have a great day.