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I turn the key in the lock and put the sign to ‘Closed’ for the final time. 

I poured myself a LARGE G&T and sat back in one of the booths in an eerie silence and looked across the room at what I had created and achieved. The Cockpit had finally come to the end of the runway and STOPPED!  

The beautiful branding, the quirky concept, all the little intricate details that made us stand out, the stunning interior. All the blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice everyone had put in. The team worked so hard and were proud of being part of the crew. Why oh why couldn’t it have worked out? 

Business is my life!! What am I going to do now? 

I’ll tell you what I am going to do now…I am going to stand tall, reflect on what went wrong, learn and become a better entrepreneur because of it. 

The reason I felt so positive and resilient at such a testing time is down to my newly found escapism, my mindset charging superpower…RUNNING

Yes, even I shocked myself with this new pastime! The least sporty person in my family. My idea of a workout was creating some crazy shapes on the dancefloor balancing a Vodka, lime and lemonade or three!

It started off with a ‘squat’ competition challenge with a friend, I did one drop and ached for three days afterwards! Always up for a challenge (I don’t like to lose), I decided I needed to get fit to enable me to put on my best performance!

I started running in the local woods with my two dogs, and before I knew it, I noticed a positive difference with my physical appearance and fitness, but I also became mentally stronger, I could think clearer and I was positively dealing with any situation more efficiently and with confidence. 

As I could start to see issues creeping into my business and the lack of customers embarking through our doors on a Friday and Saturday evening, running empowered me with a positive and strong mindset to help effectively deal with these difficult challenges along the way. I wasn’t going to be beaten! When I knew the business was hitting the danger zone, I started looking at an exit plan for the business and preparing for a plan for me to keep myself afloat once the final decision to close was made. 

Last year, I signed up to run the Great North Run as a HUGE challenge for myself as kind of therapy to help me positively power through post business dealings and give myself a new focus and self-brief.  

It is well documented that there are strong links between regular physical activity and positive mental health as it keeps you stimulated, alert, reduces stress levels and equips you to positively deal with any demanding situation. It helps to reduce: 

  • Anxiety and depression. 
  • Reduces stress levels or intrusive racing thoughts. 
  • Boosts your brain superpowers! – Helps aid memory, sharpness, creativity and mental energy. 
  • Increased self-esteem and confidence.
  • Promotes better sleep which enables your body and brain to function properly.

Working within the hospitality industry can be very demanding with loooong hours, no regular eating patterns (that’s if you have time to eat at all!) and when you do, you just grab what you can, healthy or not! 

There is little opportunity to sleep properly as you often feel wired after a late shift and there is a small window of opportunity to switch off from everything. All of these have a negative impact on your wellbeing. 

I truly believe that running helped me get through the closure of my cafe-bar with a lot less bruises than I should have stepped away with.  

You have the choice and the power to make things happen and make a positive change even in this climate. Dust yourself off and get through it with the support of amazing family and friends and through your own resilience and mindset. 

It’s all about mindset. The thought of losing my business was scary, but not as scary as you think. You need to put things in place to prepare yourself both mentally and physically for the tough decisions you have to make and reduce the damage limitations afterwards. Eat well and do exercise is the best way for this! 

Yes, my business failed. It was a huge risk that I took to set it up and was a huge financial blow, but it’s probably the best thing that could have happened to me as I have learnt so much and I am now a lot richer from the knowledge I have gained from the invaluable lessons that I have learnt. 

I have the confidence moving forward to create another exciting business venture that will operate a lot smarter. I have the skillset and tools I have now gained that can also be adapted to a career and everyday life. 

Try not to be scared, if the worst case should happen and you fear you will lose everything. I can assure you there are people out there who can help and protect you and your assets and home etc. It won’t ever come to that! 

It can actually be the making of you and you will certainly not be a failure!!!! 

The main thing is you have to look after yourself. If you have your health you can do anything; pivot, create opportunities, go back to basics, create a fresh start. Life is about choices. 

If you have your health, you have that choice. Go for a run, clear your head, talk to people. You are incredible so stand tall, stay strong, believe in yourself and fight this face on!!  

You had a dream; you did something about it to make it happen. Take a deep breathe, dive in and flex your superpowers!  

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