The Silent Load of Small Business: Why I Can’t Remember If I Ate

The Silent Load of Small Business: Why I Can’t Remember If I Ate Today
       You know that meme where someone says, “Running a small business is great, you can work whenever you want!” and the next panel is them working at 10pm on a Saturday with cold coffee and a stress twitch?
Yeah. That one hits.
           Owning a small business is like being in a relationship with the most demanding, high-maintenance partner ever. It wants all your time, all your money, your mental capacity, and your weekends. But does it bring you flowers? No. It brings you receipts you forgot to file and a list of 17 things you should’ve done yesterday.
       There’s this silent load no one sees. The backend. The planning, ordering, emailing, replying to “Hey girl, what’s your price list?” DMs while trying not to scream internally because it’s literally linked in your bio.
      It’s designing social media posts in your pajamas at 6am. It's hauling boxes into your car while trying not to smudge your makeup before your first client. It’s remembering that Brenda’s last facial used the fruit enzyme and not the lactic, because Brenda definitely will.
       And while you’re balancing all of this like an Olympic gymnast on a stress beam, someone — bless their soul — will still casually say:
“Must be nice to make your own schedule.”
Sure, if that schedule includes 14-hour days, working through lunch, and laying awake at night wondering if you sent that invoice.
“Can’t You Just Turn It Off?”

      Here’s the thing — when you're the owner, you are the switch. There is no off. Your mind is constantly on overdrive.
      Even during dinner with friends, you’re half-listening, half-thinking about whether you updated that product link, what that last order totalled, and did you move the laundry over or is it growing a civilization of its own by now?
     You nod along, pretend you’re fully present, but your brain is in four different browser tabs. Welcome to the duality of small biz life: present in body, haunted by to-do lists.
They’ll Never Really Get It — And That’s Okay

      Here’s the honest truth: most people won’t ever see what goes on behind the curtain. They’ll see the polished Instagram post, the curated shelf, the final product. They don’t see the three hours you spent tweaking a label design, or the fact that you built your brand’s website with YouTube tutorials and stubbornness.
They see the show, not the setup.
      And while you could explain it — you have explained it (a lot, actually) — it often feels like you’re speaking into a void. And maybe that’s okay.
Because here’s what you know:
       You hustle. You care. You’re doing the work most people would never sign up for.
You're sacrificing your holidays, your free time, and your full attention span — and you’re doing it because you believe in what you're building.
That kind of drive? That’s rare.
      So now, you exhale. You sip your reheated coffee like the warrior you are. You laugh when you’re exhausted because crying is inefficient. And you remember: you’re not alone.
       There’s an entire silent army of small business owners out here doing the most — cheering you on between inventory counts and Canva edits. We see you.
      Keep hustling, keep dreaming, and for the love of all things caffeinated — schedule a nap. You deserve that more than anyone knows.