Summering While Floundering.

There’s something disorienting about trying to run a business and be a human in the summer – especially this brand of summer. You’re trying to enjoy the season — get outside, make memories, spend time with your kids or your partner or your friends — but at the same time, the world around you feels increasingly unstable.

The economy is weird. Politics are weirder. Your expenses are up, your inbox is overwhelming, and that potential client who said they’d be ready “after the holiday weekend” is now ghosting you entirely. It’s a lot.

And yet, you're still trying to soak it up. Still packing the cooler, still watching fireworks, still making small talk at the farmers market like you’re not low-key panicking about where your next check is going to come from.

If you’re floundering right now, you’re not alone. I don’t know a single small business owner who isn’t feeling some version of this: stretched thin, trying to stay optimistic, trying not to let the weight of the moment pull them under.

This is the part no one talks about when they romanticize entrepreneurship. The part where you’re not just the CEO — you’re also the janitor, the customer service department, the social media manager, and the person holding it all together while pretending it’s totally fine.

It’s not totally fine. But that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.

You’re just living in the tension of what it means to be a small business right now: creative, hopeful, under-resourced, and still showing up.

One thing I’ll say — because I’ve seen it again and again — is that a clear brand can take some of the pressure off. When your brand is doing its job, it gives you breathing room. It reminds people what you’re about, even when you’re too overwhelmed to say it out loud. It helps you attract the right customers and build trust without having to push or sell so hard. And when you do need to step away for a few days? It keeps working in the background.

That doesn’t mean branding solves everything. But it can give you a little more space. And in a season like this, a little space can be everything.

So if you’re floundering a little while also trying to soak up these fleeting summer days, I just want to say: samesies. Keep going. You’re doing more than enough. And when you’re ready to get some support — whether it’s with your brand, your message, or just a fresh outside perspective — I’m here.

Enjoy the popsicle. Answer that email later.