Entrepreneurship Is a Lonely Parade

When Your Inbox Is the Only One Clapping

You ever feel like you’re doing something that should be a big deal—but it’s like no one even noticed?

You land the client. You cross the revenue goal. You solve the tech mess that’s been haunting you for weeks.

And the only one there to high five you is… your inbox?

Entrepreneurship is weird like that.
It’s lonely when it’s hard.
And sometimes even lonelier when it’s good.

A Quiet Parade That Hit Me in the Gut

Last weekend, my family and I packed in the car with our little American flags and headed to a local Veterans Day parade. We were expecting the usual small-town celebration vibe, kids on shoulders, music, a sea of waving flags.

Instead… it was quiet.
Like eerily quiet.

The sidewalks were practically empty. A few older folks, mostly from my parents’ generation, stood with hands over hearts, but families were scarce.

We actually wondered if we had the wrong street.

But then we heard the fire truck horn echo through the buildings—one long, proud blast—and realized, nope. This was it. This was the parade.

So we stood up taller. My kids waved their little flags harder.
And we became the loudest cheering squad that sleepy sidewalk had ever seen.

Veterans rode by in classic cars and Jeeps, proudly sitting on scooters, waving from horseback, some wearing uniforms that barely fit anymore. Kids from the local school marched with hand-painted banners, singing “You’re a Grand Old Flag” with so much heart it cracked something in me.

And I thought: We have to cheer loud.
Not because it’s crowded.
But because it’s not.

Because these men and women, who gave so much, deserve to be seen. They deserve someone clapping wildly just for showing up.

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You Can’t Do This Alone…And You Shouldn’t

Honestly?

That moment made me realize…this is what entrepreneurship feels like.

You’re out there in full color, pouring everything you’ve got into something meaningful…
And half the time, it feels like you’re performing for an empty street.

But that doesn’t mean your work doesn’t matter.

It means you need your Core 4, people who don’t just show up when it’s convenient, but who show up because you do.

Here’s who should be in that Core 4:

1. Someone Outside the Biz
Someone who doesn’t care about launch metrics or open rates. They care about you. The you who needs a “HECK YES!” when things go right and a hug + a brownie when they don’t. (Bonus: they won’t let you spiral, but they will let you cry first.)

2. Someone Ahead of You
A mentor or coach who’s walked this path and lived to tell the tale. They’ll call your blind spots, remind you what actually matters, and help you climb the next hill without reinventing every dang wheel.

3. Someone In the Trenches
A biz bestie or peer who’s sitting in the roller coaster seat right next to you. They know the exact flavor of burnout you’re tasting because they’re sipping it too. And when your brain breaks at 10:47 PM on a Tuesday? They get it.

4. A Tech Fixer Who Doesn’t Flinch
Because let’s be real: there is always something breaking. Always.
And ain’t nobody got time to spend 3 hours in a Zapier black hole trying to figure out why the email didn’t send. (You deserve better. Like, yesterday.)

Your Core 4 isn’t just a business strategy.
It’s emotional armor.
It’s what keeps you going when the stands are empty and the confetti is stuck in the gun.

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Weekly Challenge: Audit Your Squad

This week, take a hard look at your circle:

• Who’s filling those four spots for you?
• Are they the right people or just the available ones?
• Where are the empty chairs in your parade?

If someone’s showing up for you well? Tell them.
And if a spot is vacant? Start looking. But don’t fill it willy-nilly.

Be picky. Be intentional.

Yes, it might require a financial investment.
Yes, it might feel vulnerable.

But the right Core 4? Is worth every cent and every second (ask me how I know).

This work is hard.
The kind of hard that chips away at your spirit if you don’t have people pouring it back in.

So build your cheering section. Loudly. Proudly. On purpose.

You deserve that and so much more.

Know someone building their dream in silence right now? Forward this to a fellow founder who needs a reminder they’re not alone.
And then? Be the one who claps for them when no one else does.