Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely venture, at times making you feel like you are on an island.

It’s difficult to talk with family about the struggles you are facing, even ones that are supportive (I’m fortunate to have a family that backs me 100% with our business).  While they may be interested in “talking shop”, you’re always worried about how much to tell them.

Friends definitely want to be or at least act supportive, but they don’t understand the challenges you face.  Supportive ones try to help out, but dealing with the myriad of items that you handle as an entrepreneur is hard for others to comprehend.

Then there are formerly colleagues from a past job or career.  Some see you as this incredibly risky person who is following their dreams, while others may see you as that crazy person doing a “pet project.”  Regardless, your former colleagues don’t have a clue how scary it can be in the startup world without any safety net to catch you when mistakes occur.

Finally there are your team members, investors and strategic partners. Regardless of what’s really happening, you have to put on a brave front and can’t let any one of these groups see a hint of weakness or trepidation.

So, the entrepreneurial island can be a lonely place.  We sometimes feel alone, isolated and literally in the middle of no where.

What makes it worse is we often feel like we are the only ones experiencing these internal isolation issues.  And we are either told, or intuitively our minds take over, and we think we have to bottle all these emotions up and not tell anyone.

Here is the good news – if you have these feelings you aren’t alone!  And guess what – every single successful person has faced great challenges that made them question if they’d ever succeed!

(The entrepreneurial ecosystem needs to put more emphasis on failures being ok, and that they are a natural part of creating a successful company.)

I am involved with a startup organization in Orlando called Founder’s Harbor – think group therapy for entrepreneurs – where company founders can get together and talk about the challenges they are facing:  investor capital, product development, sales, mental health, etc.

And what have we found – we all experience the same things!

You may not have a Founder’s Harbor in your area, but get involved in your local startup scene and talk with other entrepreneurs.  Not only is it therapeutic and can help you solve your problems, but it will get you off the entrepreneurial island.