There’s something about business travel — a trip required and paid for by your employer — that feels important. Of course, it’s not all glamorous — I’ve seen family and friends experience the grueling stress of too much travel. But still, we often view travel for work as a sign of success.

So when the opportunity to travel for my new small business came up, I immediately discarded it. I run the business solo, hand-making custom bags, and I couldn’t afford to add such a significant expense to my tiny budget. When my husband (my biggest cheerleader) urged me to more carefully consider the idea, I opened my mind a little bit.

But, nope. Counting on selling enough of my bags to justify airfare, lodging, and a rental car wasn’t a good idea. However, as I looked at the bigger picture, I was able to start reconsidering: My in-laws live in the same town of the show, they were willing to host me, and they had an extra car. Now the only significant expense was airfare.

I did some research, I secured another show in the area, and I reached out to some local art studios and was able to secure teaching gigs for two classes while I was in town. The math had changed. Was it worth it to pay airfare for a trip where I could do two shows and teach two classes? After doing a lot of thinking and working hard to avoid letting my fear make decisions for me, I decided I would take the trip.

Of course, after my initial exuberance about getting to take my first business trip came the flurry of getting ready and the inevitable struggle with impostor syndrome. My excitement turned more toward anxiety as I realized everything I would need to get into place for the classes and shows. But it felt good to be working on this exciting project. My confidence grew as I was able to tell people I was taking the trip.

But it became hard to maintain confidence as my classes failed to fill, leading to their cancellation. This placed more importance on the shows to make the trip a “success” and to validate my businesswoman status. The first show happened. There was not a lot of traffic or interest, and I made two small sales. The second show was not as “successful” as my first. It became hard to keep going with a positive attitude.

Luckily, I’d been working with a business mentor, and I remembered a couple of things we’d talked about: 1) We weren’t sure that this second market was going to be a good fit for my brand, and 2) data is always helpful.

Remembering these points allowed me to leave the second market bummed but not crushed. As I was carrying out my bags, I stopped by a Sephora store a few doors down. Within minutes, I was surrounded by staff who had questions about and admired my bags. This helped reinforce that putting my bags in front of my target market really makes a difference, and I got some more information about who is in my target market.

I did not come away from this trip in the blaze of financial and professional glory, but I did learn some important things:

• The trip might not have followed my plan, but I still made it a success. I was smart in picking a low-stakes location for my first trip, so my learning took place in a safe environment. Even when I was tempted to tuck my tail between my legs and feel defeated, by keeping my perspective professional, I was able to gather valuable data at an unlikely time in an unlikely place.
• The work after my events are done is just as intensive as all my preparation for the trip. I’d wanted to develop this model — to travel for shows and classes — as something I could do about four times a year. I’m trying to sort out the factors that played a role in my lackluster results: I tried to partner with new studios, I went to a city where I did not have significant professional contacts, I did not follow a well-thought-out social media and advertising strategy. I hope to constructively improve my results on my next try.
• Having family and friends at my home-away-from-home and making time to enjoy myself made a huge difference. My family and friends fed me, helped me make labels, carried heavy things for me, showed up, loved me, and supported me. I visited so many parts of a city that I hadn’t seen in years. Regardless of the business aspects, my memories of this trip will always make me happy.

I’m learning what it really means to be a business person. I cannot let my tendency to be hypercritical of myself or be subject to impostor syndrome sabotage my progress because things didn’t go as I’d hoped. A real business person learns from her disappointments, rather than giving up in the midst of what feels like failure. She picks herself up and grows stronger and smarter after a disappointment.

My name is Victoria. My first business trip did not achieve very many of the goals I set, but I am going to learn from my experience. I will take another business trip, and I will do better next time. I’m learning that I can kick butt.

How do you deal when you don’t live up to your own expectations? How do you pick yourself up and keep trying?