It’s amazing how sometimes we open our mouths and say things without really understanding how others feel.

Just a few days ago, my other half had an experience with a Jellyfish Sting in the water. We have been living over 3 years in front of the water and she had not been stung.

I immediately applied certain home remedies such as vinegar and some ice. I read there are different ways to treat a Jellyfish sting depending in they type of species; some could be treated with home remedies and more severe stings need to go to the hospital.

Rely on a Professional

Once I saw how confusing the home treatments options were, I decided to call a professional to clarify my questions.

I knew that uur friends and clients in the health field at Farmacia San Rafael would be able to help me. Miguel from San Rafael answered my questions and even checked up on her many times to see if the situation got better.

I knew it was a painful experience for her and I did try to accommodate her needs. Thanks to Miguel’s tips, we saw improvements.

Preventing the Next Sting

At one point during the day, Lucy was in so much pain that she started looking for solutions if it happened again. More importantly for ways to prevent other stings. We joked about she should get a wet suit and mask would wear a bathing suit and protects you from jellyfish and other elements when swimming in the ocean.

She even joked around saying that she would not going in the water ever again. One thing we were glad about was that the jellyfish stung her and not our 4 year old daughter.

The Next Strike

Almost a week later, I was in the water and I sort of started joking with Lucy about her experience. Last time, I got stung by a Jellyfish was around 2000-2002 in my early 20’s.

As I walked out of the water which was about 3 feet deep, I felt a whip around my knee. It felt as if they had put fire on my knee, foot, and when I jumped up, onto the other foot.

I screamed and my neighbor and friend Liz looked at me and asked me what happened. I made sure I got our daughter out of the water. I was a bit caught off guard because every other time I got stung, I was in deeper water.

As the pain started increasing, I realized that I did not understand how painful the experience was for Lucy. The last few times I’d gotten stung, I was drunk on the beach so did not even feel the intensity of the sting.

For the rest of the afternoon I took it a bit easier following the same instructions Miguel gave us for Lucy’s incident. I slept a bit better than Lucy did which makes me think that Lucy’s sting was even more painful.

While enduring the pain, I thought of not getting back into the water. But that is impossible because there is a reason why I live in front of the beach.

Some Uncomfortable Experiences have Similarities

These thoughts made me realize there are business situations that mirror the sting of a jellyfish. As entrepreneurs we can find ourselves with unexpected situations that are also painful.

After leaving corporate jobs, one thing I have learned is to understand the pain of other business owners. But there is no way we can really feel it and we don’t know what they are going through for many reasons.

Hard to See

Like the jellyfish which lurks around the water and camouflages itself, business problems can float around you and not hit you. But once they grab a hold of you, they can truly take a toll on you.

You decide how you will react to that. Some of the kindest people I know and great human being that happen to be entrepreneurs, end up in pretty terrible situations.

The best of them have many remedies and a group of experts that help them get through those tough times. The quicker you you react to the tough times, the better the remedies work. Experienced teams can treat issues in a more effective and efficient manner. It makes any business issues or pain go away faster.

Acquiring Business Remedies and Recipes

In the past 16 years as a consultant in the corporate world, I have to say that I have a bunch of recipes and remedies to help me solve situations. At times we ignore those experiences and valuable knowledge. For some of us, it become second nature.

I don’t only use my knowledge to help my business and my projects, I am privileged enough and grateful that I can apply my knowledge for my clients and partners.

I sometimes wonder how my remedies might be useful when it comes to fixing issues people don’t know they have.

For example, a freelancer does not know about Freshbooks and is doing manual invoicing instead of using software. They might be spending 12 hours a month invoicing. With a tool like Freshbooks, they might spend 1 and a 1/2 while the other 11 hours are available for billing clients. If you charge a rate of $50 an hour, you might be missing out on $550 of revenue for a tool that costs around $20 a month for up to 25 clients.

It might be a business owner with a website that is making $1,000 a month in sales and they are complacent. The website probably has the potential to make another $15,000 a month just by investing $500 a month in getting the website to work.

Consultants Help You Find Problems You don’t See

As a consultant my job is to identify those issues that aren’t apparent to clients. I bring a fresh set of eyes and perspective to help them grow. Or simply, to save them money and help them make more money.

The many roles I have at Limonade helps me see problems where certain roles and functions have a gap.

Those problems might be around you floating.

It takes someone looking at it from a different perspective to identify if you are in clear water or surrounded by jellyfish.

But even when you feel the pain like, my good friend Dory would say, “Just keep swimming.”