The fireman yelled into the elevator shaft, “Are you okay? Is everyone breathing?”

I hugged my 6-month-old daughter, pressed my mouth to the elevator door, and shouted back, “We’ve been trapped for 42 minutes, can you please hurry?”

>>Last week JD (my husband), Polo (our dog), Luna (our daughter) and I were stuck in an elevator and it felt like a real life nightmare.<<

It was hot, breathless, and as we waited to be rescued, I reminded JD of every movie I’d seen where the elevator plunges into the darkness, many flights down.

*MY TIMING IS TERRIBLE, RIGHT??*

>>But finally, after one hour and 18 minutes, the Newport Beach Fire Department pulled us out of the elevator.<<

Recounting this story, I can’t help but think that—sometimes—running a business feels a lot like being stuck in an elevator.

It’s frustrating to stand in a flickering metal box (or a “metal coffin” as I kept telling JD…which I’m pretty sure makes me the WORST person to be stuck in an elevator with) wondering:

• How long will it take?
• Who will help me?
• Will I survive?

>>Let me tell you how the story ends, Buttercup: As long as you stay calm and focus on the future, you’ll survive.<<

I’ve been a business owner for over a decade and every time I got stuck, I didn’t plunge into darkness, I got help…and made it through.

So this is me, sending you a helping reminder: You got this.