As a woman with a high school education who grew up on welfare and now being an entrepreneur with a 7-figure business, I know that managing my emotions is my most underrated success tool. Here’s how I deal with six of the most common business frustrations.

1. The sting of rejection

I could cry over the opportunities people around me have lost because they are afraid to hear “no”. Every human success story is full of rejections and disappointments (that’s why I’m a big fan of read autobiographies – they all say the same thing).

Where most people, when rejected, quit or cautiously try something again, I continue. As a former director of sales for a Fortune 500 company, I know that success is often about volume. The more exposure, the more meetings and the more visibility, the more people win.

My bounce rate after a rejection has gone from one to two days to one to two minutes. I wish it was as simple as taking a deep breath or repeating a mantra, but it’s pure acceptance around the inevitability of rejection. Not everyone is a perfect fit, or the timing isn’t right. It’s just not that deep.

2. Refunds

Refunds are not a personal attack, but refund requests used to make me sensitive when I started my business. I wanted to appear at a customer’s place and plead my case. What is wrong? Don’t you see value here?

Now I see repayments as a standard line on the P&L – with indifference as long as they stay below a 3-5% threshold. I actually congratulate new business owners on refund requests. In any industry, a company cannot scale without them.

3. Internet trolls

Like refunds, troll is part of every business owner’s story. My hairdresser told me about a Yelp review that brought her to tears. I told her to get out of it and get used to it if she wants a future working for herself.

Negative, non-constructive feedback cannot be avoided. I’ve received comments that range from sexist remarks (“Who is she sleeping with to make that much?”) to statements about my appearance (“You look like a man — you need to do something about that”).

My heart used to sink when I read a mean comment, and I would even look up at the person to try to understand them. Now I rarely even see them, and I certainly don’t go looking.

I know criticism hurts, but when you realize the worst a mean comment can do is make you sad or scared for a few minutes, it loses all power over you. It becomes something you expect rather than fear. If you are sincere and ambitious, expect it – a lot.

4. Plow or non-growth years

The worst thing any entrepreneur can do is make fear-based decisions. If you’ve allowed expenses to creep — usually overstaffing and/or lifestyle inflation when income increases — you are likely to make poor, hasty decisions in the event of a downturn.

My husband left his finance career to work full-time with me in 2017. As we scaled our products, we hired a video production team, an SEO consultant, and an admin assistant. Since then we have downsized and now only work with a full-time operations manager and contractors.

We also live in a two bedroom apartment. These are conscious choices that we are happy about. Impressing other people is not my priority.

Not every year is “up and to the right!” because the business has seasons. When we reach a plateau, I know I need to test new marketing strategies, increase visibility and/or add to my product mix.

A slower season can feel unsettling, but it’s also an invitation to reflect and ask focused questions, like “What’s working, and how can we do more of it?” and “How can I get people even better results so that my work sells itself?”

5. Staff move on

Teams sometimes feel like family, but they’re not. All business is simply an exchange of value between parties, which also applies to employment.

The job and industry you work in at 30 is not necessarily the right job or industry for you at 35. It is appropriate and healthy for people to move on when the time is right.

Most successful businesses are constantly evolving. I have what feels like a new business every six months. Some people won’t go in new creative directions with you, and that’s okay.

6. Being “overlooked” for opportunities

I was once fully prepared for a national TV morning show. The day before, the producer said, “We’re turning this into a group ‘Momversation’ with Mother’s Day coming up. Do you have kids?”

I don’t, and I lost my seat. I was so disappointed that I went for a long walk, called three close friends to complain, and drank three glasses of wine. I allowed myself to feel sad in the afternoon. Then it was back to business as usual.

I have learned that you can never actually “be overlooked”. You can decide how often you put your hat in the ring for opportunities. I’ve enjoyed being on TV many times since then because my negative emotions don’t drive the show – I just go on for it.

If your volatile emotions rule you, you will make questionable decisions and jeopardize what you have worked hard to build. When we realize that our emotions often get in the way of healthy decision-making and moving forward, we see how in control we actually are.

Susie Moore is a former sales director and startup advisor, a life coach and advice columnist, and host of The podcast Let It Be Easy.