You’ve been at it for a while now, but you’re not making the money like you thought you would be by now.
You can’t seem to figure out why you’re not generating revenue.
You wake up thinking about your business. You sneak in hours on the company’s dime to get that one little thing done for your business. They’ll never find out.
You go to sleep thinking about how to make your business better.
You’ve bought so many online business programs, you’re too embarrassed to tell anyone about how much money you’ve spent.
You’re networking all over social media and in person, but you’re still not seeing the dollars flow into your bank account.
Does this sound like you?
You think you’re doing all the necessary things to propel your business forward, but you’re stagnant.
You want it to change – No, you need it to change but you don’t know what else to do.
Have you ever thought about changing your perspective?
How we look at things is often as important as what we’re looking at. Instead of adding something else, another program, or taking another course, consider removing certain actions from the puzzle.
I’ll tell you what I mean.
A little over a year ago, I was stuck.
I’d converted my very successful offline business offering accounting and tax services to an online business specializing in coaching entry-level & emerging women entrepreneurs to build the businesses that they dreamed about.
I believed that I had been called to do this work and it was a passion of mine.
I had heard time and time again, do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life so many times I was sick of it.
Then I finally realized that passion, alone, does not equate to Revenue and certainly not to Profit.
I knew had to do something different, but somehow I was still self-sabotaging.
I was already adding everything that crossed my path. Then it hit me.
That was the problem!
I was adding things when I really should have been subtracting stuff that wasn’t serving me!
I ended up deleting a boat-load of crap from my life and my business, and voila’ my business began to turn around.
Here are the BIG SIX things that I stopped doing:
1. WAITING – Are you a waiter? I was!
What do I mean exactly?
Well, I don’t mean sharing the soup of the day and taking wine orders.
I mean Waiting for the Right “_____________” <– Insert your issue here.
Whether it’s waiting for the perfect time, or waiting to come up with a unique business idea, or to waiting have enough money, or waiting for the kids to get older, or waiting to finish school or anything else, STOP WAITING!
A little tough love, the time will never be perfect enough to launch your product/service.
The harsh reality is the product/service won’t be ever be perfect for everyone, but it can be the answer to someone’s prayers right now!
Strop trying to create a brand new concept! Making money in business doesn’t have to be that hard.
The world (and commerce) has existed for thousands of years. While things do evolve, in the small business market, absolute innovation is truly rare. Everything is a remix in some way, shape or form. Most innovative ideas build on something else that has already been done.
And to help you move into entrepreneurship as soon as possible, I’ve created a list of 65 Businesses You Can Start Today Right From Your Couch!
If you’re waiting for your rich aunt to leave you a boatload of money, STOP!
First off – it’s a little morbid. Secondly, don’t you think if you were doing something, anything, to make your dream come true right now and working your ass off, your aunt would not only want to support you but also see you succeed before she transitions!
Here’s the thing, the kids will ALWAYS need you. Believe it or not, they will. Yes, they are getting older but their needs never completely disappear. My sons are adults and I still support their events, cook them dinner occasionally, and hang out with them (never often enough for my liking).
I’m certainly not suggesting that you neglect your children, but they have to sleep sometime, right?
Build your business while they sleep, while they are in school, while they are at dance rehearsal or soccer practice. You get my point, right?
Waiting until they are old enough will not help you reach your business goals and won’t prove to anyone that you’re a great parent.
Giving them the substantive love and support they need while being true to yourself and your dreams will show them that you are a complete human being and that working towards something that you’re passionate about and raising them are not mutually exclusive options.
2. HIDING – Trust me, hiding isn’t helping!
In order to build a strong business, you have to come out of the shadows. We have to stop hiding behind the work and get out there and promote ourselves.
What does hiding look like? Hiding looks something like this:
You have a story to share, but you didn’t get your hair done this week or your makeup isn’t done today, so you can’t go on Periscope and share it.
Or
You know that you should tell your authentic story, leaving all of the embarrassing little pieces in there, but you edit that blog post or that speech so that you are only have to share the positive stuff about yourself.
Yep, holding back from telling the sometimes embarrassing or even ugly pieces of your story is HIDING.
Now, I don’t advocate that you practice diarrhea of the mouth or anything, but there are ways to share your full, most authentic story including all the pieces that make you cringe.
Hiding serves no one, least of all you.
Your real tribe is waiting for you to come out of shame (thanks Brene’ Brown), to come out of HIDING so they can get to know, like and trust the real you.
In fact, I came out of hiding by starting my very own, exclusive FB group for my tribe. I call it The M.A.D. Money Society. In the STEW Community, we offer support, engagement, and resources for emerging and high-potential women entrepreneurs. Join us in the community! I’d love to have you as my very special guest!
3. WORRYING – Worrying about what will happen down the road serves no purpose.
What will be, will be.
Our job is to live, experience, and enjoy life to the fullest.
We can’t do that if we’re always worried about what’s to come or what people think or wait, let’s deal with that nugget.
Who gives a crap what people think of what you’re doing or how you’re doing it? I don’t anymore and you shouldn’t either.
I won’t lie and say that I never did or that I never catch myself thinking about it sometimes, but believe me when I say – the minute I recognize it, I remind myself that until someone is offering to put me on the queen’s throne in some zillionaire’s kingdom someplace, they can have a – no, they can have several seats.
Ok, back to my original point about worrying.
My mom has always told me that worry cancels faith. The two can’t live in the same space.
I believe her.
Instead, you have to consistently put in the work. You have to have a plan. You need a roadmap.
Be your most authentic self. Knowing exactly who you are and exactly what you want out of life is a super important part of achieving your dreams. Check out my Money Map Workbook to help you get a good sense about where you want to go and how you expect to get there.
And then…
Enjoy the experience and stop worrying about what you can’t control.
Control what you can control and let the rest take care of itself.
4. COMPARING – Let me tell you, if there’s one thing that will stop you dead in your business building tracks, it’s COMPARING yourself to someone else.
No matter how we try to sugarcoat it or clean it up, it comes from a place of insecurity and unworthiness.
Here is what I found myself doing daily:
Wake up, Open Facebook (or Instagram, or whatever), Check for Likes/Hearts on my latest post, Scroll Down to the Big Name Person on my timeline, Check their Likes/Hearts, Beat myself up, Scroll some more, notice someone’s event sold out in 2 days, Beat myself up some more.
Rinse, Repeat.
Be honest, does this sound like you?
It can be any form of comparing, it might be the about car they drive, the house they live in, the husband they have, the friends they’re connected to, the arch in her eyebrow, the dress size she wears, etc, etc.
But NONE of that matters!
Here’s the thing, Likes & Hearts are NOT Currency!
They aren’t anything for which you can write a deposit slip, take to the bank, and watch your balance grow.
Let’s get real. People can rent luxury vehicles and homes for photo shoots these days.
Her spouse might be fine as hell, but might be boring or inattentive to her needs.
That other chick may have thousands of FB Friends, but no one to call when she has a flat tire or needs a kick in the pants.
My point is Do You!
The more time you spend comparing yourself to other people, the less time you have to make money!
5. FAKING IT – I see it every day. Online and offline.
Becoming a successful entrepreneur is a pressure filled lifestyle. We’re seemingly surrounded by the uber-successful, everything comes so easily to them, midas touch types of entrepreneurs and we desperately want to measure up.
We fall into the trap of thinking there is a such thing as an overnight success or buy your way to the top.
We believe that if we could just be more like those ‘successful’ personalities that flood our timelines, we would instantaneously be successful too.
Then we start believing that there are shortcuts on the road to success. We think there’s a bullet train that will get us to our destination in a fraction of the time.
We think if we just ‘act the part’, we’ll magically morph into a successful business owner. A little exaggeration and deception never hurt anyone right?
We even have a mantra to embrace in an attempt to make it all seem ok. It goes like this:
‘Fake it until you make it’.
Here’s the truth about faking it:
It doesn’t last. Eventually, your slip will start to show.
Faking it is hard work. It’s stressful. It makes you anxious. You have enough to worry about without having to put on a good face, without having to remember what figures you used, without having to worry about how tell the same story twice.
When you act in complete authenticity, you don’t have to remember. You simply tell the truth.
When you act in complete authenticity, you don’t have to exaggerate your revenue, or pretend to be bestselling author, or make up credentials you don’t have, or fake your testimonials in the attempt to pull in business.
Potential clients recognize this for what it is. Authenticity is much stronger than deception.
Fake is fleeting. Authentic engagement has lasting impacts.
And Finally,
6. MAKING EXCUSES – Aspiring and early stage entrepreneurs are really good at making excuses as to why their business isn’t successful (yet).
I’ve heard it all, but the most frequent excuses I hear include not having enough time, lack of financial resources, and even the proverbial, I’m still perfecting my idea excuse.
I’ve actually used each of them and sometimes all three at the same time myself.
There was a time when I thought in order to run a business, you had to purchase expensive software platforms. Boy, was I wrong! There are plenty of online tools to help you run your business that are either super cheap or FREE!
Here’s a list of my favorite apps that I use to help me run my business every single day: My Top Five Favorite Apps.
Personally, my all-time biggest excuse has always been perfectionism.
In fact, I call myself a recovering perfectionist on step 9 of a 12 step program!
The truth is, perfectionism and each of the examples I just shared are delay tactics. They are our brain’s way of protecting our hearts from disappointment and failure.
What they also do is stop you from learning from your set back. They stop you from experiencing all that life has to offer you. They keep you from walking into your true destiny.
There you have it.
The 6 behaviors that are killing your business. The 6 behaviors that you need to stop doing today if you really want your business to the THRIVE.
When you find yourself waiting – Take ACTION, even if it’s something small.
When you find yourself hiding – Make CONNECTIONS, that support and encourage you.
When you find yourself worrying – BREATHE and RELEASE it. Control what you can and let the rest handle itself.
When you find yourself comparing – WRITE about 5 things that bring you joy. Keeping a start-up journal has worked wonders for my business!
When you find yourself faking it – BE AUTHENTIC. Remind yourself that only through authenticity do we ever gain the freedom to become our true divine beings.
And
When you find yourself making excuses – BE ACCOUNTABLE to yourself. Ask yourself is what you’re feeling or saying helping your dreams manifest or is it holding you back.
I’ve made it my mission to help women entrepreneurs achieve their dreams and build the business they are meant to build. Come hang out with me over in my private community dedicated to women entrepreneurs. The M.A.D. Money Society is a supportive, engaging community where you can get your questions answered and the help you need to reach the summit!