5 things that get in the way of running a successful business
I’m not like a regular entrepreneur. I’m a cool entrepreneur.
Perception is often a huge part of running a business – and a big part of your marketing strategy. How people perceive you can either mean success or failure. However, focusing on the wrong things because you’re too worried about what other people think will usually create a huge barrier to your business success.
Being an entrepreneur has its ups and downs. You may have big dreams about becoming an entrepreneur, but remember that it’s not always a sexy and glamorous life. Getting started requires hard work and any success you have will likely not come easy.
To stick around long-term you need to make strategic decisions every day – decisions about what tools and services to use, decisions about who (and how many) will join your team, decisions about what technology to use
Here are 5 things that can get in the way when you are trying to run a successful business.
“Shiny things”
Entrepreneurs are often drawn to the cool and trendy things that are out there. However, those things don’t always get you the long-term success you want. For example, you might think you need all that swag, but do you actually? Do you need jackets, shirts, beverage sleeves, fancy pens, water bottles, etc? All those things cost money (and they often get thrown out). Instead, make strategic decisions about where you will spend money on swag. Buy for specific events and only get what you need. Also, think about focusing on one cool thing and then other things that are more practical like “regular” branded pens and other materials.
The same can be said for things like technology, marketing, a large team vs. a small team. Whatever decisions you make need to be made based on your current needs to get you where you need to be. Planning ahead is amazing but including milestones in between will help you grow at a sustainable pace long-term. I know a former business owner who kept hiring staff – there wasn’t enough work for everyone and there wasn’t enough new business development to dictate that kind of hiring levels – nor did he have the money to pay his staff. Notice, I said FORMER business owner. Make strategic choices.
Wining and dining
It might seem impressive to take potential investors or clients out to the fanciest and most coveted restaurant in town, but what’s that going to do to your bank account. Yes you DO need to spend money to make money, but, similar to cool swag, you need to be smart about it. A great way around this is to get to know local restaurants and coffee shops so your guests can discover new places and you can support local businesses – wins all around. The overall experience is often better as well.
Friends and family discount
Sometimes you get asked and sometimes you just offer it. The friends and family discount. In theory, a nice gesture. You may feel great at the time because so many people are paying attention to your products and services. But if you’re consistently giving them away for free or below cost, where does that leave you? It leaves you with a bunch of people who will tell their friends that they can get a deep discount from you. And before you know it, you have a discount product and that is how people will see you instead of the high quality product or service that you actually offer.
Deep discounts aren’t sustainable. If you’re going to do a friends and family discount, make sure you set boundaries. Have a time limit and let people know that you can’t give that price to everyone – stick to your boundaries. It’s not VIP if everyone has it. 😉
Stretching your capabilities
So many entrepreneurs try to cut corners in the beginning by doing DIY work. Logo design, website, content, social media “strategy”, complicated accounting tasks, complicated legal tasks, etc. etc. etc. Wearing all the hats is a reality for so many business owners. However, it shouldn’t be a badge of honour. I have spoken to so many entrepreneurs that wish they had just outsourced certain tasks in the beginning. Hindsight is ALWAYS better than foresight, so trust those that have walked the path already. If it isn’t your strength, try to find someone who can do it and take it to the next level. It’s worth noting that trying to do everything, especially those tasks that you don’t know how to do, will take you twice as long to get things done. Hire your weaknesses. Work your strengths.
It's also worth noting that lying about your capabilities to appear “more qualified” or more impressive, is only going to bite you in the a** in the end. Those lies catch up with you! You’ve likely heard of the saying “fake it till you make it” and there are times it makes sense because you need to work through imposter syndrome. However, you don’t want to dig yourself into a hole that you can’t get out of.
Inflating your audience
First, let me say you can’t be all things to all people. There is nothing wrong with specializing and focusing your efforts to start small in the beginning. It’s very short sited to think that you can target EVERYONE. Not only that, if your budget is only so big, you’ll stretch it so think your marketing won’t be effective. Work with what you have and do it well.
Also, I couldn’t finish this section without noting that a large following on Instagram or TikTok doesn’t mean you have made it as a business. That is a vanity metric. The things you need to concern yourself with are engagement, customer conversion, and other metrics that relate to a highly engaged community. So before you hit reply on that spammy DM that came in offering you 10,000 REAL followers in just one month, focus on getting that engagement up so you can leverage social media as a tool for business growth.
If you’re feeling really stuck, be sure to book a free 20-minute consultation with me and I will help you get on the right track!