Have you ever laid out certain goals only to feel like you’re on a hamster wheel? It could be a fitness goal, a financial goal, a professional goal, a business goal, or any other type of goal. It seems like no matter how hard you try, you’re not getting the type of results you want. Business ownership is a beautiful thing. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. It provides a different kind of lifestyle, which could lead to turning your dream lifestyle into your reality. As with every success, preparation is the defining difference on whether a business will succeed. In today’s post, I talk about five roadblocks that may be slowing down, or even stopping the growth of your business and how to overcome them. So if you currently own a business or aspire to own one, this post is for you!
1. INCONSISTENCY
Have you ever heard the phrase “how you do one thing is how you do everything?” I agree with that statement on so many levels. One way for you to dig deeper with this is to look at the five major areas in your life. These areas are your finances, your faith, your relationships, your fitness, and your personal life. Generally, if you are inconsistent in any one of these areas, chances are you’re inconsistent in all of them. Do you find yourself looking to achieve certain goals in these different areas, only to realize that you started out strong but still haven’t achieved whatever the goal is? I get it, sometimes “life” happens and it may throw us off our game. The important thing to remember is that “life” is going to happen every single day. When it does, or when it seems unbearable, that’s when we get to see what we’re made of. The question you must answer is, “will you fold under the pressure, or will you dig deeper, even when it hurts?” This is what determines if we are ready for the next level that we are preparing for.
2. LACK OF COMMITMENT
Step one in achieving anything is to make a commitment to do so. And the most important part of that commitment is to make it to yourself, not anyone else around you. As in the first point above, not only does consistency play a big role in your business success, but you also have to stay committed to your process. Once you’ve identified what your goal is, lay out your plan of action to make it happen. This will require you to review where you’re currently at in your business. You’ll need to review the current health of your business, where you want to go by getting clear on your goals, and then lay out the exact steps needed to get you there. If you don’t make that initial commitment to yourself, and to hitting your goal, when “life” happens you won’t be as determined to get back on track to hitting your goals.
3. YOU’RE LISTENING TO THE NAYSAYERS
This is something that many people unfortunately allow to be a roadblock in their business. They may start their businesses fired up, excited, and ready to share what they do with everyone they know including family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and whomever else. The truth is that you will only have a handful of those people that will invest in your business, whether it’s by buying your product or service, or even sharing what you do with others. This is one of the major reasons it is crucial for you to decide who your actual target market is. Doing this will be a reminder for you that all of those people that you “thought” would be down for what you’re doing in the beginning are not the ones you’re looking for anyway. You want to make a difference in the lives of those that your product or service will truly impact. Don’t get caught up listening to the negative feedback and doubt of those around you. If they haven’t built a successful business nor walked in your footsteps in a manner to provide value to how they can help you on your path, don’t listen to them.
4. YOU HAVEN’T DEFINED YOUR TARGET MARKET
Doing this will help you understand 1) Who your product will impact 2) How it will transform their life, and 3) how you can produce creative ways to provide what they need. Once you understand all of this, you can then begin to cultivate your tribe within your target market. You can narrow down on ways you can impact previous customers, existing customers and prospective customers. You can even structure your marketing in different ways for your customers in various demographical areas. Not everyone will value what you offer so defining who you want to impact will help narrow down your focus. Until this is done, you will find yourself all over the place.
5. YOU AREN’T CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT
Clarity can make or break your business. Confused people essentially do “nothing”. Even more detrimental is the domino effect their confusion could have on others. When you know exactly what you want, you can then figure out exactly how to get it. This includes making your dreams a reality by hitting certain goals. Some things you may experience along the way may be uncertain but that’s the part of “life” happening that you must not let stop you. Sometimes detours are needed to go in the right direction so embrace those detours along your road to hitting your goals. Get clear with yourself, clear about your methods, and clear about “why” you want to hit certain goals. Doing this will drive your commitment and focus to making it happen no matter what. You’ve already got the dream inside of you, along with what it will take, you just have to commit to developing it.
Hopefully this post helps you understand some reasons that may be causing slow growth or even no growth in your business. What have been some of the most eye opening challenges you’ve faced in your business? Leave your comments below. If you found value in this post, pass the knowledge by sharing it!
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