Just Say No To Glitter Bombs
Every business is unique. We all serve different clients, have unique offers and ways of delivering outstanding customer experiences, and our own “corporate” culture. But one thing holds true for every business… we all face barriers and challenges, especially in the beginning.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is revenue. It’s not uncommon for new entrepreneurs to see a complete mismatch between the numbers in their bank account and the effort they’re expending on their business. As I’ve talked to business owners over the three and a half years, I’ve consistently heard, “I’m working so hard, but nothing is happening.”
Today, I want to dig into four reasons you might not be getting the traction you really want.
1. Your sales and marketing system doesn’t work
One of the most important, if not THE most important systems in your business is the way in which you do sales and marketing. Without both, your business will not grow. Too often, I hear women say they’ve spent their time on building their content or website but haven’t met a single person or talked about the work they do.
In order to generate revenue in your business, you have to be in front of new people. The rule of thumb is for every new client, you need to be meeting 30+ people. This is where tracking your numbers – the number of reach-outs, the number of calls, the number of offers, and the number of sales becomes really important. It gives you insight into the efforts you’re making and the results you’re getting.
Other factors to look at are the growth of your email list, how many people are joining your online community (if you have one), the engagement on your emails and social media… If those number aren’t moving, there’s a good chance you need to ramp up your marketing efforts.
If those numbers are growing but you’re not seeing growth in your revenue, then you have a sales problem. Is your offer clear and compelling? Do potential clients see the value in what you’re offering? Are you talking to the right kind of prospects? Are you actually making offers? Your goal is to get either a clear yes or a clear no. If you don’t get one, you likely didn’t make the offer clear or you need to follow up.
Hands down, your sales and marketing efforts can make or break your business. So, start here and do an honest assessment of your systems, seek out feedback from a coach or trusted advisor/mentor, or ask your audience directly.
2. You’re investing in things you don’t actually need.
When you step into entrepreneurship, you don’t know what you don’t know. Most of us were experts in our fields and know exactly how to do the work we’re teaching, but rarely do we fully understand how to run a business.
What started out as excitement quickly turns into a mad dash to fill knowledge gaps. The challenge, of course, is that there is an insane amount of information available, and the options for learning all the social media platforms, how to create digital courses and passive income streams, and fancy tech solutions are as prevalent as glitter at a kindergarten craft hour.
Investing in your business, in gaps in your knowledge, and tools and resources is critical to helping your business grow. But there are times where strategic investing makes more sense than others. In the early stages, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on a website, gorgeous, branded photos, or a bunch of digital courses. These things can be important, but only after you know who you’re serving, what you’re offering is, and when you’re actually making money.
Take a hard look at where you’re spending your time and money. Do you really need to do/buy it right now? Could you get fill the knowledge gap faster or more easily with a slightly higher ticket investment like coaching or done for you services?
Just say no to the glitter bomb approach to knowledge gathering. Be strategic with your time and dollars.
3. You’re doing everything yourself. Hello, burnout!
The annual Women in the Workplace report just came out, and while women are making advances in the professional world, their rate of burnout is off the charts. We’re accustomed to doing everything ourselves, and when you leap into entrepreneurship and resources are tight, the pressure to do all the things yourself is high. But I can tell you from experience, it’s a recipe for failure.
When I take a hard look at someone’s business, I immediately want to know where they’re spending their time. Are you spending it on revenue-generating tasks or all the busy work? If your revenue doesn’t match your effort, it’s worth doing a time audit. Data doesn’t lie, and once you know the details you can adjust your activity for impact and eliminate stressors or low value tasks.
Doing everything in your business yourself is costly. Where would some strategic support help? Is it on the personal side or the professional side? Do you need to invest in childcare? What about someone to help with the household tasks like cooking, meal prep, or cleaning? Maybe it’s on the business side. Do you need to offload your social media? Hire a virtual assistant to take on some important tasks that aren’t a good use of your time, skills, or in your zone of genius?
Give yourself the gift of time, and free yourself up to tackle the things only you can do. More often than not, the expense is well worth the results you can create with more time.
4. You’re not investing in your business’s growth
Depending on where you look, women-owned businesses represent 40% of the marketplace. Of those, somewhere between 6%-12% break the six-figure revenue mark, and even fewer, 4%, ever hit the $1 million mark. And the numbers are even worse for women of color.
When I read these numbers, and trust me, I looked for a long time for better ones, it was a powerful reminder of my own experience. When I first began my journey into entrepreneurship, I had no idea what I was doing. I was an expert in the work I did, but when it came to actually building and running a business, I didn’t really have a clue where to start. And so, I poured time, energy, and money into all the wrong things (see challenge #2), and none of that helped me get results faster and more efficiently.
I’ve seen this exact scenario play out with hundreds of women over the last three and a half years. Hiring a coach or mentor can be an absolute game-changer. Good coaches help you dig into your vision, set strategic and realistic goals, get clarity on who you serve and what you offer – and how to validate those assumptions – and then push you to be more visible, make offers, and actually sell. *gasp* Yes, you have to talk about your work and make offers to help people.
I could go on about all the benefits, but I’ll simply say that coaches are your greatest advocate, your biggest cheerleaders, and they help you cut through the clutter faster than if you did it on your own.
If you’ve never invested in a coach or business strategist, do your research to find the best one for you! Your business, and the dream behind it, are worth the investment… and it just might be THE thing that takes you to the next level.
That’s certainly been true for me.
As you take some time to assess the challenges in your business, be honest with yourself. If you’re not sure where to start, reach out and schedule a time to talk through your business. I’ll give you my honest feedback about what might help and a plan to help you get there.
