This is a guest post by Rebecca Kellogg.
In order to make it as an entrepreneur, let alone thrive, you’re going to need the right mindset. In talking to would-be entrepreneurs and/or entrepreneurs with no clear path to bigger success, I hear a few of the same agonized comments over and over again.
These are comments people give me with the attitude of “Oh, sigh. If only things weren’t this way, clearly I could have a shot at it. It’s really so sad.”
To save you the pain of continuing to beat yourself up, I’m going to outline three of them here, and also share my antidotes.
Mind-Bending Lie #1: ”Somebody else can do it better.”
Do you ever get tied up with thoughts of “But who am I to . . .”?
If you keep thinking somebody else can do it better, you will lose sight of the fact that nobody else can do it exactly like you.
I love to share the analogy of the hungry table when people moan that somebody else can do it better: Everybody comes to the table hungry. Some people will prefer your brand of cooking over anyone else’s. If you don’t bring your dish to the table, those people will leave hungry, or at least less satisfied than they could have been.
What do you mean, “Who are you to try it?”
Who are you to deny giving your gift to your right people?
Mind-Bending Lie #2: ”If everybody tried to run a small business, society wouldn’t work.”
Possibly true. But not everybody wants be an entrepreneur. And many others who want to do it get tripped up by fear-laden thoughts like this one. It’s yet another thought in the gauntlet of self-doubt many, many successful entrepreneurs before you have considered and dismissed, and many, many could-have-been entrepreneurs have gotten stuck on.
If you are currently stuck on this one (and don’t sweat it too bad, fear happens), try putting this fear aside on a mental storage shelf for a while and proceeding based on this alternative “what if”:
What if entrepreneurship is not everyone’s cup of tea? What if the very fact that you’ve been considering it or dabbling with it means you’ve got some of the right stuff?
Scary, no?
But also: Empowering.
Mind-Bending Lie #3: ”It’s a down economy—there’s no money out there.”
Yep. It is a down economy.
And people are still buying cars, houses, food, clothes, and courses. They are finding ways to indulge in small luxuries. They are sending their kids to school.
Do you feel guilty charging good money because the economy is down? Is your attitude crippling your business growth?
Quick. Check the value of your offering. Is it worth the money you’d like to ask for it?
If no, fix that first.
If yes, and you aren’t comfortable charging fair prices because the economy is down, here are some options:
- Target affluent business people and entrepreneurs that can afford you. Spend some of the money you earn from serving them buying stuff from businesses that have taken a hit from the economy. Look! You’re helping ease the problem by constructively redistributing wealth.
- Love serving your less-affluent market? Not earning enough to pay rent? Look for ways to charge individuals less than your full hourly rate while still giving them the service they need and hitting your financial goals.
- Group coaching instead of one-on-one.
- Teaching a workshop or class instead of doing one-on-one consulting.
- Creating and selling a product teaching your method to help people achieve the same objective they reach in one-on-one work with you.
Three reasons it’s not possible to make it as an entrepreneur have now been obliterated
There you are, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you and good night.
Rebecca Kellogg is an intuitive business strategist that has helped move over $1 million dollars worth of products and services. You can get a free half-hour of intuitive/strategic business consulting when you sign up for her newsletter at http://rebeccakellogg.com/strategic-insights/
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Are you stood looking over my shoulder Rebecca? I am half way through writing a post called 5 Big Fat Lies That Will Hold You Back! Fortunately they’re (for the most part) different to your lies.
I think starting off any sentence, “In this economy” should be made a criminal offense punishable by death. That would stop the whining. Not sure if it will ever get passed, but it would definitely have my support.
Tim, perhaps that was you at the next table over the last time I went to a convention and listened to excuses from the person next to me at lunch. We had quite a spirited, though civil, conversation.
Maybe I’m in a unique position as someone entrenched in marketing, but it’s a huge disparity to go from talking to clients and friends who are doing well to talking to the people I occasionally run into who are moaning that “there’s just no money out there.” (The second group are usually the ones failing to take smart, constructive action.) (Of course, once they’re ready to START taking smart, constructive action, they become much more positive, plus more interesting to talk to.)
I think “this economy” gets blamed for far more than it should. It’s like a bogeyman: the more someone gives it power and feels resigned about it, the more power it has over them. The people who transcend “this economy” are the ones who question it or don’t believe it needs to apply to them personally.
It’s a seriously good example of the power of personal belief systems in action.
very interesting article, indeed even in a down economy profits can be made
I agree. Sometimes it does take a little bit of extra creativity. Seth Godin has written in the past about some of the fabulous businesses and ventures that have been born during recessions.
Profits will always be made by someone, somewhere. There is never any less
money in existence. Knowing this, we can never blame the economy for our own
poor choices.
Thanks for this article. It is true that starting a business on your own can be scary, exciting, terrible and wonderful all at the same time and I have found that the what if scenario has always worked best for me. I am also in marketing and I look forward to more from you and will be signing up for your newsletter.
Thank you. Thinking things through in advance can certainly help with strategy.
[...] Three Mind-Bending Lies That Will Block Your Business Success [...]
Thanks a lot for the post Rebecca.
You are welcome!
Good pep talk, I feel a lot better after reading that! Thanks very much
Good. Now go do good work!
Way to lay it out there, Rebecca!
Love your total and refreshing transparency.
Lousy economy or not …
There’s a lucrative niche for every aspiring entrepreneur!
Last I heard …
People are still getting flat tires, the flu, and pregnant. Lots of folks want to get healthier, lose weight, and get in better shape. Others yearn to write but lack the basic skills. Migraine sufferers abound! Rooms need decorating, dogs need training, and so on and so on and so on.
SO many niches, so little time.
Exemplary post!
Melanie
That’s the spirit!
I like your enthusiasm!
Yiou have it exactly right, I decided to leave full time employment October 2010 and start my own business. My business went live January 2011 and launched another website 2 weeks ago.
Congratulations on your new launch! Keep up the good work.
Omg, you are soooo right! This article rock. Thanks for encouraging!
Quite an interesting read, Thanks!
Whenever someone suddenly shows up leaves a bunch of inane comments that don’t contribute anything to the conversation, I treat them as spam.
Michael Martine recently posted..Plan Your New Website Content Strategy Using The Rule of Fives
It is true that starting a business on your own can be scary, exciting, terrible and wonderful all at the same time and I have found that the what if scenario has always worked best for me. We had quite a spirited, though civil, conversation.
Jillian Caldwell recently posted..Cancer Tattoos Tumblr
There is always profit in every business. It is up to the entrepreneur to do what it takes to keep the business going. Entrepreneurs don’t quit easily even how hard the economy is. Thank you. I enjoyed reading too.
Edgar recently posted..The Fun of Coaching Frustrated Entrepreneurs
It takes an exceptional amount of courage and persistence to succeed as an entrepreneur. There are boundless obstacles that shake off 99% of those who try. That very special 1%, that has a no quit under any circumstance mentality… brave and courageous they are to fail over and over again as the seek that one success to put them over the top… This was a very enjoyable post Rebecca – Well done!
Richard recently posted..Going To The Movies… Or Not
I totally agree with “melaniekissel”. For sure there are so many niches around. But in my opinion that’s not the only way to think about business models as an entrepeneur.
The point I wanna move to is, you also can more the less easily copy a perfect running business model and adapt that to another contry for example.
The best example for this in my eyes is http://www.lazada.co.id/ a 1:1 clone of amazon.com brought to southeast asia by the Samwer brothers. Thats what I call “smart stupid copycat business” and sometimes the place is the niche. Ok thats a really big example but there are so many small ones as well.
Greetz Travian