Do you know what to do to take your business to the next level, but you just can’t seem to find the right steps? Or perhaps you’ve hit a wall, and you’re unsure where to turn. Here are some reasons your business might have stopped growing and how to overcome them.
You’re Self Sabotaging
Are you finding that there are often more hurdles in your way than solutions? For example, a team member has a great idea, but you keep finding reasons not to implement it.
This might be because you’re self-sabotaging, which is very common even among successful business people. Ask yourself, are you subconsciously afraid of what might happen if things do go well for you? As much as you’d like bigger and better things to happen, success can sometimes be scary because it comes with its own set of consequences, like a bigger team, more responsibility, and more risk.
These fears are valid, but ultimately they will result in negative behaviours that stop your business from growing.
Life & Business Coach for entrepreneurs, Mia Hewett, says this:
“When you break free from internalised negative behaviours and self-defeating thoughts, you can stop sabotaging your own life, overcome imposter syndrome and start moving forward.”
A great technique to overcome this is to understand why you might be self-sabotaging in the first place. Explore what is scaring you about taking your business to the next level. Write down all the worst-case scenarios. Now, ask yourself, when was the earliest memory of you feeling this way? You may find that once you understand the root of your self-sabotaging behaviour, you can clear the misunderstanding and you’ll no longer have the same issues.
You’re Finding It Hard to Let Go of Responsibility
If you’ve been going solo in your business or overseeing a small team, it’s completely understandable that letting go of control can be a challenge. Every decision has felt like it was within your power, and it’s thanks to you that your business has thrived. You may be worried that if someone else makes a decision, it might be the wrong one.
But this way of thinking can lead to your business being stuck in a rut and unable to flourish. Don’t lose sight of the fact you’re only one person and can only do so much. Unless you can clone yourself, there’s no way you can oversee everything as your business grows.
The key to this one may be baby steps. First, find someone you know you can trust to delegate to and relinquish some responsibility to them. When you realise your business is doing okay — or perhaps even better — with another person helping run the show, you’ll find it easier to gradually hand over more responsibility.
You’re Undervaluing Your Service
There’s a difference between owning your worth and attracting ideal clients who value what you can provide for them. The secret to supporting your clients to see the value is by first understanding the difference between your worth and what your ideal client values.
The truth is, people only part with their money for something that feels valuable to them and unfortunately, they won’t see your time alone as valuable. The value of your service is in how your business saves or makes them money, saves them time or eliminates waste, brings them increased emotional benefits and/or eases their pain or negative emotions. Discover what your customers are willing to pay you for that they won’t find elsewhere? More often than not, this is the experience or result you give them as a whole.
Think about Starbucks. Yes, they sell coffee, but their added value doesn’t lie in selling coffee alone and they understand that. Their value comes from the overall unique experience and convenience they create from the moment you walk in the door. The staff attitude, their diversity of products that can be personalised, the way they use your name, treat their team and their suppliers all contribute to how you feel about your cup of coffee, and whether it’s worth spending your hard-earned money with them, rather than another coffee shop down the street.
Many people conflate their worth with what other people value. The secret is in you deciding you are already worthy and then giving your ideal clients a high-value experience or solving a high-value problem for them in a remarkable way.
Not everyone will understand the value of what you’re offering, so you will need to learn how to sell that experience. A business coach can support you in realising your worth and show you how to make sure your ideal client understands its value too.
You Don’t Have a Good Sounding Board
Life and Business Coach, Mia Hewett, gives this advice to the business people she works with:
“Your greatness is often found in your blindspots.”
And while she acknowledges it might sound like strange advice at first, it makes perfect sense when you break it down. Your blind spots are the things you can’t see for yourself — just like trying to see a label from inside a jar. To become aware of your blind spots, it’s not enough to just think differently. First, you need to realise what the problem is.
Often, when successful people reach a plateau within their business, it helps to have a sounding board, like a life and business coach, to make sense of these blind spots. A life and business coach will help you identify and understand the problem, learn how to apply the truth and then take consistent actions to achieve the results you’re looking for.
“We look at what comes up lovingly and with an amplitude of curiosity,” explains Mia.
The things you can’t see or don’t understand become the key to unlocking the growth of your business when treated with patience and understanding. Having another person who specialises in unlocking your potential can easily support you in seeing your blind spots. Nobody knows everything, and another person can bring a different perspective. A life and business coach can achieve this in an objective and non-judgmental way.
If you’re not ready to find a coach, we recommend Mia’s book Meant for More. It’s a different kind of personal development book aimed at business people prepared to unlock their potential through insights and wisdom.