How to overcome the most common success blocks that arise for newbie entrepreneurs- Part 1
This is a 4 part series that goes into the depths of success blocks that most entrepreneurs can relate to.
I wish someone would’ve given me this list years ago!
Seriously, it is so important that we acknowledge the journey, resiliency and personal growth required to take this entrepreneurial path.
We still live in a culture that has an automatic default to forge ahead and push harder when fear arises.
However, that just leads to backlash, burnout and wasted, time, energy and money.
Instead, I’m shining a light on all the fears that have and still come up for me as well as my clients.
Examining this journey more closely, there are a set of common fears that most entrepreneurs will need to address.
So I want you to see that you aren’t alone and that you can and will get through it.
I’m also not going to be trite and say just do it and face the fear!
I respect that each of you will need to spend different amounts of time on these different fears and some will be doozies and others will be more breezy.
I also respect that until you know more about your specific fear and have learned tools to move through it, that you won’t be able to “just do it!”.
However, I don’t want the fears to prevent you from going forward!
Instead, I am hoping that today’s post about the most common success blocks is going to give you a sigh of a relief and let you know that you are exactly where you are meant to be on this journey!
A lot of my work has to do with this: normalizing experiences in life and business, treating what comes up with compassion and staying the course when fear arises.
I want you to learn just how much you can trust yourself and your inner guidance to overcome anything that appears to be standing in your way.
This is so important when creating your own business!
Creating a sustainable, thriving business that is profitable and also aligns with your heart centered values requires jumping a bunch of fear hurdles.
I’m not going to lie about that!
However, when you have an idea of what’s coming up or know that these fears are something that almost everyone goes through, you don’t have to be taken out by the fear and instead can rise above it!
The success blocks I’m about to share with you arise for most newbie entrepreneurs (or seasoned entrepreneurs who are diversifying, creating new offers or changing directions!) and are nothing to be ashamed about.
However, watch for any shame parts that tell you “this is bad”.
See if you can gently encourage the shame to step back and instead say, “this is normal. I am learning to move through this.”
As you read about these success blocks and how to overcome them, see if you can take note of the ones that stand out for you right now.
Also, take the opportunity to pinpoint those fears that you have already overcome so that you can remind yourself that you are making progress.
This also eases other fears and gains the trust of fearful parts so they see that yes, there is a wise adult here that can take care of challenges!
Nothing calms fear more than knowing it is supported, understood and heard.
And one more thing, stay present with yourself as you read through this list.
As you take a look at these fears, overwhelm can get triggered because parts of yourself feel like they have to solve all of this . . . Stat!
However, it is quite the opposite.
Instead of the fears being something to solve, approach them with compassionate awareness from the place within you that views fear without needing to fix it.
Consequently, the fear ends up dissolving in it’s own right time when it is met with that compassion.
This is a practice in listening to yourself.
If you feel validated, curious and encouraged by reading this list, continue on.
If you notice that you start to shut down or go into shame mode when reading the list, just pause where you are and reflect on what you’ve learned thus far.
You can always come back and read more when the time is right.
21 Common Success Blocks That Will Come Up On Your Entrepreneurial Journey
1. Stuck in Self sufficiency
Self sufficiency is a default that is quite familiar in entrepreneurial, work and productive lifestyles. If you grew up in a household where had to adult at an inappropriate age or if you have had experiences where you had to depend on yourself, self sufficiency can be a protective cocoon.
However, when you are developing a business, self sufficiency can be like a straight jacket, keeping you stuck an on repeat.
How to address this?
Ask for help in small doses.
Practice learning to trust others over time.
Observe people, get curious.
Remind yourself that there are so many people in this world and that most are quite different than the people you had to trust when you were younger. There are people you can trust and more importantly, you can trust your self.
The self trust you develop will allow your radar to know who you can let in and turn to. You can’t do this alone!
2. Imposter Syndrome
This is such a biggie, I created a whole 4 week course on it! Feeling like a fraud is really common when you are stepping into doing the things that you are actually amazing at. How counter intuitive right?
Imposter syndrome is a sign you are actually on the path to your heart’s desire because guess what? If what you were doing wasn’t so near and dear to your heart you wouldn’t care so much.
How to address this?
You can counteract imposter syndrome by acknowledging your core skills, remembering your successes on a daily basis, and listing the ways in which you’ve helped people before in these ways.
3. Convinced You are the Exception to Success-
The thing about feeling like the exception is that it’s deep rooted in shame. If you experienced things in your life where you felt alone, felt like you were different from everyone else, or felt like things were working out for others and not for you, the default will be to think there is something wrong with you.
There’s not!
This was just a defense mechanism to protect you from disappointment and the confusion you may have had because you were expected to just know things without learning them or you weren’t taught that it’s normal for different people to experience different things at different stages and times.
How to address this?
Counteract this belief by reviewing the universal laws (which you can find here in the resource library) which create a much bigger picture than a black and white one about what life is all about and the time it takes to achieve something substantial. Also, examine any childhood stories you have about being different, the exception or not good enough compared to others.
4. Perfectionism-
This is a another common one that shows up in business as attention to detail on the wrong things.
Perfectionism is another protection. It is a mask that keeps you safe, allegedly, by hiding from vulnerability.
If you learned at one point that you needed to stay in control of the way others saw you or needed to always have everything together, that nothing was ever good enough and that you needed to always raise the bar, then perfectionism will inevitably find it’s way into your entrepreneurial journey.
How to address this?
Make sure you are giving yourself credit on a daily basis for all the little and big things you are doing.
If you don’t give yourself credit, parts of yourself will be inclined to continuously raise the bar because they are looking for that approval.
Be the one who gives the parts of yourself approval because they will never be satisfied getting it from someone else until they get it from you.
Also, if these parts are still trying to gain approval from adults from the past, they will end up disappointed because if those adults could’ve given you what you needed then, they would have.
Also remember, just showing up is the success. Just being alive. Just being here. You are worthy just for existing. No amount of productivity and getting things “right” will add up to feeling worthy. Keep sending yourself love for just being you!
5. Fear of being seen (staying hidden)
Another success block is also intertwined with shame and is definitely a hurdle for most. The fear of being seen comes up quite often when starting to put yourself out there in front of others.
The thing is, if you want to be successful in a heart centered business where you are your brand, you are selling services where you are working with people, you will inevitably need to get visible.
How to address this?
Baby steps again is key. I have a day in my free facebook group where you can get visible by sharing a post about yourself or go live.
Finding ways to get vulnerable and share you, your face, and your story with people who are safe is a great way to begin putting yourself out there.
You don’t have to go ALL IN and feel like you are jumping into a pool of sharks. Do little steps of visibility exposure in small doses and watch how natural it starts to become for you!
6. Struggling with specificity
This is an incredibly common success block that shows up initially as resistance to even getting started with your business.
It is common with creative women, renaissance women, and absolutely kickass woman like you because let’s face it, you can do a lot of things, do them really well and have a lot of interests.
Myself included, I use to fear that getting specific would limit my opportunities, because more is more right? It’s not.
It actually makes your voice and message more blurry, just like an orchestra where every musician is playing whatever note they want at once.
How to address this?
Pick one note and really hone in on it.
Combatting this stage can often feel like taking one step forward and ten steps back.
Or those steps can feel like you are walking through quicksand.
However, overcoming this success block will reap a ton of rewards because getting specific with your message, ideal client, offer, etc. will be what makes you stand out, be profitable and happy!
If you have several skills sets, you can choose an umbrella for your business.
For example, I have a masters in social work and I’ve been a licensed clinician for over 10 years.
I have a yoga teacher certification, am an expressive abstract artist.
I have had my own business for 7 years, have healed years worth of traumas, I enjoy decor, wellness, meditation, photography and other lifestyle themes. I speak and love teaching about spirituality and I love empowering women to thrive.
Can you see how confusing this can be to narrow things down?
Now, remember that getting specific takes time and it’s always a work in progress.
It also doesn’t mean that you won’t change your mind eventually.
It also doesn’t mean that you can’t add more ideal clients and offers over time.
However, you need to decide what to focus on now and stay committed to that for the forseeable future (preferably a year) so that you can really start experimenting with strategies that are going to take off.
What you aren’t seeing behind the scenes of successful business owners is that they have done the painstaking process of building a foundation, testing out offers and tweaking them instead of scratching them completely, attracting the right clients and then learning how to scale this.
If you pick something and change your mind a few weeks, a month, or even a few months later, you haven’t given enough time to let those seeds you are planting germinate.
Trust me!
There is a rich, fertile ground for you in one of your passions. So pick the one that you can see yourself talking about for the next year or so.
Hone in on what you are good at and truly love while also seeing what there is a need for.
This way your ideal clients will see you as someone with a consistent message and will know for sure you are the right person to work with. This is how you will start selling out your offers!
Stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3 of “How to overcome the most common success blocks that arise for newbie entrepreneurs.”
I’d love to know your thoughts and comments!
If you are ready to get specific with who your ideal client is so that you can build a profitable, sustainable business that also aligns with your heart centered values, I’d love for you to join me this spring for my upcoming, “Sell Out Your Heart Centered Services” Group Coaching Intensive.
After taking this intensive, you will know without a doubt who your ideal client is, you will know exactly how to get visible and be seen as an expert in your field, you will be on your way to attracting and growing your devoted audience, and you will have cleared the way through so many of these fears!
If you’d like to get on the waitlist and receive $100 off, you can do so here!
I’ll be back soon to chat more about how to overcome these success blocks so you can release doubt, get visible with confidence and start your business with heart!
Xo, Jen
P.S. Just starting your online business and have no idea where to begin?
Not ready to invest in a 10k coaching package but need a business foundation that honors you and your heart centered dreams?
I’ve got you! 💕
I’m sharing my FREE resource library for designing and upleveling your business with heart.
This has ALL of my printables, ebooks and mindset tips in one place to help you release self doubt, stop second guessing your genius and create your sustainable business foundation so you can become visible online with confidence! 💪
These resources combine practical business strategy with an intuitive foundation because this is the only way that has worked for me and my clients: the smart, empathic, creative types that we are 😉
I hope you enjoy opening your gifts!! You can access the resource library for free here: jennifermele.com/freeresourcelibrary