How to overcome the most common success blocks that arise for newbie entrepreneurs-Part 2
Welcome back lady!
We are back, talking more about success blocks in Part 2 during this 4 part series.
If you’d like to read Part 1, you can read it here.
As we continue on this journey called entrepreneurship, there will be “holy landmines” batwoman!
However, I truly hope that this series will serve you with a roadmap of how to approach these common success blocks so overcoming them will be a much more gentle process!
Remember, that it’s not fear that sets a successful entrepreneur apart from an entrepreneur who stays stuck or never makes progress.
Fears and blocks and things that trigger you will always come up along the journey.
Fear is inevitable as you take this human journey and stretch into a grander version of yourself in life and in business.
What does set apart the successful from the not so successful (and success is relative and uniquely defined for each person!) is the willingness to show up for yourself.
I will say this again . . . the only different between the two types of people is the willingness to continuously show up for yourself.
The courage to acknowledge the fear.
The drive to cultivate kindness and compassion towards your fears.
The readiness to ask for help and be shown a different way.
It’s the above mindset and heart that will inspire you to learn and use different tools to get through the hurdles.
That determination, motivation and resiliency is the signature of a successful entrepreneur and business owner : never giving up.
Never giving up means that you showed up.
It means you are learning over time that you can trust yourself.
That you trust you and will never give up on yourself!
With that reminder, let’s continue on!
21 Common Success Blocks That Will Come Up On Your Entrepreneurial Journey- Continued . . .
7. Previous Sales programming (media, magazines, online marketing, news etc. )
Can I get a head nod?
Unless you are an alien from another galaxy, guaranteed you’ve grown up in a society that has experienced an influx of advertising.
As technology, potential physical + mental reach has expanded, along with the ability to compare and share experiences with a huge network of people at any time of the day, information (and along with that advertising) has grown exponentially.
This is great news for entrepreneurs today. It is a wonderfully ripe time for you to start and develop a business. The potential is truly limitless.
However, with that potential we find the law of polarity once again. While limitless potential and information gives us access to things and goals our ancestors never dreamed of, it also means we are have a limitless input of lot’s of information, signals and yes advertising that we don’t like and don’t agree with.
I know as a kid I grew up on tv (despite also spending a lot of time outside) and what came along with my Saturday morning and evening shows? Commercials.
I can speak for my experiences in American culture and media . . .
( FYI, I’d love to hear from my friends over the pond about the educational programming that is more representative of Great Britain and how that may have shaped your experience differently.)
. . . and I am quite aware that the marketing I experienced at an early age was not centered around my education, health or wellness.
Coke. Ellios pizza. Pop tarts. Cigarettes. Informercials. Products for the hair, skin, teeth and body to look better.
These promises of an instant fix seep into the young minds of children like a sponge.
The carefully curated music to illicit a warm, cozy feeling.
Intentionally crafted scenes of overjoyed faces and family time spent sipping a familiar can of soda.
It’s no wonder the belief that an answer to our problems it outside of ourselves! The repetitive programming is everywhere!
The invention of television surely has influenced our culture and no doubt influenced your perception of media and advertising.
Which means that when as an adult, this old ingrained programming can show up and lead to a misunderstanding of what sales and marketing actually are about.
The old programming can lead to misperceptions about what selling is and fuel the common success block of feeling inauthentic when sharing your offers.
How to address this?
If the thought of selling (which is really just sharing) your services or products is freaking you out, spend some time examining any beliefs you have about marketing and advertising in general.
Questions to consider:
1. Where does this belief about selling (marketing, success, advertising, etc.) come from?
2. Does the origin of this belief about selling (marketing, success, advertising, etc.) align with my values?
3. Do my values align with the brand that I learned these beliefs from?
You can also look for evidence of authentic marketing (whether that be online, tv, magazines) so that you can rewire your brain with new examples.
We can always rewire our brains! They are malleable, yet this takes repetition, time and patience!
(Remember the part about not giving up? ;)
Notice the difference between how different types of advertising and marketing make you feel. Think about times when you were “sold” to and it was exactly what you needed and helped transform your life in some way.
Remember that you don’t have to be like anyone else when you are selling your offer. You get to be as authentically you as you get to be.
This will also get easier over time as you decrease your own learning curve and feel more natural at selling and sharing your offers.
Also, knowing your ideal client is so important when it comes to feeling authentic with selling. When you know your ideal client, what her problem is, and how you can help, your marketing and selling is not going to feel salesy, sleazy or icky at all.
Your offer is going to be exactly what your ideal client needs and it will be a disservice to NOT offer it to them!
8. Instant Gratification Binging
Piggy backing a bit off of the previous success block comes another consequence of the massive reach of technology, media and the world wide web.
There is so much access to “stuff” of all kinds. Google, social media, other search engines. Information is at our fingertips . . . literally.
So how do you not get caught in the web of instant gratification?
The instant gratification of the internet and technology is something I sometimes like to call the Sugar Rush or the Dopamine Hit because it’s the same type of mechanism that has us craving and overindulging on sweets and candy.
This can also be a common stage for newbie entrepreneurs at the beginning: the nonstop gobbling of freebies + advice seeking!
Oh yeah and don’t forget the comparisons!
(We will get to Comparisonitis in Part 3).
This can all be quite addictive.
I know it can be for me if I’m not taking care of myself or I’m too attached to an outcome!
This success block is a really common sinkhole for many newbie entrepreneurs because all of the promises, success stories and posts that sound soo soo enticing!
Each promise sounds better than the next!
So how do you manage the sea of freebies and advice overload?
What does this mean if you want to create freebies and advertising for your own business (which I highly recommend!) ?
Does this make you a hipocrate?
(Hey inquiring minds want to know!)
How to address this:
I’ll admit this one is a constant practice for me. It can come up at every stage of business (the law of rhythm means we will always being going through states of transition and flux) but also there are always changes happening within the platforms and algorithms as well!
The practice for me becomes:
Staying in my own lane.
Putting the blinders on.
A muscle to exercise and strengthen over time.
This is where I rely heavily on my business coach, therapist and colleagues in my group mentorship program so that I keep seeing when all those shiny things feel like they are guaranteeing me overnight success.
I have to continuously check in with myself and see what boundaries I need.
I have to get more and more clear over time how I am feeling as I show up.
I know I need to re-evaluate when I’m feeling a chemical rush, anxiety, pressure and heaviness about showing up, or an insatiable desire for more coupled with a feeling that I am doing something wrong or am not good enough.
The “slow and steady wins the race” approach works well for me.
This may or may not work for you. However it is how I go slow and pace myself in order to stay connected to my true self and core values.
Also, remember that social media and technology are MADE for instant gratification .
Algorithms are run on it.
Many sales tactics are leveraging it.
The human attention span molds to it.
If you are on the gobble gobble freebie train, give yourself the opportunity to pause and maybe even take a break from social media for a bit until your nervous system starts to come back into balance.
When you are ready to expose yourself to the stimulation, get to know people and coaches over time. (This is the way to build trust in any relationship as well!)
Practice curiosity.
Minimize the impulse buys and opt-ins.
That doesn’t mean to never act on an impulse.
It just means to notice if you are experiencing a high intensity of seeking, searching and jumping in quickly without thinking.
Recognize that this is a flare going up to bring your attention to a part of yourself that needs curiosity and care.
Does this mean you can’t use ads and social media?
No of course not. Everything always has at least two sides (the law of polarity again!)
When you are committed to honoring your true self and are continously doing the work to show up in a way that is aligned and healthy for you, it won’t matter what other people are doing or how they are doing it.
Your ideal clients will be drawn to you because of your authenticity. You will be drawn to the right coaches and supports because you will know how to trust yourself.
Remember the spiritual practice of selling:
Freebies are just samples of your value that you give to another so they can give your style of teaching and personality a test run. Advertising is just a way to reach a greater audience with your work.
Which means slowing down and giving yourself the opportunity to explore will help you take more actions inspired by your intuition.
It will also build your own self-trust that the right people who sample your your material will want more.
9. Crickets and the Fear of Rejection
One of the deepest rooted fears for humans and a highly common success block is the fear of rejection. This one is definitely a huge trigger for me because I experienced a lot of chronic loss and complex abandonment at a very early age.
However, even if you have a different story, this fear is bound to come up for anyone on the entrepreneurial journey, specifically when you are trying something new, getting more vulnerable and/or expanding into a new level.
Why?
Humans are wired for connection and attachment from the time of inception.
We are made to be connected to one another. Our relationship and social needs are undeniable.
Undoubtedly, the entrepreneurial journey is one in which we have to put ourselves out into the world and get visible.
So how do we acknowledge this need for connection yet not attach our worth to the feelings and experiences of rejection that most likely will arise as we step more and more into the public eye?
This is one of those fears that’s a catch 22 when first starting out.
As a newbie entrepreneur you just can’t wait to offer your services to other humans. You need those connections with other humans to be in business and serve in the unique way that you do.
It’s also the interaction.
The relationships and engagement with humans (your audience) t helps you understand what they need, what they respond to and can give much needed signs and validation that you are on the right track.
However, when you are first starting out, you don’t have this massive audience, a historical dialog and relationships to fall back on.
You are at the beginning and are showing up without any guarantees.
Yup, this is a breeding ground for abandonment wounds.
Early stages of business development can resemble and remind you of unmet relationship needs.
Not to mention putting yourself out there repeatedly and feeling rejected can increase the fear of doing it again and can keep you stuck in hiding.
This is because our reptilian brain (the seat of primal emotion) is wired to flee and avoid fear and pain.
However, this not going to be you!
How to address this:
First of all, know that if your voice, message and business platform wasn’t so important to you, you wouldn’t care this much about putting yourself out there and what other people think.
The fear of rejection is actually a reminder that you are onto something big that is really important to you.
I’ve never had as much fear about putting myself out there than with my online coaching and speaking business. There’s greater reach. There’s so much potential. Because coaching entrepreneurs is super close to my heart.
Another helpful mindset shift for rejection is to know that while this period of putting yourself out there and staying patient thru the crickets is a normal part of the process.
While often, very uncomfortable, it is an inevitable step on the journey.
You have to go from unknown to known. From unseen to seen. From unheard to heard. This is the law of relativity at work.
This is why it’s really helpful to surround yourself with people who have been where you are (like other business owners, coaches, trustworthy friends & family).
They will serve as your anchor to connection and remind you that you will get through this.
The support of others and having a safe place to vent your fears will help you tolerate the silence.
It will help you put yourself out there and trust that others are watching.
You can lean on your other relationships as you build new ones with your ideal clients and audience.
It’s also helpful to remember that first and foremost, you are sharing content, value and your mission for yourself first.
Yes, you are in the business of service.
However, if you are so focused on the outcome (getting those followers, making that income stream) that you are disconnected from the heart centered why of your passion, this actually means you are being called to go deeper and to release more.
There are some blocks (or parts) in the way that need attention that need to be dealt with separate from the outcome. (The law of correspondence says that our outside will reflect our inside.)
In order to help shift the blocks out of the way that are keeping you disconnected from your heart centered why, you must connect and send love to any abandoned parts of yourself.
Doing this over time will heal abandonment wounds, loneliness and other stuck pain might be distracting you from staying present.
And when you are able to be present you will connect to your heart centered why and trust the process even more.
Another suggestion is noticing when parts of yourself are triggered because they have a high expectation or demand that a certain post or person give you the engagement you crave.
Remember everything and everyone is just a vessel.
The law of Oneness states that we are all interconnected and that everything is energy.
Those humans and that specific post are not your source.
They are not the source of your engagement, interaction and profit.
Your connections are not limited to one person or have to happen in a certain way.
You can view rejection as just more information.
It can be a redirection to surrender more.
It can be the universe telling you to wait for something better.
The last suggestion is to pay attention to each piece of positive feedback that you get.
At the beginning, especially for newbie entrepreneurs, staying present in the moment and really taking in every comment, piece of positive feedback and connection will enrich your day so much more instead of constantly seeking more.
Seeking more will always lead to just that : more seeking.
In order to have a fulfilling business and to release success blocks you have to tap into the place within you that is enough. As the famous quote by Rumi states: what you are seeking is seeking you.
You can also take this action step: As you find evidence of praise, write it down so you can look back on it!
I hope that you’ve discovered more about your own success blocks from Part 2 of this post and have found some ways to help them shift naturally!
Stay tuned for Part 3!
Xo, Jen
P.S. This is for you, even if you’ve never sold anything before!
⭐️ Have you been ready to start your business (or use online marketing in your already established business) but have no idea where to begin?
⭐️ Are you impatient with the growth of your business and are just bursting at the seams with passion, yet don’t have the clients to share it with yet?
⭐️ Are you tired of talking to family and friends, afraid to look into their eyes for fear you’ll see them glaze over from hearing about this “amazing business” you want to create?
⭐️ Are you holding back because marketing feels in conflict with being a soulful, heart centered woman?
You’re not alone girl!
I’ve been there. My clients have been there.
There are so many women just like you.
They are dreaming of a successful, change the world business that’s also an extension of their empathic, intuitive heart.
I know this is what you want to.
Yet, just like you, they don’t know how to put these dreams into action.
It’s not their fault. It’s not yours either.
No one taught us women how to be the leaders and the change makers we were meant to be!!
FYI - I never learned a thing about business or marketing in my masters program!
Can you believe it?
And this goes for so many heart centered entrepreneurs that I work with:
Creatives, healers, wellness practitioners, coaches, speakers, artists, therapists and more, whose certification and training programs forget the importance of basic business skills!
Which leaves you disempowered, thinking you have to take someone else’s path.
Or even if you are just starting out and haven’t done any specialized course, in this culture and most others, women been convinced and shamed into keeping their voices silenced for centuries.
Ironically, YOU are the very person this world needs to share your gifts.
This world needs more people, just like you because you have the heart and the good intentions. The passion and the vision.
It’s a DISSERVICE to yourself, your future clients and this world that you are holding back.
This is why I created the group coaching program :
Wired for Wealth:
Sell Out Your Services with Heart
Wired for Wealth is a group coaching intensive that meets via 8 virtual live training & Q&A sessions.
This intensive will span 3 months in order to give you the support and time you need to create your unique business roadmap that sells out your services!
Wired for Wealth gives you the essential steps to wiring your mind and wiring your business for income, success and financial security, while honoring your heart!