As someone who works from home, I can tell you that keeping up with change can be a challenge.
Change in your own business, change on the internet, change in social media, change in software...
yeppers, no wonder owning a small business is hard.
The idea of balancing an already full day with new tasks, updates and finishing touches is daunting.
Add in the fact that in order to capitalize on the momentum that change can create, you have to have a plan and execute it effectively no matter how overwhelming it can get.
You may have noticed with the launching of my new website, I am smack dab in the midst of transition and change.
Incredible change that was inspired by growth and my need to expand, yes.
But...
it's still change.
And while I get that in the "end" [IF there ever really an end for a small business owner] it will all be worthwhile.
But right now, I just want to get through it! I want to be done with the website updates, the checking for dead links, the finalizing of free offers, and the countless hours of copy editing and planning for the future.
I want to be done so I can sit back with a glass of wine (or a cup of tea depending on the time of day) and relax.
I long for a day when my shoulders aren't tense and my eyes aren't buggy from sitting at the computer making yet another change.
And most of all I long for a "to do" list that isn't PAGES long! The reality is that growth and change are scary, and so often we prevent ourselves from growth without even realizing it.
I know I did.
Throughout this latest transition, I have come to realize that because of these 3 "little" reasons, I was preventing my business from "being all it could be.
" Here are the top 3 reasons home businesses fail to grow Reason #1: Waiting for the "perfect" time I don't know if you are like me, but for over a year, I was waiting for the perfect time to give mybusiness a facelift.
I knew I had outgrown my initial platform, but I convinced myself that now wasn't the right time.
I couldn't justify the expense.
I had no idea what the "best" service would be to handle my needs.
Heck I couldn't even accurately define what my needs were.
I mean if this was the state of my business, then the timing was off RIGHT? WRONG.
When you know that where you are at no longer is working, it is the perfect time.
Sure will things change along the way absolutely.
But like waiting to have enough money before you have your first child, it's never gonna happen.
There is never a "perfect time", the time is now! And if you don't believe me, stay right where you are at and see the affect on your bottom line in 6 months.
My guess it will be at or below where you are right now.
Reason #2: The Fear Another reason that I was so reluctant to make the transition was fear.
I worried that if I changed things up that I would lose the clients and following that I already had.
I feared that I couldn't handle the growth.
I feared that there wouldn't be enough money.
I feared a lot of things.
My thoughts were plagued by fear based questions.
"What if they didn't "come with me".
"What if they didn't like the new site", "What if the change makes them uncomfortable", "What if they leave and never return"? What if, what if, what if.
That fear clouded my ability to see that what my clients needed I couldn't provide with my current setup.
They needed more, and with the website, blog and community all in separate places, I was cheating them out of what they needed most.
What was in my CLIENTS best interest was easy access to the tools, information and resources they desired, and once I realized that, my fear of change dissipated.
More importantly, I now know that all of these "fears", were actually the issue that was holding my business back and stunting my growth.
By letting go, I was able to opened door to new possibilities that will help my clients more efficiently and effectively.
Reason #3: "Real " verses the "Hobby" Business Mindset Many WAHM's (myself included) decide to build a home based business because we wanted to stay home with our children.
It often begins as a way to bring in some extra money or the idea of transitioning a "hobby" into some cash, and next thing you know you are dealing with budgets, clients, websites and social media.
Your hobby is no longer a simple past time, and what started off as "a little something on the side", now demands your attention and looks a lot different than what you imagined.
You may be asking yourself how this relates to the reasons business fail to grow, but I can assure you that having the mindset of operating like a hobby creates limitations that are often hard to see.
As WAHM's many of us didn't start off with the intention of creating a "real" business, and therefore our mindset isn't in the right place when the demands of ownership present themselves.
When our business is thought of as more of a hobby, we "fit it in", "operate on a shoestring budget" and "create self imposed limitations" based on the idea that we do it for fun.
The reality is that we don't give it priority and therefore what used to be enjoyable quickly turns to "work", which wasn't in the original plan.
So what's a girl to do? First things first, you must decide if you want a hobby or a business.
If you want a business, you need to understand that it is planned for, budgeted for and nurtured.
As a business owner when things go wrong adjustments must be made, and you are held accountable for the good, the bad and the ugly.
And most importantly, for a business to succeed it must shift and change so it can meet the needs of it's clients or eventually the doors will close.
So if a business is what you want, treat it as such.
Give it priority in your life, stop cutting costs and get what you need.
Open yourself to new possibilities and serve your clients in a way that works for them! And for goodness sake stop playing small.
You and your business have value it's time to let the world know!