Business
What’s holding you back? What is keeping you from achieving a profitable, sustainable business that you feel confident in? What is keeping you from working towards your goals every week? We’ve been working on reaching your sales goal, all month. To hear episodes about increasing and sustaining your sales, tune in to episodes 292 & 293. After those episodes, I debated over what to cover next and then I realized: what’s keeping you from your goal is different for everyone. You have your own roadblock, so let’s talk about and work through it! One of the questions I ask everyone when they join my free FB group (are you a member yet?) is, “When it comes to your business being profitable AND doable, what do you think is standing in your way?” So today that’s what we’re going to talk about: the things that are standing in your way. And next week, we’ll talk more about how to get out of your own way. It’s my hope that hearing what’s holding others back will help you recognize what’s holding you back, what is standing in your way. So what is holding MOST handmade business back? The answers I get most often: Focus - I just can’t seem to work on what matters, I keep getting distracted! Time - I don’t have enough time or I’m not using my time effectively (focus!) Self-doubt or confidence - I doubt myself and so don’t act. If I were more confident I would act Fear - most people who write this answer don’t give any more details… so I have to guess - are you afraid of failure? Afraid of poverty? Afraid of embarrassment? Many people answer: ME, I am holding myself back. This feels like the REAL answer to all of these other answers - YOU feel self-doubt or fear. YOU want more confidence. I think this answer is the most truthful answer. As you read those different answers, which one resonates the most? Which sounds like your internal dialogue? And here’s the more important question: what are you doing about it? Most people tell me they are working on marketing - social media, email list, or something systematic. But… that’s not what’s standing in your way. Not a single person has told me KNOWLEDGE or INFORMATION was standing in their way. If you know that something else is standing in your way, why aren’t you working on that? I think the reason it’s that it’s much easier to learn something than it is to change ourselves; it’s easier to listen to another episode than to inquire within. So what is holding YOU back? Hit pause, ask yourself this and write down your answer. Write as long as our takes for you to process it. Now, how are you feeling? You may be feeling AMAZING because you got some clarity and you’re ready to change. But you may be feeling pretty bad, because OMG, WHY CAN’T I JUST GET OVER IT. I know! But I have really really good news. None of this is holding you back. Bear with me. I know it FEELS like you need less fear, more confidence, more time, more focus to move forward but what if I told you you’re only going to feel less fear and more confidence and you’re going to find the time only AFTER you do the thing? What if the way to move past what’s holding you back is to let go of it? To let go of the idea that you need to fix it or fix yourself? What if you were perfectly suited to build your business, as you were? What if you were ready to move forward on the next project or with the next client, exactly as you are? I know, I know, you want ACTION ITEMS. You want to DO something. So I’m going to give you episodes and resources for each of these issues, so you can get some actionable steps. But. I can tell you, after working with hundreds of makers, designers and artists, you are going to move beyond what’s holding you back only after you believe you will. Now, belief isn’t the ONLY thing that’s going to build your business. But without it, you won’t actually take any of the actions that will make a difference. So, if you’re ready to start believing you CAN move past the fear and time and focus, I’ve got some recommendations for episodes that address each of these in detail. Focus: The best way to get focused is to be CLEAR on what you need to focus on. This is why we set goals and then create plans. So you can wake up each day, knowing what you need to do to move forward. My best resource for this is Map Your Business, which you can find at TaraSwiger.com/map If distraction is your problem, I’ve got a whole kit of resources for you at TaraSwiger.com/distraction - it’ll help you crush marketing distractions and internet distractions! Time: Over the years I have written and shared a lot about how to manage your time, get more done and create a productive workday. My absolute best strategies are all in the class Get More Done. I created it at the CreativeLive studio, so it is 5+ hours of professional-quality video lessons, with dozens of worksheets, all at the most affordable price (last time I checked it was $29). Get it here. Self-doubt or confidence: I have a LOT of episodes about this, as well. I also created a BizConfidence free course that I’ll be sharing again later this year. In the meantime, check out these episodes: Episode 93 - the difference between arrogance and confidence Episode 131 - taking action before you feel confident And Ep 233 on Imposter Syndrome Fear: What are you afraid of? Failure? How to handle Failure, episode 127 Failure as Fuel, episode 263 Fear of Success, episode 268 Fear of Disapproval, episode 271 Ok, now the last thing: YOU. If you were thinking, oh man, I am what is holding me back, I have a little homework for you. Next week we’re going to go more into how you can stop holding yourself back, and in the meantime, I want you to journal a bit. It doesn’t have to be a special notebook or anything official, just get any scrap of paper and set a timer for 10 minutes and answer the question: What am I doing to stand in my own way? Why? Now, no matter what you wrote on the paper, I want you to practice holding it in kindness and gentleness. Look at it (and you) the way I would, with a lot of love and acceptance, and I’d say “Hey, it’s ok. You’re doing the best you can. It is soooo good that you’re acknowledging whatever this is. Let’s work on it a bit next week.” I’d love to hear what you think is holding YOU back! Come tell me in our free group - FB.com/groups/taraswiger I’m wishing you a week full of forward momentum and enthusiasm. Listen in at TaraSwiger.com/podcast294