UPDATED! … Ever Feel Like Giving Up in Your Business?
If you’ve been trying to grow your business alone, discouragement can easily knock you off your feet and make you question whether you should be giving up on your business — wondering whether achieving your dream is even possible.
If you’re feeling this fear in your business you are not alone. I have felt your pain and so have thousands of other now successful entrepreneurs.
The good news is you are taking a step in the right direction just by reading this blog and seeking answers.
Here are 5 tips that will help you get up when you feel like giving up. Implement these tips to help you get your “A-game” on.
1. Expect to struggle with challenges.
Challenges are a part of life … and it’s also a part of growing your business.
A wise person taught me a long time ago, “a person’s reaction is based on their expectation.”
Being exposed to so many “overnight” success stories on social media it is no wonder how any normal person might feel like a ‘failure’ if you are going through a rough time in your business. Well, I rarely find those sound bytes on social media revealing the failures and hard times they had to overcome in order to get to the success they are today. If you’ve been an email subscriber of mine, you probably already know about some of the high points in my background like, hitting my first Million Dollar milestone … doubling my business 11 times over my 26 year entrepreneur career … starting, turn-keying and selling 3 businesses, etc.
But, you may not know about some of the low points and struggles I went through along the way, when I was …
Disheartened at the realization I could have made more money flipping burgers than what I netted in Q1 my first year of business back in 1992 … (I felt so inadequate!) 😭
Rejected being turned down for my first round of funding for my 2nd business … (blow to my ego!) 😓
Struggling to make payroll some months … (sweating bullets!) 😨
Dumbfounded at the damage it cost me from not firing a key employee when I should have – to the tune of quarter of a million dollars (Ouch!) 😖
Overwhelmed having to find 20 new hires to replace 20 under performing sales people … (Ugh! Felt like I got the ‘Go back to Start’ card in Monopoly) 😞
Blindsided being sued for pregnancy discrimination by a new employee 😱 — (Wow! never imagined that could happen to me as a working mother of 3 children myself)
Ok, I could go on and on … but I hope you get the point …
The point is … life is not easy, right? When you expect growing a business to be easy, then challenges will take you by surprise. Don’t let obstacles knock the wind out of you and make you dwell on negative thinking.
As Vince Lombardi famously said, “it’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.”
I’ve learned, though it’s so much faster and easier to get up from setbacks when you have other people to help you. That’s why it’s important to …
2. Connect with like-minded entrepreneurs.
It’s pretty hard to encourage yourself when you’re in the midst of massive anxiety and frustration. First, you’ve got to make a decision to get out of solitary confinement and not operate your business like an island.
Don’t try to climb out of your discouragement alone.
Find a mastermind group or an advisory group where you get together regularly with like minded entrepreneurs to work ON your business.
Join a local networking group where you can build relationships with other business owners and entrepreneurs.
Reach out to a colleague and ask them to be your accountability partner. (Just don’t choose someone who is in the same place of contemplating giving up in their business right now).
3. Reconnect to your “WHY”.
I find that people think most about quitting and giving up when their business is not making enough money (you need to attract more clients) or the business just isn’t fun anymore (you need to develop high performing people you like being around). A business won’t survive long if you’re just in it for the money. Yes, it must make money in order to thrive as a business, but there has to be a much greater meaning that drives you in your business.
The problem is pursuing money is not a meaningful purpose. We all need to make a living, but I believe God created each of us on purpose and for a greater purpose.
What was the difference you set out to make in people’s lives through your business?
It doesn’t matter how unglamorous you might think your profession is. Even a house painting business can make a powerful impact when it’s run as a purpose driven business.
When business is slow it’s easy to sink into self pity and start to question whether it’s time to throw in the towel. Instead, shift your focus off yourself and onto others.
Reconnect with your purpose and focus on the impact you want to make through your business.
Discouragement can feel as insurmountable as climbing Mount Everest when you’re not supported by an experienced guide. Let me give you a visual:
That’s me struggling to scale this rock. But, I would not have even gotten that far up if I didn’t have my brother belaying me from the ground. Having him belay me protected me from getting hurt when I did fall. And, he knew how to belay me so I didn’t fall very far.
He also took me on walls he has scaled before. So, he could guide me on what steps I should take that was within my physical reach. He didn’t guide me in the same sequence he gave my son, who could take a different path getting to the top since he is 5 inches taller than me and has far greater upper body strength than I do.
If I were free climbing I would certainly give up after my first fall. But, I would never attempt to go free climbing by myself. I know my threshold for pain and at my age, I would not risk breaking any bones. It’s the same in your business. You can’t afford making costly mistakes. Hiring an experienced guide is worth every penny!
5. Evaluate your equipment.
When rock climbing you have to have the proper equipment to have a successful climb. The wrong shoes will make every step hiking up the mountain slippery and dangerous. A clothing line rope does not qualify as proper equipment. You may be able to hang clothes with it, but you wouldn’t depend on a clothing line rope to hold you from falling off a cliff.
If business is slow, you want to evaluate what equipment are you using in your marketing toolbox.
Don’t overlook the importance of having the right marketing tools. You can watch your sales climb much faster if you use the right tool for the right job.
These are some of the critical tech tools every business should be equipped with.
effective lead generation magnet(s)
a lead capture landing page
a lead generation website
email marketing/autoresponder tool
traffic generation tools like social media
BONUS TIP #1. Shift your focus from seeing “problems” to seeing “opportunities”
If you keep focusing on your problem that your business is not making enough money right now, all you get is worry, anxiety and ulcers. The most effective way I know how to shift from focusing on the problem into seeing opportunities is by measuring your marketing metrics.
This is one of the most overlooked steps. But, measuring your marketing is like getting an instant X-ray of what is causing the problem.
Let me know if you want me to cover this topic in more detail in future blog posts, (just tell me in the comment box below) but let’s take one specific marketing tactic like your website. The numbers will tell you what opportunities to focus on.
Example:
# of new visits to your site = 1,000 # of subscribers = 5 # bounce rate = 90% # average time spent on site = 4 seconds average # of pages spent on site = 7
Can you see what opportunities the business with this above example should focus on?
If this is an area you are screaming for more help interpreting in your business right now you can sign up for a complimentary marketing assessment here.
BONUS TIP #2. Don’t worry about the storm. Worry about having a good anchor.
Falling sales numbers might be the storm in your business. Having a good anchor will keep you from worrying about it. When I am rock climbing I don’t worry about falling because I know I am anchored to my belayer who also happens to be my older brother.
Not only is he my safety net; he’s also my guide coaching me through what my next steps should be. Because my nose is so close to the rock, it can be hard to see what step I should take next. My belayer can see the bigger picture from where he is standing. Plus, he’s climbed the rock before, so he knows first hand the pitfalls and the easiest path to reach the top.
Who is belaying you in your business? Who is your safety net? Who is guiding your next steps when your nose is too close to see those opportunities?
Question: What do you do when you feel like giving up? Share your tips and questions below.
Whether you need funding for a new office space in London or the money to launch a new marketing campaign, there are a number of resources such as UK small business grants that provide small businesses with the capital they need to succeed.
Here, The Brew rounds up some of the best grants and funding options that will help your small business to scale up.
While some companies can easily survive with minimal investment when starting out, others need to deal with immediate and necessary expenditures. That’s why The Brew have partnered with smallbusiness.co.uk to offer £5,000 every month to the brightest UK businesses in a free-to-enter competition.
If your business has a turnover between £50,000 and £500,000, then you’re eligible to enter – and the entering is simple and user-friendly, to avoid businesses having to jump through the usual multiple, complex application hoops.
Simply include as much information as possible about your successes so far and why you deserve to win, and your application will be considered by a panel of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders – including The Brew’s very own Andrew Clough.
Replacing the old Smart award programme which was scrapped by the government last year, Innovate UK now runs funding competitions offering grants to businesses working on innovative new technologies.
The programme has competitions open to businesses and organisations of all sizes and from all corners of the technology sector, but some are open exclusively to SMEs. Recipients of Innovate UK grants have seen higher employment and turnover and a better success rate than comparable businesses without the same funding.
The full list of open competitions can be found on the Innovate UK website.
Supporting research and innovation all over Europe, this massive EU fund has a dedicated SME Instrument through which small business can receive funding for innovative projects with high potential. Businesses involved in ground-breaking research or new technologies, or responding to challenges such as climate change and food security, can access the €3 million set aside for the SME Instrument over the period 2014-2020.
Applications by UK organisations will be made via a National Contact Point – usually a government agency or organisation. One of Horizon 2020’s aims is to foster links between EU nations, so some funding is conditional on forming partnerships with businesses overseas.
However, you may have a limited window in which to take full advantage of this particular fund – although projects will not be affected until the UK has officially left the EU, the policy after this point remains uncertain.
While money itself is no doubt important, the benefits of having the right knowledge and expertise to hand is an often overlooked part of scaling up a small business. With Innovation Vouchers, £5000 is awarded for an SME to specifically seek out the experts, advisors or consultants they need to take their innovative idea to the next level, build within their industry or protect their intellectual property rights.
One of the common difficulties faced by even the most innovative and forward-thinking start-ups is that their small size and untested business credentials make it difficult to attract investment from high street banks. This government-backed initiative was set up to help get around this problem – if you’re a start-up or very small early stage business that is yet to launch or has been trading for less than 12 months then you could receive mentoring, business planning support and a loan with an average size of £6,000.
Although this funding option will affect your business at a very early stage, it could be what you need to get the right footing for scaling up further down the line.
No matter how dedicated, hard-working and imaginative, sometimes nothing will help your business break through to the next level like a bit of extra money – so it’s worth researching these funding options to see whether they could benefit your business.
Daniel Moore is an experienced content writer by profession and he mainly writes on different aspects of business from business start ups to expansion.
Someone who is fully invested in helping you create the success you envision for your business and life?
The Success Mentor Summit will introduce you to 100+ mentors who have walked the path before you. By joining this free event you’re bound to find a success mentor to help you uplevel your business success.
This online summit was created by the authors of the best selling book, One Minute Mentoring, Ken Blanchard and Claire Diaz Ortiz, to help you access the direct mentoring you need to level up your life.
What’s great is since it’s online you don’t need to travel to a conference to benefit from the collective wisdom of these 100+ success mentors. Claire is bringing them straight to you, from the convenience of your own home. She’s put together an incredible speaker lineup of high caliber experts like:
Ken Blanchard
Brad Sugars
Pam Slim
Donald Miller
Carrie Wilkerson
And Yoon Cannon … (oh right, that’s me! 🙂
For 10 days you’ll be able to listen to all the expert interviews live for free. Each mentor will peel back the curtain on their own success and give you the virtual mentoring you need to embark on a new path to lasting success.
Sign up to join the free Success Mentor Summit here
If you want to find a success mentor …
Here are my top 4 reasons for highly recommending joining this summit:
#1. The expert mentors will inspire you to level up and finally reach your full potential.
These mentors are some of the most inspirational individuals around when it comes to guiding people to reach for what they want in their lives. Additionally, the motivational information will change the way you view your own success — ensuring that your path will be different from here on out — no matter what you do and what you want for your life. Don’t drive yourself crazy knocking down every door to find a powerful mentor to guide you. Instead, join us.
#2. The tactical information will transform the path you take to reaching your success — no matter where you are now.
Our mentors know that a great mentor provides more than just motivation and inspiration. They know the power of tactical strategies when to comes to mentoring and mindset to help you grow towards your own success. All sessions have a clear eye to delivering key value in the form of actionable strategies and specific steps.
#3. The Success Mentor Summit will deliver results.
Our mentors are committed to delivering advice that will not only motivate you, but will also immediately inspire you to take action to see results. No matter where you are now, by implementing the strategies and action items our mentors recommend you will see results, fast, and then you will be able to build on those for lasting success.
#4. It’s FREE for a limited time if you sign up today.
Typical conferences and retreats require a huge investment of time and money. The Success Mentor Summit is different. Save your money, save your travel time and claim your ticket today!
Sign up to join the free Success Mentor Summit here
In addition, my interview for the Success Mentor Summit will be out there for the taking on Wednesday, September 13th. I am so excited and grateful to be a part of this event because I know it is doing so much for so many people who are ready for a change.
I know the struggles of trying to find the guidance and support you need to really level up.
This is why I love this summit … every success mentor knows that a great mentor provides more than just motivation and inspiration. They know the power of tactical strategies when to comes to mentoring and mindset to help you grow towards your own success.
I hope you’ll check out what I have to say in my interview because I know you’ll love it!
I really hope you’ll take advantage and join today. I want to see you reach greater levels of success!
P.S. Register today for one of the All Access Pass Packages and get instant lifetime access to ALL interviews + incredible bonus gifts that you don’t want to miss (seriously … you don’t want to miss out!). Note that the price will triple in just a few short days – so get in on the low price now!
Sign up to join the free Success Mentor Summit here
Every business today should have a blog. Publishing new blog content regularly is one of the easiest ways to quickly build your authority and thought leadership within your industry.
The many advantages, like reaching the press, improving SEO, building your know-like-trust factor and more, all make it well worth the time to publish new blog content on your website on a consistent basis.
It’s also important to optimize your WordPress blogfor relevant keywords and keyword phrases that you target audience types in search of solutions your business delivers. If you do not optimize your blog, you will create less traffic to your website, making it harder to get found by ideal customers who are in the market for your services now.
Today, with plug ins like Yoast for WordPress, it’s easier now more than ever to optimize your blog in just minutes — saving you thousands of dollars from not needing to outsource this simple task.
Yoast is easy to use once you get the hang of it and has an ample amount of options to help you get your blog found in online searches. Follow this step by step process on how to optimize your WordPress blog using Yoast and you will soon feel like a pro!
1. Get a WordPress blog: Go to WordPress.org and click “Download WordPress.”
You will be taken to this screen: Click download again and wait for it to complete.
2. Go to your website
3. Click on the plugins tab and click add new
4. Search for Yoast SEO. This is the plugin that will help you to optimize your WordPress blog.
5. Click Install Now shown below
6. Click Activate
7. It will come up on your sidebar as “SEO” once the plugin is added correctly.
8. The configuration wizard is good for starting out with Yoast. It will take you through the basics of optimizing your blog step by step. It is located in the “General” tab shown below.
9. After you have edited your blog, if you are unhappy with your work, you can click the “restore default settings” button also in the “General” tab and it will return your settings to their original state.
10. On the “Your info” tab indicated below, you can change your website name, select if you’re a company or a person, and write your name in if you are not a company.
11. Under the Webmaster tools tab, you can verify your website with multiple search engines. Start by clicking the link to “Google Search Console.”
You will be taken to a screen that looks like this. Follow the recommended method to verify your website.
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12. In the Titles & Metas tab, you can choose the symbol you would like to appear on the tab of your website.
13. The Homepage tab is where you will optimize the front page of your website. You can optimize the title and description which will later appear on the search engine.
14. The Post types tab is where you will customize the templates for your posts, pages, and media. You can customize the title templates and the description templates.
15. The Taxonomies tab is where you customize templates for your categories, tags, and format.
16. The social tab is where all of your social media accountlinks go. If you click on each tab, you can customize what people will see as the frontpage of these profiles.
17. Frontpage settings will allow you to customize what people see when they share your social media profiles.
18. Click on the tools tab next.
The most useful link on the tools page is the bulk editor which allows you to edit all of the titles on your website.
19. If you choose a post and press edit, it will allow you to optimize each post inside of your website individually.
20. Under “SEO Title,” always put your most important keywords.
21. The red dots shown here will give you an idea of what is missing from your website in terms of optimization.
It’s that simple. Just use the notifications in the red and orange buttons as a checklist to fix one by one. You’ll see how quickly you can optimize your blog post for your keyword phrases that will help your blog get found by so many more potential customers who are searching online.
QUESTION: Share your best blog optimization tip below or post your question on this topic:
About two years ago, Google started penalizing websitesthat are not friendly to mobile visitors, since mobile traffic now comprises the vast majority of all internet traffic.
In August of 2016, Google announced that it would begin penalizing websites that have what Google considers “intrusive” pop-ups. Here’s the official Google Webmasters post that sparked controversy across the web.
According to some recent articles, websites are seeing the effects of this change.
What are the rules?
In order to be considered mobile-friendly by Google and to show up in the search results of those using their cell phones, your website cannot have what Google considers “intrusive” pop-ups on your site.
The most important things to know are:
This only affects the mobile version of your website, and
There are a few quick fixes if your site is in fact being penalized.
These are intrusive pop-ups, as Google has defined them:
Source: Google
How does this affect you?
Any popups you’re using to collect email addresses or opt people into your email list or other offer could be affecting traffic to the mobile version of your website, resulting in drastically reduced traffic.
If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on at least 60% of internet traffic, and that number is growing every day.
It’s important to understand the difference between acceptable and unacceptable pop-ups to make sure that Google doesn’t penalize your site.
Here’s what’s okay to have on your mobile site, according to Google:
Push notifications
Pop-ups about cookie usage and age verifications
Small app banners
Exit popups
Popups that only appear when someone clicks a button
Find out whether your website traffic is impacted
In order to take action (or determine if you even have to take action), you have to check out whether or not this is actually affecting your website’s traffic.
Step 1: Select a custom date range in Google Analytics.
Sign into your Google Analytics account. In the left-hand sidebar, click Audience → Overview, and then select the option to define a custom date range.
Select the date range of Jan 9, 2017 – Jan 13, 2017 and compare it to the previous week. We choose this date range because this was when the changes first went to effect.
Step 2: Check the mobile traffic specifically.
Under “Audience” on the left hand side, click Mobile > Overview. If you that your site experienced a significant drop (over 20%) in mobile traffic during this period in time, your site is likely being penalized for popups.
Step 3: If you have pop-ups on the mobile version of your site, disable them.
If you did experience a huge drop in traffic during this time, you can’t regain the traffic that you’ve lost, but you can make sure that the mobile version of your site is Google-friendly moving forward.
Remember that you can still have pop-ups on the desktop version of your site, but you should disable them on mobile. You’ll have to find the settings in your specific plugin (if you’re using WordPress) to disable them on mobile.
Or only use exit pop-ups. If you’re using ClickFunnels, your site should be fine. By default, the pop-ups only appear if people ask for them by clicking a button.
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Are you seeing the effects of this penalty on your site?
