When we talk about business growth (or the lack of it) too often we focus on the wrong things. I see it all the time. Clients come to me blaming their lack of Instagram engagement, their subpar branding or their slow website for the fact they’re not hitting their growth goals.
Whilst all of these things can contribute to slow sales, they are all trust symptoms of a bigger issue: you don’t have the right mindset for growth. Your mind is the most powerful growth tool you have yet so many marketers and business growth experts skipped past these fundamental concepts and my hunch is, it’s because it’s easier to blame external factors for your lack of progress than take responsibility for the fact you’re limiting your own potential with your own thoughts.
After all, you’re the one setting your growth goals in the first place; why would your own brain be the one sabotaging your progress?
Read on, my friends, and I’ll explain.
Your thoughts shape your reality and your thoughts are low quality.
This point may have been the first thing that came to mind when reading the headline of this article. And yes, it’s a big part of your growth problem but it’s not all of it. For those who are not familiar with the concept that your thoughts shape your reality, let me enlighten you.
What you think directly dictates how you feel and therefore how you behave.
Read that again.
Now let me give you an example.
If you believe you’ll never grow to 100k followers on Instagram, you’ll feel like a small-time brand on the platform and feel like growing your account is hard, which leads you to put in less effort and post content like a small-time account. Which, you guessed it, keeps you smalltime.
Let’s contrast that with someone who unequivocally believes they’re destined for a large following. They would feel like posting content that grows their account is easy and will therefore show up regularly, full of energy because every post gets them one step closer to their goal.
What to do about it: this is the big one and there’s no easy fix here. Positive thinking is one step in the right direction but ultimately you need to work on your self-worth and your subconscious programming. Do this through meditation or hypnosis. One of my fave communities for this is To Be Magnetic
Your lack of confidence is making you play small
Well done on being brave enough to start a business in the first place.
Now, I ask you.
Have you ever felt embarrassed talking about what you do in your business? Or have you ever tried to keep it a secret from family or friends?
If yes; you’ve got work to do.
If no; you still have work to do.
Good marketing is about confidence.
And even if you don’t have a fear of being seen, I promise you are still playing small in areas of your marketing because of a lack of confidence. This can show up in a few different ways, but there are the most common I see:
Not getting in front of the camera on your socials and therefore missing out on building a relationship with your audeince
Not pricing your products or services high enough to create a highly profitable business
Not investing in expert help or advice that would allow you to go beyond your current skillset
Not implementing a *brilliant* idea because you’re not confident in your ability to pull it off
What to do about it: sit down and think of all the ways you’re keeping yourself small. Consider the question: what would I do if I knew I would always succeed? This usually uncovers where your limiting beliefs are shaking your confidence. Then, take steps to do those things.
Remember, if you’re afraid of “being seen” then no one sees you. And if no one can see you, no one can buy from you.
You’re afraid of feeling uncomfortable
Our brain has evolved to make sure we avoid things that evoke fear for us. Whilst that worked well when we had to avoid lion dens or snake pits, it’s not so handy when we need to push into unknown territory in business.
As soon as you get used to being comfortable with being uncomfortable, the needle will shift. What got you here won’t take you there, so it’s important we continue to explore the unknown and that’s uncomfortable.
What to do about it: Use the fear to guide you. If you feel fear, it’s probably something you need to do. So feel the fear and do it anyway.
You don’t believe you’re worthy of investing in yourself
This one ties into all of the points above, but I see it so often it deserves special mention.
People come up with 101 different reasons why they shouldn’t spend money on their growth.
“I’m only a new business, I shouldn’t spend money yet”
“I know what to do, I just need time to do it. There’s no point hiring someone to do it for me”
“What if I invest in my business and I fail?”
…and the list goes on.
Whilst all of these can be valid, the underlying issue usually is that you don’t believe yourself worthy of the investment.
And women tend to do this the most.
They believe they should do it all themselves.
That they shouldn’t bother anyone else or ask for any favours to fill their needs.
But the reality is, if you had all the answers already, you probably wouldn’t be reading this article and you probably would have achieved every goal you’ve ever set.
No one can build an empire alone, and unless you have an army of very willing volunteers, you will need to invest money in your business growth at some point.
What to do about it: Keep working on your limiting beliefs from the first point (always, always, always). Also, write your wish list for what you would spend money on in your business in order to achieve your goals. Is it a new computer? An assistant? A financial advisor? Updated computer software? Professional photography? If it can help you do what you do, but better, faster or more profitably, it’s probably a good call.
Of course, we love when clients know their worth enough to invest in their marketing with us. With an entire team of marketers assigned to every client, by partnering with Birdcage you’re instantly adding an entire marketing department to support and grow your business with you at the helm. There’s not much more empowering than that.
Ready to do brave things?
Whilst mindset work is a never-ending (but very worthwhile) process, if it’s time to take big steps forward in your business, we want to be the marketing team that gets you there. As a holistic digital agency who specialises in lifestyle brands, we deliver support and results that others can’t.
Want to know what the first few weeks of working with us looks like? Let me show you here.
