10 Reasons Your Business Isn't Growing

Posted by Robyn Savage on February 10, 2019

Hey girl,

So let me guess. A while back, you decided to take the plunge and dive into the entrepreneur life. First of all, congratulations! This is the best way to create that freedom lifestyle (in my humble opinion, of course.) But let’s be honest - owning your own business isn’t all rainbows and sunshine.

Maybe you’re in the beginning stages and everything still feels a little foreign - but romantic. Or maybe you’re ten years in and ready for a change - you’re just dying for that sexy brand makeover that will start making you money again. We get it!

We’ve all been here as business owners. Suddenly you wake up one day with a tired website and an empty bank account. That’s usually the same day you start to question everything you’ve done in your business...

Am I doing anyyyyything right?

Where do I go next?

Is anything going to work for me?

Should I have a stricter strategy in place? (Wait, what’s strategy!?)

Is it time to take my business online?

Do I need a line of credit?

What’s automation?

How is everyone on the internet creating new content every.fucking.day?

What do I need to do to make some GD money around here!?

I know. I know! These are big questions. And they’re the ones that will transform your business when you get serious about finding the answers. Listen! We all hit stand stills as badass biz owners, but it’s time to shake it up, sister. You ready for this?

So, this week we’re doing a full body scan of your business. We’re diving into how you can tighten things up and give your business the love and attention she needs to thrive!

So without any further adieu, here it is, GirlTribe’s list of “10 Reasons Your Business Isn’t Growing”...grab a tea (or a whisky), get your notebook out, and get ready to face your business hold hops head on. It’s time to kick your business into high gear.

10 Reasons Your Business Isn’t Growing

1. You’re unclear on your vision.

Why is having a clear vision for your business such a big deal? Come, sit down a second so we can tell you all about it.

Until you have a clear vision for your business, you’ll waste an abundance of time and energy trying on different opportunities, price structures, offerings, and sales strategies. You might even sell your soul to the devil just to make a buck or two, and that’s not what we want for you. That’s not what running a business is all about!

A clear vision ensures you move through the growth phase of your business’ life cycle with laser focus - only serving the clients that actually want to buy from you, only saying yes to opportunities, investments, and marketing strategies that align with your long-term vision.

So! A crystal clear vision will allow you to start forming strategies, launch schedules, and offerings that fast track you to mega growth in your business. And that means bigger paychecks, less burnouts, and more fulfillment and freedom! #nailedit.

2. You’re not reaching the right people.

Don’t know who your dream client is? Consider this your homework for today: get crystal clear on who your product/service is for. Until you know exactly (we’re talking age, income, career, family status, geography, hobbies, etc.) who you’re serving, you will waste time, money, energy, and valuable content talking to people you will never buy from you. For example: imagine a lawn mower communication strategy targeted to the urban goddess who lives on the 27th floor of a high rise in Manhattan. No wonder they’re not selling any lawn mowers! Right? They’re talking to all the wrong people!

Identifying WHO your dream client is and getting SPECIFIC about who you’re talking to allows you to seriously hone in on serving the people that need you. Remember! It’s not about trying to sell your lawn mower to EVERYBODY - it’s about targeting the people who live on big properties with grass to cut! With this in mind, go ahead and get clear: who’s your dream client? Who wants to buy what you’re selling? What problem are you solving for them?

When you talk to your dream client (and your dream client ONLY) - you can stop worrying about what the rest of the world is thinking about you, and focus your energy on the people who actually matter.

3. You don’t have a clear brand message.

Okay, let me guess. You’re posting on Instagram daily, you have a Facebook group that’s pretty inactive (#lesigh), you do Insta stories and Facebook lives on the reg, and you even started fooling around with a YouTube channel. And still...no one is buying. W the actual F.

You feel like you’re doing everything right...but try this. Everyday write the same message in a different way. Become the broken record. State the obvious! Answer this question: WHAT PROBLEM IS MY BUSINESS SOLVING? What solution am I providing? What value am I adding? Answer this question over and over again until your audience (and future clients) have a total and complete understanding of what you do, the value your product/services offer, and how to buy from you. It’s your job to clearly communicate your brand message on repeat, so that your dream clients understand what your business does and what sets you apart from all the rest. Your brand message inspires your dream clients to BUY from you!

Unclear on what your brand message is? Check out this definition from Hinge Marketing.

"A core brand message communicates the values and key differentiators that define the brand. And above all else, it makes people in a firm's target audience sit up and… care. The core brand message will shape all of a firm's subsequent brand marketing messages."

4. You’re not delivering content consistently.

A close second to delivering the RIGHT message is delivering this message on the regular. We’re not talkin’ on the weekly regular - we’re talkin’ on the daily. Your audience needs to hear from you consistently in order to create the “like, know, trust” factor that will inspire them to buy from you. Think about it this way, if your bff was only available for 911 calls (“Omg I got the job!!!”, “Omg he dumped me again”, “Omfg I’m pregnant”...) once a week, you’d probably need to find a new bff. You need your people to be available when you need them, right? Not intermittently when they feel like showing up. As a business owner, this is especially important because of that consumer world we were talking about - where everything is so disposable and easy to find.

You need to become your dream clients “PERSON” (think Meredith and Cristina from Grey’s). Are you a life coach? Be the person your dream client thinks about when they hit rock bottom. Photographer? Be the person your dream client thinks about when they need new headshots. Yoga instructor? Be the person your dream client thinks about when they’re ready to invest in a teacher training. BECOME THE PERSON.

In order to do this, you must show up. I repeat - you must show up! This is going to ensure your dream clients keep you top of mind, and when they have a need for what you’re selling - they’ll come to you first! Consistency will keep your brand top of mind and help you grow your business.

In turn, you will make all the money and be able to serve bigger than you ever dreamed you could.

TO DO: Create a social media schedule and/or a regular newsletter that will reach your audience at predictable times so they learn when to expect to hear from you. Say things like, “Check out this weekend’s newsletter to read all about my trip to Prague and snag my fave tips on seeing the city!”

5. You’re not telling your story.

Listen up. We live in a consumer society. We’ve gone over that. That means that with just the click of a mouse your dream client can have whatever she wants, wherever she wants it, whenever she wants it. This is AH-MAZING from a consumer perspective, but as a business owner, it means you have to stand out and differentiate yourself from every other businesses out there solving the same problem as you.

Ask yourself this question: what is going to make people choose ME, over the 100,000 other people out there doing the same thing?

The answer? The one thing none of those other businesses have: YOUR STORY.

People love stories! They want to know your experience. What inspires your process. What happens behind-the-scenes. Your failures, your wins, your personality! People buy stories. For that reason, it’s time to get vulnerable and share what sets you apart. In a consumer world with too many options to choose from, vulnerability turns profit. Trust us on this one - it’s the foundation of our business model and helped us grow a 6-figure empire! We know what we’re talkin’ about.

Exercise: write your story.

6. You’re not nurturing the relationship with your potential clients.

When was the last time you personally reached out to someone in your community that you really felt connected with? Someone you’d dieeee to work with? Someone you think is your total dream client?

What often happens is that women get intimidated by each other and it’s discouraging. It may even be enough to prevent you from reaching out to people in your community to offer your services, aka. to sell your product. But let me tell you something! You’re selling your community short if you’re not inviting them to buy from you.

Say this out loud:

“I am an expert.

People need what I’m selling!

My job is to connect with my potential clients and tell them HOW they can work with me. My job is to tell them how my product/service is going to change their lives. My job is to create connections with clients, and SELL.”

Trust us on this one. Only when you are being properly compensated for your work can you serve as your best self.

7. You’re not charging your worth.

One important component of running a business is setting your price structure. I want you to listen closely to this one, because this is very, verrrrry important. You listening? Women have the tendency to undercharge for their time/expertise/products/services. After hundreds of years of suppression and being told they’re not worth it - it’s time for women to take their fucking worth back. And yes Queen, I’m talkin’ to you.

Are your prices comparable to other companies in the industry?

Are you handing out discount codes like candy in hopes to sell more?

Are you giving away all of your content for free?

Are you afraid to increase your prices?

Let me tell you a little secret. Money is energy. The more money your dream clients invest in you, the greater the experience they will walk away with. Why? Because they will value your offerings so much more knowing that you value yourSELF. You set the bar here. How much are you worth?

Exercise: What’s your dream income? How many products/services would you need to sell in order to achieve that income goal? Is this feasible? If not, can you raise your prices to reach that income goal and DO LESS?

HINT: The answer to that question is always yes. You determine your worth.

Example:

I am a coach.

I want to make $100,000 this year.

I sell my coaching package for $2,000.

I need to coach 50 people this year.

That’s too many clients to manage!

I increase my package prices to $5,000.

Now I only need to serve 20 clients.

That feels aligned with my work capacity and dream lifestyle!

8. You don’t believe you’re an expert.

In order for your clients to pay you the big bucks (read above), you need to LIVE like you’re worth it. This means you must fully embody the role of the expert. If you don’t believe you’re the best at what you do - neither will your dream client! And that means - you guessed it - if they don’t believe you’re the best at what you do, they’ll go find the person who IS, and pay them instead. Gah. No thanks! Soooooo….

This is where the hard work comes in. Start to shift into the mindset of the expert using tools like positive affirmations, mantras, and visualizations to start SEEING yourself as the expert.

You know the popular phrase, “fake it ‘til you make it”? Fuck that. Don’t fake it, become it.

Here’s our favourite mantra for this practice: “I am stepping into the role of an expert. I am the best _______________ (insert your bangin’ job title here) in the World.”

9. You’re not taking advantage of technology.

If you’re still busting your balls (excuse our inappropriate slang) trying to get your business to RUN properly, then you’re not using the tools that are available to help you.

If you’re…

Staying up ‘til midnight sorting your email list
Not seeing any growth in your email list despite heavy efforts
Writing new copy everyday and never repurposing content
Killing yourself over posting on social media and still not growing your audience
Not reaching enough people to launch your high paying offering

...then there’s a tool that can help you do it more effectively and wayyyyy more efficiently! Take it from two boss babes who used to pull all nighters and never put our phones down just to scrape by in business.

Using the right tech tools will help you grow your email list naturally (while you sleep), generate online sales, connect and engage with your audience, and help you get your message out to the masses without requiring you to work around the clock. Trust us! Automating your business using technology will change your life, and finally let you sleep again. We learned the hard way that technology isn’t something to be scared of, but something to be leveraged.

10. You’re not confident selling.

If your number one job as a business owner is to SELL your stuff, then you better be clear on what you’re selling! And you better be excited to sell it! This makes total sense, right? I mean you’d never find a car salesman that didn’t do everything he could to sell you that perrrrrrfect car, right? Yet, a lot of female entrepreneurs aren’t sure how to best bundle their offerings, how to scale up, and/or how to offer their expertise to potential clients. Does this sound like you?

When you learn how to put together desirable offerings (that provide the highest value and biggest outcomes) your dream clients will come running! Attraction marketing, baby! But if these clients aren’t converting to sales - that’s on you!

We see it all the time, your dream client is right there dyyyiiiiing to work with you, but when it comes to SELLING (aka actually asking for money) you get wishy washy, you feel icky, you start mumbling about your prices. And in that moment you shift from expert to amateur. You plant a seed of doubt within you dream client.

This is the time you need to unapologetically own your worth, declare yourself as the expert and boldly ask for the sale. You aren’t doing anyone a favor by not selling to them, in fact you are helping them stay stuck exactly where they are …. pretty shitty right?

Your clients need you. Selling is of service to them. It’s your job to give these potential clients what they want. You were given this gift (aka to expertise) to share it! Go do that!

Your biz deserves the best of you! And YOU deserve the best from your biz! Time to grow the sh*t out of your biz so it can serve you and your people! We're here to help you do just that click here to apply to work 2:1 Jak and I.

Robyn + Jak

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