Season 6 – epiBLOG 15:
“Growing entrepreneurs” who are in the process of building a business say they want to experience the success that well-established and successful entrepreneurs have already achieved. However, when it comes down to actually living out business principles in both business and in their personal life, many fall short.
Today’s topic discusses three reasons that growing entrepreneurs fail to achieve their goals.
Obviously, there are many reasons people fail and choose to remain stuck in a sea of despair. Within this post, I’ll be focusing on three of those reasons. I hope that you will examine what you’re doing in your own business practices and see how you can get out of your own way so that you achieve the goals that you’re aiming for.
3 Reasons Growing Entrepreneurs Fail to Achieve Their Goals:
Reason #1 – Some choose to be inauthentic. This can be in relation to how they present themselves, their business, how they create deals with their clients, or how they interact with people in general. According to Dictionary.com, authentic is defined as “not false or copied; genuine; real.” To the contrary, being inauthentic means that you are not being genuine or real. If you can’t be real with your friends, business associates, or clients in the hopes of tricking someone into doing what you want them to do, how long do you actually think you will be in business… or have friends for that matter?
Successful Entrepreneur and Millionaire T. Harv Eker said that if you are ever to get rich with integrity, a lot of people have to trust you. I’ve paraphrased his wording, but please understand the point. For example, if your goal is to team up with a partner on a business venture, after the exchange of pleasantries and confirming that you’re both a good fit for one another, you need to create an agreement – otherwise known as a contract. You create clear and genuine expectations within this agreement, and follow through on exactly what you agreed upon. If there are unforeseen circumstances that hinder this agreement, there should already be a clause within your written agreement that states exactly how those scenarios will be handled should they arise.
You don’t get to change the terms of what you originally agreed upon because your life, circumstances, or business has changed. Being authentic allows you to be transparent, and gives all those whom you interact with the power to make choices with the reality of the variables at hand. With authenticity and transparency, you can reach your goals because you are “calling” all of the people and resources to you that you need in order to reach the goals that you’re seeking.
Reason #2 – Some choose to not manage their money. I had this problem. I didn’t blow my money on expensive items — although there was a time that I did. Getting a sport utility vehicle that I didn’t need with a high car payment when I had a perfectly wonderful vehicle that ran well and was paid off didn’t make any sense. That was a mistake I made years ago in my early twenties. Fast forward to now, I haven’t been making those expensive and liability purchases any longer. Nevertheless, I would receive money, and immediately spend it on any bill that needed my immediate attention, and not have any money left over to do anything else with. Some may say that I was being responsible. However, I was starting to get resentful at the universe, at my business, and my circumstances. I would always say that when I get “x-amount” of money, then I’ll start managing my money. I now understand that it doesn’t work that way. I needed to manage my money in my business from the very beginning so that I could grow and expand on my business in order to reach the financial goals that I set for myself. That’s what I’m doing now.
There was nothing stopping me from reaching my financial goals, except me. After listening to T. Harv Eker’s Secrets of the Millionaire Mind audiobook, I realized that I can divide any amount of money that I receive and set it aside for specific reasons. He advises that you open up a separate bank account for the different needs in your life, and contribute 10% of your net income to each of those accounts with 50% of your income going towards your living expenses and necessities. For example, he advises that you open a bank account for long-term savings for investing. I know many of you may be thinking, how can you set aside money for investing when you’re having trouble keeping up with your business expenses or personal bills? I had the same mindset. However 10% of $1 or 10% of $500 is still a commitment to contribute to your investment account. Regardless of how small or how big the dollar amount that goes into this account doesn’t matter; it’s your commitment to managing your money that counts. You’re an entrepreneur. Everything you do in business and with your money must be intentional. Because I chose to shift my mindset and actually take the steps to manage the money that I earn, I’m no longer a slave to money.
Reason #3 – Some think like an employee instead of like an entrepreneur. If you have the goal of building your business to a specific level — which I’m sure you do as a business owner — you can’t go into each day with the same mindset that you had when you were working for someone else. You don’t have the comfort of receiving a check every 14 days because you showed up at 8am each morning and went home at 5pm, Monday – Friday for the last two weeks. No one is paying for your benefits. Someone else is responsible for ensuring that the company you’re working for is making money so that they can continue to pay you the limited amount of money that you agreed to work for each year. As an employee, your employer was taking care of you.
As an entrepreneur, you are taking care of you.
You’re creating your own schedule, creating your list of contacts, contacting people, meeting with people, and building genuine relationships. You’re in business for yourself. That means something totally different than working for someone else. You’re responsible for creating the income that you choose to have. You’re responsible for invoicing, networking, creating contracts, closing deals, and so much more. This means that the goals you set, you have control over achieving. This is powerful!!!!! I also get that it can also feel overwhelming to growing entrepreneurs. This is where the disconnect lies. You want the comfort of an employee, but the unlimited income of an entrepreneur. Unless you’re an employee who is pursuing a business venture on the side, you have to 100% own being an entrepreneur who is 100% in charge of your own future.
Today’s LESSON is to have the mind of a successful entrepreneur before and after success.
FUN ASSIGNMENT: Take a moment to be introspective. What is something that you are doing right now that is stopping you from moving forward? Write down what that is and write out why you feel it’s stopping you. Afterwards, write out a solution to this obstacle in order to move forward.
Nitara Osbourne owns The Infinite Writer Agency, LLC, which provides content to producers, publishers, and entrepreneurs seeking help with developing their life stories into nonfiction books and movie scripts. Ghostwriting blogging, and content writing services are provided for clients as well. If you’re an accomplished entrepreneur, and are looking to tell your story, contact Nitara Osbourne. InfiniteWriterAgency@gmail.com.
Resource: Dictionary.com
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