“The 3 Top Reasons Entrepreneurs Struggle Financially” by Baeth Davis

In order to succeed in business – you need to make a profit. This seems obvious. However, many entrepreneurs, at one point or another, fail to generate the revenue necessary to make their business flourish.

Why is this?

I’ve come across three main reasons and they are not the ones most often addressed – and yet, they are the ones I’ve seen most often in my 18 years as a business owner.

Struggle #1 – FEAR

Here are some of the common fears I see in my business community around success:

• If I’m successful, I’ll have to turn my back on those I love.
• I can’t leave anyone… because I fear being abandoned. So I can’t “abandon” anyone else.
• I have to stay in this dead-end relationship because I don’t want to be alone and I need the financial help.
• I have to please mom and dad and stay in the family business or profession. If I break free, I am a traitor to the tradition.
• I will be rejected for speaking my truth. I will be persecuted for living my dreams.
• I feel guilt for being good at things and the jealousy others direct at me for having so many talents.
• I can’t ask to be paid… I have to give everything away for free so that I prove my love-ability.
• I can’t have a loving partner AND a successful business.

Whatever your fears may be, it is vital to write them out, talk them out and find solutions to address them. Our greatest solutions are sometimes found in addressing our fears.

For example, if you fear leaving the family business, sit down with your family and talk through what this would look like. Discuss an exit strategy. Perhaps hire a mediator to help with the negotiations in case people get heated or take things too personally. You CAN do this!

Struggle #2: You Haven’t Found Your Voice

Your throat is the point of manifestation in your body. The areas below your throat prepares you to speak up and speak out… your tribe/family (your legs), your creativity (sacral/pelvic area), your boundaries (solar plexus), your talents and passions (your heart) – all of these areas must be generating positive energy before you will feel safe to share your voice.

Your VOICE is where the “rubber meets the road” in business. Without the ability to do these things with your voice, you are unable to market effectively and if you can’t market effectively, you are out of business:

Describe what you do to help your clients/customers in one minute or less:

• Share your core story in a business presentation
• Give a compelling stage talk or webinar that sells
• Know how to write compelling copy (or hire someone and recognize compelling copy)
• Conduct sales calls
• Negotiate deals
• Facilitate meetings and groups
• Pitch your projects for financing

The ability to “market” means taking your business to “market.” Your voice is your key to marketing success. If you “hate selling” or refuse to market, there is no point to being in business. Unless you can clearly and simply communicate your offer, there is no way to grow or expand as a business person.

Struggle #3: You HIDE

After addressing your fears and developing your voice, the NEXT BIG STEP is being SEEN. If you play a perverse game of hide and seek with yourself, it becomes very difficult to succeed in business.

Many people hide in business. Maybe you hide?

Here are some of the ways people hide:

• You don’t return phone calls on urgent matters or return paperwork in a timely manner
• You are routinely late to meetings and appointments
• You refuse to record videos (even though video converts better than almost anything else in marketing today)
• You undercharge for your skills
• You stay in a job you don’t enjoy
• You refuse to hire more help
• You don’t delegate enough because if you did – you’d have the space to actually be seen.

Fear. Not Speaking Up. Hiding Out.

Can you relate to these issues? People don’t fail from lack of work ethic or bad ideas. They fail from not moving forward effectively.

I invite you to face your fears, speak your message and get visible.

I promise you it will help your business and even better than that, it will help you have more confidence in the most important person in your life – YOU.