There are few things in this life that are more important to me than helping female entrepreneurs start and grow successful businesses. I truly believe that change in the world will happen when women are able to create significant income to recirculate back into family, church and community.  Studies have shown that women are much more likely to give generously than men are, and so I have built my business centered around equipping women to be successful so that they can go out and do good in the world.

 

With that being said, I have seen some common mistakes among female entrepreneurs in today’s market. With all the hype around working for yourself, creating passive income, and everything else the business coaches of the world throw at you, the entrepreneurial life is far from the glamorous picture the online world has painted. And it pains me to no end, to see women wasting time and money building things that won’t last and that will never be profitable, because they are looking for some easy road to wealth.

Throughout my years of both building my own business and working with countless other women to build their businesses, these are the three most common errors I see that hold women back from lasting success.  

Putting the cart before the horse.

Regularly, I will jump on a consult call with a woman who’s spent thousands of dollars on a website, bought a logo, business cards and t-shirts…before ever testing her idea.

Instead of going this route, I highly recommend women take the time to test their ideas to see how well those ideas will do in the marketplace. Before you invest money into something, throw some test bullets out into your target audience. Do some research with actual people to find out if your business idea or product actually solves a pain point for your ideal client. If you are in the fitness industry, get a test group together and see what the results are for that group before you promote having the next big weight loss solution.

Bootstrap everything you can, for as long as you can, until you build a truly profitable business.  THEN invest back into your business in an intentional way.

Don’t believe you can bootstrap it and grow a profitable company?

I am currently running my FASTer Way to Fat Loss program through a FREE Wordpress website. I have grown that program from 11 women to 500 women per round, through that free and not-so-fancy website. I don’t have business cards either, yet my company is on track to make 7 figures in the coming year.

Don’t put your cart before the horse. Do as much as you can, spending as little as you can, and grow your business in a lean way!

Wrong expectations

The entrepreneurial life sounds a whole lot more glamorous than it is. Sure, you’re the boss, but that also means everything rests on your shoulders. I see a lot of women run an online test group with 10 people in it, then think it will be no trouble at all to get 500 people into their next program. I know that sounds crazy...but so many women underestimate the grind it takes to grow a successful company. They think if they put something out there the clients will come running.

But, every successful entrepreneur in the world will tell you that owning your own business is WAY harder than having a 9-5. Growth happens slowly with a significant amount of effort. You won’t build momentum nearly as fast as you think you will. If it was that easy to build a successful business, everyone would be doing it!

Ramping up your own business is extremely challenging and requires more work than you can possibly imagine.

They have the wrong mindset

Some of the women I work with focus too much on the negative, the difficult and the challenging. They only see their weakness and blame things on their circumstances and others.

The entrepreneurial life is a hard road for sure, but it is so incredibly worth it and the sky is truly the limit for females in today’s market!

This mindset issue is truly the hardest thing to work with as a coach. I can help with all kinds of strategy, services and great ideas, but unless you are willing to do the hard things required of an entrepreneur, you simply cannot grow a successful business.

Women who are truly successful focus on the possibilities, their strengths and what they CAN do to solve problems. They don’t back down from hard things and they are willing to put in the time it takes to make their business thrive. These women are mentally tough and willing to do what it takes to make their dreams a reality.

I truly believe this is a phenomenal time for women starting and running businesses. I love the creativity, ingenuity and excellence that can be found in so many female led companies. However, I regularly see women making the above mistakes and want to do everything in my power to prevent that!

If you are looking to build an incredibly profitable business in 2017, I would love to help you. I will be focusing all of my time and energy on women who are willing to work hard and hustle. The women in my programs must have a can-do attitude, be willing to try new things and able to celebrate their progress, even if it is slow. If that sounds like you, let’s set up a quick consult call to see if my next Business Accelerator is a good fit!