7 Things You Don't Realize Are Hurting Your Business
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isn’t it more impressive to be successful and not work yourself into the ground?
Could you be doing something that is hurting your business and not know it?
I’ve got an important topic: the 7 things you're accidentally doing that are hurting your business.
Keep reading and you’ll walk away with knowing how to:
Stop giving your time away for free
Spot red flag clients
Identify when you need to take a break and impose some boundaries
You'll know that you are worthy of a successful, thriving business and to stop playing small!
P.S The Build Your Business Bootcamp is coming up January 23-27! The Build Your Business Bootcamp is a 5-day FREE challenge to help you attract clients you love, set boundaries, get organized and set your prices properly. I will be personally guiding you through all the good stuff. You in? Join the FREE challenge Facebook group RIGHT HERE. (Don’t be like me and say you’ll do it later, cause you’ll forget, so go ahead and request to join right now.) I won’t be opening the group until mid-January but this will ensure you’re in when we start. This is gonna be SO good!
I’d be lying if I told you I never struggled with any of these things in my business. In fact, to be completely honest, I still struggle with them from time to time.
Believe it or not, 99% of business owners don’t even realize they’re doing this and they actually think these things are helping their business. (Spoiler alert: they’re not.)
I want to remind you to not be so hard on yourself. A new year often brings up higher expectations for ourselves. Maybe you’ve already broken the “resolution” or routine you set out for yourself. Maybe you’re already feeling like giving up and quitting because, “what’s the point?”.
I totally get it. I used to have an “all or nothing” mentality too. I want you to know that life, business and relationships are works in progress. It’s okay to allow ebbs and flows in life.
What’s important is that you continue to move forward, putting one foot in front of the other.
So let’s dive into…
The 7 Things You’re Doing That are Accidentally Hurting Your Business
#1: Giving Your Time Away for Free
If you’re giving free consultations or free bang trims this is an important part for you.
Although I’m advising you to stop giving your time away for free, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t give out free consultations or trims, but you need to account for those hours.
You also need to account for the hours that you spend working on your business that isn’t directly with a client. Think about how much time you spend making orders, going to the distributors, bookkeeping, even cleaning.
I would never count that as “hours worked” because I wasn’t hands-on with a client. But you need to make sure that you’re still being paid for those hours.
#2: Taking on Red-Flag Clients
I want you to know that you’re not obligated, nor do you owe anyone an appointment. Gone are the days of the scarcity mindset where you have to graciously accept any customer that comes to your door.
I know you don’t ever want to upset someone or hurt someone’s feelings. Maybe you’ve given in to requests before that you knew you couldn’t fulfil because you didn’t want to upset anyone.
Now I want you to make sure you don’t hurt or upset yourself.
It’s important to remember that “red-flag clients” don’t necessarily mean a “bad person”, rather a person who’s not the right fit for you.
It’s okay to explain to someone that although you would love to take them on as a client, you don’t feel qualified enough to produce the results they’re looking for and it wouldn’t be fair to them for you to say yes.
It may feel like you’re turning away business, but when you’re operating from a place of integrity, you can feel confident letting a potential client know that you’re not the right person for the job and someone else would be more qualified.
Remember, you’re not doing this to them or at them, but for them.
#3: Not Having Any Boundaries
You know I absolutely love to talk about boundaries, in fact, I’ve been talking about them for almost 5 years now.
I want to remind you that your lack of boundaries is not a form of excellent customer service.
I convinced myself that I was the ultimate customer service provider and I inflated my ego in an attempt to distract myself from my insecurity.
I would bend over backwards for my clients and ultimately, I would end up missing out on family or I’d show up to events completely exhausted because I would book myself so ridiculously full.
I never allowed any time for myself. Because, well, I didn’t have any boundaries.
I want you to know that you can be successful when you start respecting and following your own boundaries. It’ll probably be uncomfortable and scary, but I promise you can do it.
The important thing to remember is that you have to adhere to your boundaries first before anyone else can. If you don’t follow through on your boundaries you’re showing your clients that they don’t have to respect them either.
#4: Reacting Rather Than Responding
Reactions are emotional. Responses are thought out and logical.
I want you to take a moment, take a breath and think before you reply.
One of my key tricks is to have a beverage and anytime you’re not sure what to say, take a sip to give yourself a moment to think.
Some questions to ask before you reply are:
How do I want this interaction to end?
Is my go taking over?
How can I show compassion and empathy here for myself and the other person?
Am I wanting to be right or am I wanting to be kind?
How would I feel if this was broadcast for hundreds to see?
It can be super hard not to be passive-aggressive or snarky. Especially if we’re having to repeat ourselves. And I promise you, you will have to repeat yourself over and over.
Instead of just reacting to a DM, take a breath and ask yourself those questions above. Regardless of whether they book with you, how would you want them to talk about their interaction with your business?
We often find that ourselves and our businesses are very intertwined. It wasn’t until I started thinking of my business as a separate entity that I was able to shift my mentality. It helped to put up a barrier to not take things personally.
#5: Not Taking Breaks
Whether that be mental, physical or emotional breaks.
In 2014 I was so proud of how hard I worked. I loved letting people know how tired and exhausted I was. Until I ended up in the hospital with an insane panic attack.
I want you to ask yourself: isn’t it more impressive to be successful and not work yourself into the ground?
Let’s ditch the hustle culture in 2022.
#6: Comparison
It’s time to put your blinders on. Even people you love and who cheer you on can turn into comparisonitis.
And I gotta tell you, it’s really not worth the mental wear and tear that it takes on you.
Don’t get sucked into the “game” of constantly wishing you were someone else. It’s okay to not engage, it’s okay to pull back and it’s okay to take care of yourself.
I like to remind myself: “I am building a business, I’m not building a following”.
Other people have different goals than you, comparing yourself to them isn’t going to help you get to where you want to go. You need to look at what your goals are and figure out the best path for you.
#7: Not Enforcing Your Policies
You have them for a reason and yet you still don’t follow through on them.
It’s great to have your cancellation policy at the bottom of your website or on a confirmation email. But more importantly than that, is having a face-to-face conversation with every guest about your policies and having them agree to them.
Then you have to enforce them.
Just like boundaries if you don’t follow through on them then why would someone respect them?
I want you to remember that you are worthy of success, a thriving business, a joyful and playful life. And it’s time to stop playing small. Stop sabotaging yourself.
You are allowed to dream big, my friend.
All it takes is putting one step in front of the other. One small step forward is still moving forward.
I hope you’re walking away knowing that you’re made for big things and you can build confidence.
If you were inspired by this post I wanna hear from you. Shoot me a DM over on Instagram @dawnbradleyhair, I seriously love hearing from you.
See ya next time!
Let’s be besties?
