Are You Holding Your Business Back?

Speaker 1 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the You Can podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Jolly Jarvis, and today we are going to be talking around are you holding your business back?

Speaker 1 It's a big balance, it's a massive balancing out between your personal priorities and your business growth, particularly when you run your own business.

Speaker 1 And so that's what we're going to be talking about. Are you expecting your business to fund your lifestyle before it's really fully grown and in a position position where it can do that?

Speaker 1 So we're going to talk about personal priorities and whether they are out of sync, out of balance with where your business is and where you want to take it.

Speaker 1 So what we'll cover is balancing those personal priorities like renovations, like holidays, like life,

Speaker 1 but also why it matters.

Speaker 1 So many early stage entrepreneurs unknowingly sabotage their progress because they take too much money out of the business and expect it to develop and grow on too little resources. and so

Speaker 1 this all came about really because i was talking to a business owner who i was asking them you know how's it going um they've been going now about just under a year and they were telling me that you know what i'm disappointed with the amount of leads that i'm getting my audience isn't a bad size but i'm just not getting the conversions that i was expecting at this stage and so obviously it's sales i love sales so i was straight in there asking all the questions and what came up for me was when I asked them around what have they done so far to make changes with this and actually I saw a post out on LinkedIn this week about you know people when they want to do better at something than when they want to improve if you want to learn a musical instrument you go out and you get lessons that might not be formal lessons but you'll go on the internet and you'll you'll download youtube and and watch loads of videos and all that kind of stuff to kind of get get an understanding of what you need to do.

Speaker 1 And that can be the same thing in your business is you can't expect your business to improve or your skill set around something to improve without doing some learning. better understanding it

Speaker 1 or you know at least doing supported practice and so when I said to this person you know what what have you done and they were like well I haven't done anything because we've had a lot of costs we've been away on a big holiday and we've got another one coming up and we're in the middle of a house renovation that for me was really like whoa you know wait a minute what has your house renovation what has your holidays got to do with your business now I am like you know a big fan of going on a holiday and taking a bit of time out and having the opportunity to kind of re-look at things

Speaker 1 and so you know you could argue that a decent holiday will provide you with a new perspective on your business etc etc help you come back energized you know you can't run on empty etc etc but when you start prioritizing multiple elements like that over your business and you know your business doesn't have the funds to invest in itself because it's supporting those activities where you know what I tend to call them whether you know it's a little bit too black and white but I you know I tend to say well actually activities like that activities which are non-revenue generating activities they're not going to help your business they're not going to help you move things forwards so you know holiday as as harsh as it sounds it's it's not a revenue generating activity you could argue with a holiday that you know it gives you a new perspective you could argue with a house renovation that you know new doors and windows are going to help you feel better but in reality they're probably not the best investment for you to make if you want your business to to develop and grow for example you know if you're struggling with your sales if you're not able to to reach new audiences and and really need to run paid ads etc etc then you know spending your money on new windows is probably not going to be the best investment of your finances.

Speaker 1 But people do it, and why do we do it? Well, a lot of the people that I work with come from a corporate background and they are used to a particular amount of income.

Speaker 1 And obviously, you know, with that level of income that you have, you tend to live to that level.

Speaker 1 So, you know, you'll have a mortgage which reflects that, you'll have a lifestyle and tastes and preferences that reflect that. And it is very difficult to kind of rein that in.

Speaker 1 Okay, that becomes very easily easily human nature so weird isn't it but we tend to find our sort of baseline our minimum expectation and that just tends to go up that doesn't tend to to to be um at least subconsciously without a conscious effort we don't tend to sort of review and and rein things back in we're just happily going about and kind of um growing and developing all the time and spending that bit more and expecting that bit more

Speaker 1 and i don't think we're wrong to feel like that but it's understanding that in the early days, your business might not be in a position where it can afford that wage on a consistent basis.

Speaker 1 If you come from a corporate job, then you've had, you know, you've been with a business which has been around for some time.

Speaker 1 And so with being around for some time, it has more established ways of generating leads, converting leads, etc. And so, you know, its income tends to be a little bit more reliable.

Speaker 1 Whereas when you are first starting out, you know, there's a massive learning curve with running your own business.

Speaker 1 But also, there's a massive learning curve with your customer base, your lead generation etc and so you know the likelihood is is that you're not going to get consistent leads you're potentially going to take on clients that are more time consuming less ideal etc etc and so you are that is likely to impact your income also as you are running between you know wearing one hat and another in your business you can drop the ball somewhat and you can end up on that cycle of that feast and famine where you get clients on board and then you're delivering for them so you take the eye off the ball of marketing and then so that continues so then you'll put your focus into marketing and then you'll get those clients and so it is a real sort of up and down roller coaster and so with that comes that impact on on finances and at the end of the day you know if you don't have money to to keep things ticking over for example you know you have support you have to let support go you have to have somebody who's on a temporary basis like zero hours or whatever with you so that they're in a position where you can drop their hours down as and when you need to then things are gonna you know move and develop forwards and then they're going to stagnate um if you have a a gap in your skill set that you need to fill um either with an individual themselves or by upskilling yourself or or another of your team then again you're going to have to fork out money in order to fill that gap and and and get that skills in-house and so with that you're going to have to invest if you don't have the money to invest because you've bought your windows because you've bought your holidays then that's when you're going to have that struggle and so it is really important

Speaker 1 to remember you know you can't harvest fruit from a tree that hasn't matured yet and so you're taking from it before it's in a position where you know you've you've really given it chance to establish itself and and and be able to take that hit

Speaker 1 So I'm saying, oh, you can't do it, you shouldn't do it, it's going to stunt your growth, but how? How does it really do that? Well, you know, it can be in the form of missed opportunities.

Speaker 1 Your sales isn't up to scratch, for example.

Speaker 1 You know, obviously I love sales, um but you haven't put the effort into learning you haven't invested in learning um how best to go about um securing people particularly those ideal clients or people when you know you really have to kind of you feel like you're taking a step up and so you haven't got those skills to secure those individuals and so those are missed opportunities you've also got the fact that you know you just can't progress like i said before taking on a member of staff um and then you know not being able to to have them all the time having to let them go or i know a lot of clients who've got VAs and so they have to increase and decrease the hours.

Speaker 1 And so then they spend more time.

Speaker 1 If you're not able to pay for your VA, for example, to do your admin for you, then you've got to do your admin, which means then that takes you off either the delivery or it takes you off the lead gen side of things,

Speaker 1 unless you've got somebody in on your marketing. If you've got somebody in on your marketing and you can no longer afford them, then

Speaker 1 because you know they've generated the money, they've got the money into the business, but you've taken it out for extracurricular activities, then what can you do um you can't pay them so you're not going to be able to use their services and so that's where that growth can be really stunted and that in itself can put you into that kind of feast and famine scenario so you know you can get loads of money in and think oh yeah this is great but you spend and then you don't have the the minimum that you you need to kind of keep going and and keep reinvesting so you're like yeah okay sarah i get the problem i can totally see where you're coming from what do i do about it well you know there are ways to navigate it to help you to better balance things the first up really the sort of main thing that you can do is manage your expectations you know don't plan for a wedding a big holiday etc etc don't put that pressure on yourself but also on your business and its finances to come up with the goods for that instead you know pair things back a bit when you make the decision to work for yourself then

Speaker 1 be prepared to to just rein things in a bit, not go on that holiday, not have those those new things or that big Christmas, etc., that you would normally plan. That can sound a bit pants.

Speaker 1 Absolutely, it can. But if actually, you use forecasting and revenue cash flow, then you can have a realistic view of actually where your finances are at and what you can therefore afford.

Speaker 1 At this stage, you know, it makes sense not to get yourself into debt.

Speaker 1 I know people who have. I've been there with myself with using money and using credit to get yourself in a better position.

Speaker 1 That can, you know, really seriously damage your business and put a lot of unnecessary pressure on yourself.

Speaker 1 So if you've got that better grip, and that's the thing is, is people put their head in the sands. I must speak to people on a weekly basis who want to leave their job.
And I get it. I was there.

Speaker 1 I didn't like being told what to do. I was really conscious of

Speaker 1 how to balance the life that I wanted with having a job. And so I totally understand the desire to leave a full-time job.

Speaker 1 the challenge is is that that provides a consistent revenue and so if you're not going to be getting that revenue from there where are you going to be getting it from and so regularly with clients what are who are sort of leaving the corporate world and setting up their own business I'll encourage them to have kind of key milestones so milestones of the amount of a buffer in the bank so how many months they are comfortable with having sat there waiting to be used if things don't go so well and the thing is is we're not just talking about oh you know what i always get leads, I always get clients.

Speaker 1 We're talking around like people being ill.

Speaker 1 You know, I'm in a position now where I've got a young family, but I've also got aging parents. There are demands on me everywhere.

Speaker 1 And so, you know, it's all right when the going's good, but if something goes wrong, then what? So having that money there, not wanting to be too doom and gloom, but it can really help you to

Speaker 1 sort of weather those storms a little bit better and with less financial stress. So You know, consider those alternative revenue sources.
Do you want to keep that full-time job a little bit longer?

Speaker 1 You know, yes, I totally get it. It is really, really hard work to have a business on the side and a full-time job.
I've been there. And so I totally get you don't want to do that long term.

Speaker 1 But just understanding, okay, this is the consequence. This is how much money I'm going to have to earn.

Speaker 1 I speak to people who need 15 to 20K a month coming through their business in order to be able to... sort out their personal finances and continue with the income that they that they're used to.

Speaker 1 And that's the thing is, is I'll speak to people on a regular basis saying to them you know so what is your minimum and they're like yeah you know it's it's it's 10k and I'm like okay but what actually is the minimum to cover your bills and to enable you to eat and they're like oh yeah you know that's like half of that and so it is being honest with yourself and the more finances you expect out of your business and the quicker you're going to have to get going and you know I'm going to come on to this in a bit but the more you actually need to invest in help you know it is it is possible to do this all on your own and to get your business up and running really really quickly generating loads of money you hear success stories you know around people doing this but the thing is is they are success stories they are not the norm you know everyone knows the statistics on how many businesses fail within the first three years it is really high some quote as much as like 75

Speaker 1 and so you know why is that that is because well you know they fail because of the financial side of stuff and it's like, where does that come in?

Speaker 1 And I think this expectation and you know, that sort of unwillingness to compromise is a big thing. You know, sometimes those holidays, those renovations, they just need to wait.

Speaker 1 You need to prioritize back into your business. You need to fill those gaps.

Speaker 1 If you thought about your business and your skill set as a calendar and you need to fill those holes until those holes are filled, you know, you haven't got a complete unit, you haven't got a complete option.

Speaker 1 You are going to get loss of income and loss of clients

Speaker 1 through through those those holes that those gaps in your skill set that you've got so

Speaker 1 how can you go about this how can you navigate this well yes you can be prepared you can be ready to compromise you can look at alternative incomes but when you're in that situation one of the best things that you can do is to budget for reinvestment okay so set aside a fund for business growth okay so for coaching for marketing for software for resources that means that your business will be able to get itself on its feet and stable and ideally in as short a time as possible so that then you can start to expect more from it what you need to do in order to do that budget is to identify the help you need so clarify on what support will drive your business forwards how much that will cost do your research okay it's window shopping it's fun window shopping so don't be afraid to do that

Speaker 1 The biggest leaps forwards that I've made in my business is when I've invested in a mentor.

Speaker 1 Before that, you know, you're sort of bumbling along, you're kind of second-guessing yourself, you're looking at different options. You end up getting distracted by all these kind of low-priced and

Speaker 1 free kind of insights into how different people work, and you're literally all over the place, which is wasting like really the most valuable thing, which is time.

Speaker 1 And that's the thing: you only have 24 hours in a day.

Speaker 1 You know, there is lots of money out there, but there isn't lots of time out there. Okay, so

Speaker 1 it's about spending that time wisely, and that's where particularly if you choose to stay in a side hustle um so have your business as sort of a side hustle and and have a full-time job still so that's keep those funds coming in you want to be spending that time really really wisely the amount of people who i've worked with who have still been in full-time uh jobs because they've wanted to make sure that the time they are spending on their business, which is very, very precious and very, very small, was the right activities to be doing.

Speaker 1 So they're working smarter, not harder. And I think that's the main thing here is, you know, using your time wisely to then get yourself in a position where your business can then generate money.

Speaker 1 And lots of people I speak to is they're like if. And that's another thing is, is that I want to put in here is about belief.

Speaker 1 Okay, you look around you and try not to beat yourself up by where other people are because they're on a different timeline to you. They're on a different journey.

Speaker 1 And also what you see on social media isn't always true. But look around you and look for the inspiration.

Speaker 1 Look at the people who are those those few steps ahead of you, look at what they're achieving, look at what they're doing. Um, and you know, that can be a starting point as a mentor.

Speaker 1 Is there even somebody you're not paying somebody who doesn't even know that you're that they're your mentor, but somebody that you're looking to and you are looking at how they navigate things and you are mirroring that can have a real impact.

Speaker 1 I talk often on um normally, actually, when I get interviewed on podcasts, I talk around you know using podcasts as to create that kind of environment, that bubble around yourself. yourself there's um

Speaker 1 that um oh is it five five steps of a highly effective person or whatever it was um you know they talk around in that and it's touched in so many different places that you are the sum of the five people you hang around with the most and the thing is is that you know it can cost a lot of money to hang around with the right people but with podcasts and things like that nowadays podcasts just like this one you can be surrounded by individuals who are doing really well that's the point of this podcast is to support you on your journey and to help you feel not alone and to provide you with inspiration.

Speaker 1 So use that inspiration, surround yourself with individuals who are doing well, who you admire. And then that way you can feel more energized and you can believe it.

Speaker 1 You stop saying, maybe I can or if I do and you start saying about when.

Speaker 1 And that in itself, that massive shift in your thought process can make a huge, huge difference to your business, to your performance, to your self-belief, because of your self-belief enabling you to generate that income and get your business up there and being consistent okay no one grows a business alone sometimes the best investment is in yourself and your support network it is very very difficult to get here all by yourself without any help or any support whatsoever and so when you can make sure that you are investing wisely in the resources in the support that you need but don't try and figure it all out there it's it's crazy to think that we can just start a business and know straight off the bat exactly how we're supposed to be running it um it is not um unless you are you know running a business mentoring business coaching business then you're not going to know all the things and even then most people have specialities so some people they might come in from a financial perspective but that doesn't mean that they've got the sales and marketing that doesn't mean they can create the messaging there are so many hats to wear when you are running your own business that it is it you're kind of setting yourself up for failure if you expect yourself to know how to do all those things um without any support or further training so that's it for me this week guys um you know please do share you can link with me on linkedin you can link with me on facebook um you know share with me the challenges that you've had over balancing your business growth.

Speaker 1 I will probably more than likely put I will put out a post on my in my UCAN group on Facebook

Speaker 1 where

Speaker 1 you can share what's helped you navigate it, where you've kind of found yourself going a bit wrong and how you've got yourself back on to focusing on your business and helping and supporting it as it needs.

Speaker 1 So please do share those and reach out if you do need help with

Speaker 1 having more structure, having more clarity in your business.

Speaker 1 That is what I do is I help people to grow their business and create a business that works for them. So thanks very, very much for listening.

Speaker 1 And as ever, please do subscribe, rate, and share the podcast so that we can get more listeners in. And that supports what I do.
So that's it for me, guys, this week. Bye for now.