1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,639 Building a business is also the really unsexy stuff, like learning how to manage 2 00:00:04,639 --> 00:00:09,880 your cash flow and learning how to understand profit and loss. It's also making 3 00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:15,880 investments that feel really scary. It's pitching for partnerships and collaborations and speaking at 4 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:21,160 events even though it feels terrifying, and learning to be comfortable with that discomfort, 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:24,879 because the things that feel the most uncomfortable are usually the things that will 6 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:31,440 help you and your business grow. Almost Welcome to Imperfect Action. I'm Steph 7 00:00:31,519 --> 00:00:35,439 Taylor. For years, I read all the books, downloaded all the freebies, 8 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:39,759 and did all the courses, but it wasn't until I started taking imperfect 9 00:00:39,799 --> 00:00:45,399 action that my business had its first million dollar year. Imperfect action is about 10 00:00:45,439 --> 00:00:51,640 doing things before you're ready, prioritizing consistent action over perfect action, and moving 11 00:00:51,679 --> 00:00:56,039 forward even when you're not sure you're doing it right. On this show, 12 00:00:56,119 --> 00:01:00,560 you can expect mindset advice, actionable marketing tips, and strategies to build a 13 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,680 business that brings you more profit, more freedom, and even more joy. 14 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,159 Are you on the list to get my daily businesses? Every day, I'll 15 00:01:10,159 --> 00:01:12,480 send you a bite sized prompt designed to help you grow your business in a 16 00:01:12,519 --> 00:01:18,239 more intentional way sign up at Steph Taylor dot co, forward slash DBB, 17 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:23,359 or at the link in the show notes. Hey, welcome back to In 18 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,040 Perfect Action. This is episode eight hundred and thirty six. Today I'm talking 19 00:01:27,079 --> 00:01:34,159 about debunking five unrealistic expectations of having an online business. Now, this isn't 20 00:01:34,519 --> 00:01:38,400 your fault having these expectations, because I think when we spend a lot of 21 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:44,719 time why or on social media or reading other people's stories about how they built 22 00:01:44,719 --> 00:01:48,920 their business, and you know, the media loves to share stories about how 23 00:01:48,959 --> 00:01:53,920 this person made a million dollars in a week. When you consume all of 24 00:01:53,920 --> 00:02:00,000 that kind of content, you might start to form some expectations about how you're 25 00:02:00,159 --> 00:02:05,560 business should be or what should happen. And when it doesn't happen that way, 26 00:02:06,079 --> 00:02:08,919 then you might start to question whether you're doing it right, whether you're 27 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:15,199 making mistakes. And a lot of the time it's not that you're doing anything 28 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:21,120 wrong. It's just that you've read an example that was like the minority the 29 00:02:21,159 --> 00:02:28,120 real exception, but the majority of us have to go through the ups and 30 00:02:28,159 --> 00:02:31,520 the downs and all of the different things. So here are the five unrealistic 31 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:38,159 expectations. Unrealistic expectation number one that your business will grow quickly. And this 32 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:43,319 is often followed by the assumption that when it doesn't grow quickly, you're not 33 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,879 doing it right, or nobody wants what you're selling, or you need to 34 00:02:47,039 --> 00:02:50,080 market your business more. You need to do that, or you need to 35 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:55,199 do this now. Unless you have a budget to really invest in all of 36 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,800 the different parts of your business. And I'll talk about this in a minute, 37 00:02:59,439 --> 00:03:02,680 but unless do you have the budget to invest in strategy, in sales, 38 00:03:04,039 --> 00:03:07,960 in paid advertising, or working with the publicist, or you're really just 39 00:03:08,039 --> 00:03:14,280 investing so much of your own time into your own media and publicity, it's 40 00:03:14,319 --> 00:03:20,159 going to be slow, right. Organic growth is slow, and that's okay. 41 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,639 You just need to be patient and not give up. And then when 42 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:28,360 you do have more income coming in, reinvesting some of that maybe into getting 43 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:35,240 your sales strategy and your sales processes really smooth, maybe reinvesting it into your 44 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,000 marketing strategy, or into your Facebook ads, or into working with somebody who 45 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,879 can help you with ads or do your pr for you. And like I 46 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,039 said, organic growth can be slow, but sometimes slow growth is good because 47 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:52,120 it helps you to figure out all of the bits and pieces first. It 48 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,919 helps you get everything really aligned and really smooth and really streamlined before you go 49 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:00,360 and poor fuel on the fire and grow quickly. Because growth like the little 50 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,840 pebbles in your shoe, the little tiny stones in your shoe when your business 51 00:04:04,879 --> 00:04:09,400 is going slowly, as soon as your business starts to grow really fast, 52 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:14,400 those little stones become massive rocks, and they cause you blisters, and they 53 00:04:14,439 --> 00:04:17,480 become really, really, really painful because you've scaled it all up. The 54 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:24,480 second unrealistic expectation in your business is that posting on social media is all you 55 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:29,000 need to do to grow your audience. And you can thank all of the 56 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,879 social media success stories from twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen, the 57 00:04:32,879 --> 00:04:38,519 ones that made you believe that anyone can grow their business for free, online 58 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:43,160 easily and quickly as long as they are really good at social media. It's 59 00:04:43,199 --> 00:04:48,720 pretty rare these days. Yes, there are still some exceptions and can still 60 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:53,800 grow your audience organically, but most of the time you need to look beyond 61 00:04:54,160 --> 00:05:00,000 social media for this because building an online business isn't just starting an Instagram account 62 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,319 and trying to get clients. In fact, if I was starting from scratch, 63 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,600 I'm not even sure that I would invest much time into Instagram, at 64 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:11,959 least not at the start. That's probably not where I would even focus my 65 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,240 time and energy, because that would take a lot more time than it's worth 66 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:24,879 in terms of the results. Building a business is also really about creating sales 67 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:28,600 processes to convert people. So, yeah, you might have this Instagram audience, 68 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:30,759 you might be reaching these people, but how are you turning those people 69 00:05:30,759 --> 00:05:35,920 into buyers? Building a business is also the really un sexy stuff, like 70 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:41,160 learning how to manage your cash flow and learning how to understand profit and loss. 71 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:46,519 It's also making investments that feel really scary. It's pitching for partnerships and 72 00:05:46,519 --> 00:05:51,920 collaborations and speaking at events even though it feels terrifying, and learning to be 73 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:57,399 comfortable with that discomfort, because the things that feel the most uncomfortable are usually 74 00:05:57,399 --> 00:06:01,439 the things that will help you and your business grow the most. Okay, 75 00:06:01,959 --> 00:06:09,160 unrealistic expectation number three that you can build a super successful online business from scratch 76 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:14,120 without investing assent. Now, this might be controversial because I know there are 77 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:17,920 a lot of people like myself who have built their businesses from scratch with like 78 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:23,480 basically no money in the bank account at the start, and that's fine, 79 00:06:23,639 --> 00:06:28,120 you can start from zero, but it will be slow, and at some 80 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,759 point you will need to start reinvesting into your business if you want it to 81 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:36,000 keep growing beyond a certain point. Because if you're not an expert in all 82 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:40,000 of the different areas, if you're not an expert in brand strategy, sales, 83 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,720 marketing, copyrighting, design, finances, all of the things, then 84 00:06:43,759 --> 00:06:46,279 you either need to hire an expert for each of these areas or you need 85 00:06:46,319 --> 00:06:49,519 to learn how to diy each of these areas, and both of those options 86 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,720 cost money. Yes, you can piece together all of the free content, 87 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:59,040 but like in my experience, the free content that's out there, it's not 88 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:01,000 really showing you how to do it. It's not giving you a process. 89 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,920 It's actually adding more to your plate because now you have all of the different 90 00:07:04,959 --> 00:07:09,399 people telling you all of the different things you should do, but nobody's really 91 00:07:09,399 --> 00:07:12,199 telling you, hey, here's one process to follow and how to do it. 92 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,279 And that leads to you feeling so much more overwhelmed. So, for 93 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:21,720 example, you might start without a website. You might not have a website 94 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:26,879 when you first start your business, and that's totally fine, but That also 95 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:31,600 means then you need to be really proactive with how you convert people into clients 96 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,879 via DMS or via phone calls, because your website isn't there to sell for 97 00:07:35,959 --> 00:07:41,759 you. Or maybe you can start without really having much of a marketing strategy 98 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,199 if you already know you have a network of potential clients that you can tap 99 00:07:45,199 --> 00:07:48,360 into, or if you're really good at networking face to face and you know 100 00:07:48,399 --> 00:07:53,360 you can convert clients that way, great, But at some point then you 101 00:07:53,439 --> 00:07:58,279 might want to invest in learning how to do your marketing or hiring somebody to 102 00:07:58,439 --> 00:08:03,879 market your business for you so that you can grow beyond that certain point. 103 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:11,639 Unrealistic expectation number four that your business growth will be linear. It's not always 104 00:08:11,639 --> 00:08:15,399 going to feel like you're moving forward. You're going to find yourself at times 105 00:08:15,399 --> 00:08:18,120 having to take a step back before your business can grow to the next level. 106 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,079 Twenty twenty two was that year for us, right Twenty twenty two was 107 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:26,639 the year where we took a step back, tidied up after all of the 108 00:08:26,639 --> 00:08:30,639 growth that happened in twenty twenty and twenty twenty one, did some restrategizing, 109 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:35,320 lay some new foundations, and then twenty twenty three is now the next year 110 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:37,399 of growth for us, and it's already shaping up to be a great year. 111 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,159 And the same happens with your mindset, your personal mindset. At each 112 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,559 level. You might think that you've overcome your fear of public speaking, and 113 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,639 then suddenly you're now on a stage with a thousand people in the audience instead 114 00:08:50,639 --> 00:08:54,360 of one hundred, and you're like, oh, I'm afraid of public speaking 115 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:58,159 again. And that's just because you've moved to that next level. As they 116 00:08:58,159 --> 00:09:01,559 say, new lets, new devil, so something that you might be afraid 117 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,399 of, and then you overcome that and you get comfortable with that. As 118 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:09,120 you grow, you're going to keep encountering things that feel really scary. Or 119 00:09:09,159 --> 00:09:13,639 as you grow, you might also uncover some new mindset hurdles that you didn't 120 00:09:13,639 --> 00:09:16,120 even know you had. One of them that came up for me when my 121 00:09:16,159 --> 00:09:22,480 business grew really quickly was this fear of responsibility. This fear that if I 122 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:24,879 had a really big business and if I had a team, and if I 123 00:09:24,919 --> 00:09:31,200 had a large audience, suddenly now I was responsible for what I said, 124 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,000 I was responsible for how I manage my team. I couldn't just, you 125 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,559 know, throw it all in tomorrow if I decided I didn't want to have 126 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:41,720 a business and I wanted to go and travel the world instead, right, 127 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:45,120 And it took me a while to work through that. It was in a 128 00:09:45,159 --> 00:09:46,200 way, it was the moment where I was like, Okay, cool, 129 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:48,720 this is where I stopped being a child and I start being a grown up 130 00:09:48,759 --> 00:09:54,320 and take responsibility and do you know, do that kind of work. And 131 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:56,840 I'm sure that will come up again at the next level of growth, that 132 00:09:56,879 --> 00:10:01,000 next big step of growth, where my level of responsibility increases even more. 133 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:07,279 And for each of these, each of these little growth moments in your business 134 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:09,120 or in your mindset, when these hurdles come up, you'll need to slow 135 00:10:09,159 --> 00:10:13,919 down and you'll need to work on it before you can keep charging ahead. 136 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,240 You can't just muscle your way through it. You can't just hope it goes 137 00:10:16,279 --> 00:10:22,000 away, because it won't. All right. And then, lastly, unrealistic 138 00:10:22,039 --> 00:10:26,159 expectation number five is that your business is going to be fun all of the 139 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:30,960 time. Now, I find my business fun most of the time, but 140 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:33,759 I still have things that I don't want to do that I have to do. 141 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:35,720 I still have to do things that feel scary. I still have moments 142 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:37,759 where I'm like, what am I even doing? I don't want to do 143 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:43,360 this, But I know now that these moments will pass, and that for 144 00:10:43,399 --> 00:10:46,080 the most part, I get to do what I love every single day, 145 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:48,320 and I get to have fun in the process of it most of the time, 146 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,679 not all of the time. And I think social media and all of 147 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,840 those glossy success stories and all of the behind the scenes content you see on 148 00:10:56,879 --> 00:10:58,600 Instagram. You know, all of the people you follow who are like they're 149 00:10:58,639 --> 00:11:03,960 living the the traveling NonStop. That makes us think that it is fun all 150 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,480 of the time, and that if we're not having fun all the time, 151 00:11:05,519 --> 00:11:09,960 then we're doing something wrong. And this isn't the case. Remember, people 152 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:16,960 aren't sharing the really boring behind the scenes stuff. They're not sharing the video 153 00:11:16,039 --> 00:11:20,080 of them reconciling the bank account on a Monday morning or doing their cash flow 154 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:26,720 forecasting, or the really boring, un sexy things. And these are just 155 00:11:26,759 --> 00:11:30,440 as much a part of your business as the really fun, shiny things that 156 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:33,039 you love to do, and you just unfortunately have to do the things that 157 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,519 you don't enjoy until you grow to the point where you can hire someone else 158 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:39,440 to do those things for you. Because the things that you hate to do, 159 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:43,080 there will be somebody out there who loves doing them. If you hate 160 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:48,679 spreadsheets, there are loads of people out there who love spreadsheets, So you 161 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,559 can delegate that to somebody who does love that. And you know, like 162 00:11:54,039 --> 00:11:58,240 remembering every time you see yourself or you catch yourself in that comparison itis, 163 00:11:58,519 --> 00:12:01,320 remember you are not seeing the full start. For example, even when I'm 164 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:07,000 traveling and I'm having so much fun traveling, I'm not sharing that much about 165 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:11,120 like the jet lag, the layovers, all of the time zone calculations that 166 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:13,200 my team and I have to go through to make sure that I don't miss 167 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:18,159 any calls while I'm away. You don't see the amount of work that goes 168 00:12:18,159 --> 00:12:20,879 into batching content before I go away, Like, you don't see all of 169 00:12:20,919 --> 00:12:26,080 that stuff. You just see the fun parts. So remember that even though 170 00:12:26,799 --> 00:12:31,559 traveling is one of the fun parts for me, not all of the fun 171 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:33,320 parts are fun. Okay, So your business is not going to be fun 172 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:35,879 all of the time, but you will get to a stage where it is 173 00:12:35,919 --> 00:12:41,360 fun most of the time. And if you're wondering how to get to that 174 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:45,840 stage, thinking about what do I want to do and what do I not 175 00:12:45,879 --> 00:12:48,399 want to do, and with the things that you don't want to do, 176 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:54,600 prioritizing getting those off your plate, delegating them to someone else, or asking 177 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:56,279 yourself, can I remove this? If it's a service you offer that you 178 00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:01,840 hate doing, delete it right. Okay, So there you have it. 179 00:13:01,879 --> 00:13:09,360 Five unrealistic expectations for your business. I wonder if you could relate to any 180 00:13:09,399 --> 00:13:13,039 of those. If you can send me a message on Instagram. I always 181 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,240 love to hear from you, love to connect with you. You can find 182 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:18,240 me over there at Steph Taylor dot com. And if you're not already following 183 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:22,080 this podcast or subscribe to it, hit the plus button. You'll get each 184 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:24,480 new episode straight to your podcast app every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 185 00:13:24,519 --> 00:13:28,720 so you don't have to go looking for all of the new episodes. That 186 00:13:28,879 --> 00:13:31,440 is it for today. Thank you so much for listening, and catch you 187 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:31,840 next time.