5 Distractions That Stunt Your Business The are countless problems that come with running a business but focus is essential to solving every one of them.
By Kimanzi Constable •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Being an entrepreneur is a great way to earn income while living the kind of life you truly want to live. Entrepreneurship offers many benefits, but the main goal being to create freedom in your life while making an impact in the lives of those who your business serves.
To get the rewards and the fun parts of entrepreneurship, it takes focus. Building a business has always been hard. You don't have a steady or guaranteed paycheck every week, and when something goes wrong, it all falls on you as the business owner. There are also distractions that can sidetrack the growth of your business.
My first business was a service business in the vendor industry that quickly grew to half-a-million dollars a year in revenue. My second business is a lifestyle entrepreneurship business that allows me to serve an audience through writing books, speaking all over the world and consulting companies. To reach a level of success in each business, I had to become aware of these five distractions and learn how to avoid them. They could be keeping your business from reaching whatever benchmarks you've set for yourself.
1. Other people's self-limiting beliefs.
When you're starting or growing a business, there's no shortage of individuals who are eager to tell you what you're doing could fail miserably. It could be people you know well or stranger, but other people project their self-limiting beliefs unto you and your business.
Realize that these people are addressing the struggles they're having inside, and those aren't your struggles. Understand that a fear of failure scares many from becoming entrepreneurs. Those people will work hard to convince you and themselves that they're right. This is a distraction but one you can avoid. Filter who you allow in your life and filter the information you share about your business.
Related: The Biggest Barrier to Wealth Is Your Self-Limiting Beliefs
2. Success envy.
Social media, and the Internet, in general, have allowed us to share our lives and also experience the lives of other entrepreneurs. Someone you know may have just posted about a financial milestone or a cool opportunity they received in their business. It can be inspiring, but the truth is, it can create envy or even jealousy.
Envy and jealous are a part of human nature. Anyone who tells you they never experience these feelings is not being honest with themselves. Cheer when a fellow entrepreneur experiences success because they worked hard to get there. Use their "win" as motivation to get some wins in your business. Entrepreneurship has to be a personal journey and can't be compared to someone else's.
3. Outdated strategies.
There are tactics and strategies to grow a business that have been around for a long time, but don't work in the digital age. I can think of several outdated marketing strategies that the Internet has made obsolete. There are also over-hyped strategies, such as social media marketing. In either scenario, these are distractions that could be keeping you from what will work for your specific business. Testing is the best way to avoid wasting time.
Related: Your Content-Delivery Strategy Can't Start and End at Mobile
4. Disorganization.
A disorganized business is a distraction for not only you, but also your customer. It leads to confusion within your business and that ultimately causes you to lose customers. If you are not good at staying organized, involve your spouse or outsource the organization of your systems. Let your customers see that you are on top of things and can handle their business. Confusion and disorganization are an avoidable distraction that you can overcome.
5. Inadequate knowledge of your business.
In today's world of outsourcing and virtual assistants, it's easy to lose touch with what's going on in your business, especially if you have employees. No one will take care of and love your business as much as you. You started this business for a reason, never lose sight of your why. Getting distracted and not knowing what's going on in your business will keep it from growing.
We live in a time of unparalleled access to knowledge and other entrepreneurs. This has opened doors, but it's also created many new types of distractions. What worked for another entrepreneur most likely isn't going to work for your business.
You have to stay focused on where you and your business are in relation to the business plan you created. If you've never created a business plan, that should be your first task after reading this article. Your business needs a roadmap and clear goals. Avoid distractions to get to your highest levels of success and growth. Start becoming aware today.
